Contract Bridge

1. You are certain to make the contract if the opposing clubs are divided 2-2 or 3-1, so your only real concern is a possible 4-0 club division. If North has all the missing clubs, there’s nothing you can do about it, and you’ll surely go down one or two tricks. But if South has all four clubs, something can be done, so you should shape your play to deal with that possibility.

The key play comes at trick one, when you should win the queen of diamonds with the ace. You then cash the ace of clubs, and if North shows out, you are in full control of the situation. You next lead a low heart toward the K-J-x, and regardless of which opponent has the ace, you will be able to lead clubs twice from dummy through South’s J-10-8 to assure five club tricks and the contract.

2. Let’s first assume that you cover the jack of clubs with dummy’s queen, losing to the ace, and that South shifts to a low diamond. Whatever you choose to do, you might lose two diamonds, a club and a spade and go down one.

Your best shot is to play low from dummy on the opening lead! It is certainly reasonable to assume that South has the ace, in which case you’re virtually certain to make the contract by ducking the jack.

Regardless of which suit North plays next, you plan to draw trumps, ending in dummy, then lead the king of clubs and ruff out South’s ace to establish a club trick on which you can discard the jack of diamonds. At worst, you lose a club, a diamond and a spade, trumping your fourth spade in dummy if the spades don’t divide 3-3.

Note that South can’t injure you even if he decides to overtake the jack of clubs with the ace in order to lead a diamond. If he does, dummy’s K-Q of clubs both become tricks on which you can later discard the 6-5 of spades.

Tomorrow: Putting it all together.