Problem

The Auction:

South opened with 1♦ in third seat. West overcalled 3♣. North responded 3♦. East passed. South declared 3NT.

South can count on three top tricks – two aces and the ♣K, plus five tricks in diamonds. How many tricks can South win?

The overcall meant West holds 6-8 clubs, so not surprisingly West led the ♣Q,

Vul: none

Contract: 3NT by South

Solution

The declarer won the first trick in hand with the ♣K (trick 1) and led the ♦A (trick 2). As both opponents followed suit, the ♦Q will fall under the ♦K and diamonds are established. But the declarer needs the ninth trick. One possibility would be to cash in the diamonds and squeeze both opponents.

The declarer led the ♠10 instead. East`s ♠K won the trick (trick 3). East led the ♣9 to dummy`s ace (trick 4), South discarded a spade. Now South led a diamond to the ♦K in hand, East`s ♦Q fell (trick 5), and cashed in three more trick with diamonds (tricks 6, 7, 8).

West discarded four clubs, East discarded two spades and the ♥9 – East probably had the ♥A. The opponents had now only three spades left. And although West had already shown six clubs, West stil had the ♣J. If the remaining hearts were split 3-3, then West had only one more spade.

South led the ♠A from dummy`s hand (trick 9), West`s queen fell. Now the declarer led the last club from dummy, discarding a heart from hand. West won the trick with the ♣J (trick 10) and led a heart to East`s ♥A (trick 11). East exited with a heart to the declarer`s King (trick 12) and South won the last trick with the ♠ J (trick 13).

Despite South`s disputable decision to bid 3NT, the contract was made with an overtrick. By giving lead to East in the early stages, East was forced to lead from disadvantageous position  – he couldn`t lead from the broken sequence of hearts, and holding four small spades feared that the declarer will take advantage of the spade lead. So East decided in favor of the clubs and depleted clubs.

After the diamonds and the ♠A were cashed in, the declarer went for the overtrick by giving the lead this time to West.

Par Contract Analysis

The par contract on this deal is 5♦ by North / South