1 - both majors
2 - shows clubs

This week features another deal from the US team trials. Brad Moss was the declarer on this deal, with his team trailing by a considerable margin. He received the opening lead of ♥K, East following with the ♥10, declarer winning the ace. You are invited to take over at this point, and see if you can match the line of play that Moss adopted to gain a swing on this deal.

This deal came up in the US team trials held recently. The same deals were played at multiple tables; Steve Weinstein held the South hand in one of the matches. He declared 6♣ after the lively auction shown here. The ♥K was led, East playing the ♥10, South's ace winning the trick. Can you think of a road that will lead to 12 tricks?

South's 3NT was a sensible call, with stoppers in all suits and scattered values throughout. West leads the ♥10, dummy's king winning the trick. Next up, should you tackle clubs, diamonds or spades? Think about your next move before you read the next paragraph.

West has apparently led from heart length, and threatens to establish heart winners. Therefore, the West hand is the danger hand, and the right play is to take an immediate diamond finesse. If the finesse wins, you are home (why?). On this deal, West wins the ♦K and cashes the ♥A and plays another heart, on which East discards a club. Plan the play.

Bob Hamman declared this deal in the recent US team trials. West led the ♣K, and switched to the ♦Q, covered by the king and ruffed by East. Plan the play after a spade is returned (when you tackle trumps, you will discover that they split 2-2).

You reach a contract of 6♥ as South. The opening lead is a trump. Prospects are not very bright, as you are likely to lose two diamond tricks. How do you give yourself the best chances?

* - three card spade support

This deal came up in the 2008 Cavendish International. You reach 4♠ after East passed initially and made a takeout double of diamonds the next round. West leads the ♥5, you play the king from dummy, East considers his play and makes the strong move of ducking. What is your general strategy?

* - Michaels cue-bid, at least 5-5 in the majors

In a pair event, where the scoring is matchpoints, you reach 3NT after East has advertised both majors. West leads the ♥8, East plays the jack as you win the ace. When you play a diamond to the ace, East drops the queen under it. You are now assured of nine tricks. How do you propose to try for a tenth trick?

West   North   East   South
                                 2NT
pass     3♣*    pass    3♦
pass    3NT     all pass

Partner leads the ♠Q against 3NT, and this is the time to take stock of the hand, before playing a card to trick one. After you follow with a low spade, declarer ducks this trick, wins the ♠J continuation with the ace and leads the ♥2 to the ♥4 and ♥Q. Plan the play at IMPs, where your objective is to defeat the contract.

You receive the opening lead of ♥6, you win with the ♥J as East contributes the ♥2. Plan the play at IMPs as well as Matchpoints.

Contract: 7NT

No, this is not a misprint! Partner has once again shown that he has no dearth of imagination, and has left you to declare 7NT. The bidding is too gory to mention it in print. Your task on hand, yet again, is to try and make the contract, however impossible it may seem. West opens the ♠2, you have no option but to stick in the jack, which wins. How do you continue?

West   North   East   South
                                 1♠
pass     3♠       pass    4♠
all pass

You receive the ♥K lead against 4♠. Plan the play (trumps are 2-2).

1 - short diamonds, 11-15 HCP, length in other three suits
2 - sign-off

This week's deal is like a chess problem in the focus is on the end game. West leads the ♣A trying to cut down dummy's ruffing power, and manages to crash his partner's king. A club is led to East's queen. The next few tricks are as follows:

Trick 3 - East plays a diamond to dummy's ace
Trick 4 - ♠K to East's ♠A
Trick 5 - ♦J to the K, pitching a heart from dummy
Trick 6 - spade to the 10 and East's queen
Trick 7 - ♦10 led, ruffed with the ♣J in dummy.
Trick 8 - ♠J cashed, discarding a heart from hand.

The task on hand is to take the rest of the tricks.

West   North   East   South
                                 1♣
pass     1♠       pass    2♥
pass     3♥       pass    4♦¹
pass     4NT²   pass   5♣³
pass     5♦⁴      pass   6♥
all pass

1 - cue-bid
2 - RKC Blackwood
3 - 0 or 3 keycards
4 - asking for the trump queen

Not the most elegant auction, but the final contract is a sound one. West leads a diamond, dummy's queen holds. Plan the play.

West   North   East   South
                                 1♥
pass     2♦¹      pass   2NT
pass     3♥       pass   3♠²
pass     4♣²     pass   4NT³
pass     5♦⁴      pass   6♥
all pass

1 - 2/1 is forcing to game
2 - cue-bid
3 - RKC Blackwood
4 - 1 or 4 keycards

You are East on this defensive problem. The opponents reach 6♥ after an uncontested auction. Partner leads the ♠5, declarer captures your queen with the king. A heart is then led to dummy's nine. What should you return after winning this trick with the ♥J to defeat the contract?

You are South on this week's deal, declaring an excellent 4♥ contract. West leads the ♠K, won by dummy's ace. First things first, you play two rounds of diamonds, discarding your spade loser. You choose to continue with a third round of diamonds, discarding a club. How should you proceed?

West   North   East   South
                                 1♥
pass     1♠       pass   1NT
all pass

You are East on this week's defensive problem, with both sides vulnerable, defending 1NT after North's frisky decision to respond to an opening bid with just five points. The scoring is matchpoints, so the goal is to try and take as many tricks as possible. There are many successful defenses, we will show you an interesting variation that occurred at the table.

Your partner leads the ♣5, which goes to your jack and declarer's queen. declarer leads a diamond to the jack, partner plays the ♦4 showing an odd number of cards in the suit, you elect to duck this trick in an attempt to kill dummy. Declarer plays a diamond to the queen, as you duck again. The ♥K is now played, you elect to take this trick and return a club (a spade return may be correct on some deals, but a club return is likely to be the winner in the long run, and in any case it will make partner happy). Partner wins the ♣10 and proceeds to cash three more clubs. Plan your discards.

West   North   East   South
                                 1♦
pass     2♦¹      pass   4♣²
dbl       4♥³     pass   4NT⁴
pass     5♦⁴     pass   6♦

1 - Inverted Minor Raise
2 - Splinter Bid
3 - Cue-bid
4 - RKC Blackwood
5 - One key-card

You are South on this deal, and reach the excellent contract of 6♦. West leads a trump, the only lead to give you any problem; on any other lead, you could have ruffed three clubs in hand. You play low from dummy, and win East's ♦4 with the ♦6. You lead the ♣9 at trick two, West and dummy play low as East wins the trick with the ♣10. Another trump is returned, West discarding a club to this trick. What is your basic plan?

You are East in this week's deal, defending against 3NT. Partner leads the ♠3. The opponents inquire about your opening leads, and you reply that your partnership plays third-fifth leads in partner's suit. You play a high spade, and declarer wins the trick with the ace. He then passes the ♣10 to you. Plan your defense.

West leads the ♣Q against your excellent 5♦ contract. You have the option of playing on spades, or trying to score heart ruffs in dummy. What would your line of play be?

West leads the ♥Q against your optimistic 4♠ contract, East following with the ♥9. When you cash the ace and king of spades, West discards a diamond. There seem to be four inescapable losers now; can you think of a way to restricting yourself to three losers?

Partner leads the ♠K, against 6♦ after South has advertised a long and strong diamond suit. How do you propose to defeat the contract?

West led the ♣10, ducked all the way around. A club was continued to East's queen, ducked again. The ♣K from East was taken perforce with the Ace, and South led a spade to the jack and East's ace. A heart was now returned. What is your plan to score nine tricks?

1 - Cue-bid
2 - RKC Blackwood
3 - Two keycards with the ♦Q
4 - Confirming all keycards and asking for kings

The auction might raise a few eyebrows, particularly the 7NT call, but the scoring was matchpoints and North decided to go for all the marbles. South noted that 7♦ was laydown, but the task at hand was to make 7NT. Your thoughts? (West has one diamond and East has two)

West   North   East   South
                                 1NT
pass     2♦¹      2♠      3♥
3♠        4♦²     pass    4♥
all pass

1 - Jacoby Transfer to hearts
2 - cue-bid

This deal came up in an online bridge game between two expert teams. As nobody was vulnerable, East and West took the opportunity to chime in and bid spades. Against the eventual contract of 4♥, West leads the ♠2. East wins the ♠A, cashes the ♠Q, and switches to the ♦Q. Plan the play to score ten tricks.

1 - Cue-Bid
2 - RKC Blackwood
3 - 0 or 3 keycards

North-South were playing Standard American, and conducted a reasonable auction to reach the best spot. West led the ♣K, East playing the ♣7 as you win with dummy's ace. What do you play to trick two, and how do you plan the rest of the contract?

The 11th World Computer-Bridge Championship recently took place from October 4-9 in Shanghai, China along with the World Championships. Bridge Baron reached the finals, losing to WBridge5 of France. More details about the competition can be found here.

This week's deal is modified from a deal that took place in a round robin match between Bridge Baron and Sharkbridge. The auction was not quite elegant, particularly since 3NT is cold and 5♦ appears to have no play, but Sharkbridge found a nice line of play.

The opening lead was the ♠3, taken perforce in dummy with the ace. The percentage play of a diamond to the ace brought down the king from West, thereby crossing the first hurdle. Plan the rest of the play.

West   North   East   South
                                 1NT
pass     2♣      pass    2♥
pass    3NT     pass    4♠
pass     6♠      all pass

North's bidding was ambitious, to say the least! The final contract fortunately is a reasonable one. West leads the ♦5 (fourth best leads), East wins the ace and returns the ♦3, West following with the four. You play a spade towards dummy, and West plays the queen, you win the ace. How do you plan to take care of the two club losers in hand?

The given auction took place when this deal was originally played. 3NT was not a very good bid by South. It wrong-sides the contract if North has the ♥Q or even the ♥J. North's 4♣ bid was also atypical, as since South has shown at least a double stopper in hearts, bidding over 3NT should show slam interest (which was clearly not the case here). Anyway, the final contract is a sound one. Your task here is to make the contract after West leads the ♠4 (East-West play fourth-best leads).

West   North   East   South
                                 2NT
pass     3♠¹      pass    4♣
pass     4♥       pass    5♣
pass     6♣      all pass

1 - transfer to clubs

This deal came up in the semifinals of a team game. The auction might not have been elegant, but it was certainly effective, for the final contract is quite sound. West leads the ♠2 playing fourth-best leads, you discard a diamond from dummy and capture East's queen with the ace. You play a club to the ace, West follows with the seven and East with the two. You now try a heart from dummy, East wins the ace and plays back a spade, you discard a heart on the ♠K. When you cash the ♥K, both opponents follow, but the jack does not appear. How do you proceed from this stage?

West   North   East   South
                                 1♠
pass    pass     2♥      3♦
3♥      3♠        4♥      4♠
dbl     all pass

This deal came up in a pair event, and the auction given here occurred at the table. South dealt and opened 1♠ with both sides being vulnerable. West might have make a takeout double over 1♠, but his pass was fine considering that he had only three hearts and a scattered 12 count. However, his 3♥ call was quite timid, and did not do justice to his hand. The final contract was 4♠X by South.

West led a heart, East won the first two tricks with the king and ace of hearts, and switched to the ♣4 which declarer won with the ace. Declarer plays the ♠A and plays a second spade to your king, partner following with the ♠5 and ♠2. Assuming 4♥ is cold, you need to defeat 4♠ by three tricks to score +800 in order to get a good score. +500 would be a bottom score when compared to the pairs who score +620 in 4♥. How do you plan to extract maximum penalty?

1. How would you plan the rest of the play?
2. Do you agree with declarer's play of the ♣3 at trick four?

1 - Cue-bid
2 - RKC Blackwood
3 - Two Key-Cards along with a void

West leads the ♦K against your slam (the opponents lead king from ace-king to ask for count), East playing the nine, and switches to a trump at trick two. Plan the play.

North's 4♣ was not a cue-bid; it showed a hand with limit raise or better in spades, in case South wanted to explore slam. South had a minimum hand, so 4♠ became the final contract.

West led the ♥Q, covered by the king and ace. East returned the ♥8, ruffed by West, who now plays the ♦8. West is unlikely to have the ♦K based on his preempt, and his ♦8 play, which prompts you to go up with the ace.

West has already ruffed a heart, and you need the remaining spades to divide 2-2. You can play East to hold the Q10x in spades, but if that is the case you cannot ruff a club in dummy without getting overruffed by East. You therefore play a spade to the ace. West does have a singleton spade, but the good news is that the singleton is the queen. Plan the rest of the play.

West   North   East   South
                                 1♥
pass    1NT¹     2♠     3♥
pass    4♥         all pass

1 - forcing one round

You reach 4♥ after East overcalls in spades. West leads the ♠10, East overtakes this with the jack and cashes the ♠A. When he plays the ♠K, you ruff this with the ♥K, West discards a club. You now cross over to dummy with a diamond, and play the ♥8, East plays the ♥10, your queen wins the trick. Plan the play.

West leads the ♥K, East follows with the four. Can you help South come to nine tricks?

West   North   East   South
                                 1♦
pass     1♥      pass   2♠
pass     3♥      pass    5♦
all pass

You reach 5♦ with no opposing bidding. West leads the ♣A, East encourages with the ten as you ruff. Plan the play.

After the opening lead, you are guaranteed to score at least nine tricks (three spades, one heart, one diamond and four clubs). Though the scoring is IMPs, there are only seven deals in one round, so every IMP becomes important. What are your thoughts on prospects of overtrick(s)?

* - Negative Double, promising four hearts

The setting is a game of rubber bridge, where East is an experienced player while West's calibre is mediocre. Your partner knows the game but has his wild moments, as is evident from his 6♥ bid.

"My lead?" queries West, and automatically leads the ♠A when he receives an affirmative reply. Plan the play.

West   North   East   South
                                 2♣
pass     2♦¹      pass   2♥
pass     4♥      all pass

1 - Waiting.

West leads the ♠K against your 4♥ contract, East playing an encouraging ♠8. West continues with the ♠10 to East's ace. East persists with a third spade to your jack and West's king. Plan the play (The scoring is IMPs, where the objective is to make your contract and overtricks are insignificant).

You reach 4♥ after East opens 1♠. West leads the ♠3 to East's nine and your ace. What is your play to trick two?

West   North   East   South
                                 1♦
dbl       1♥       2♣     2♠
3♣       4♠       all pass

West leads the ♥A (ace from ace-king) against your 4♠ contract, East discourages with the four. West switches to the ♦3 at trick two. What are your thoughts?

West   North   East   South
                                 1♥
pass    1NT¹     2♠     3♥
pass    4♥         all pass

1 - forcing one round

North-South reach 4♥ after you overcall in spades. Partner leads the ♠10, you overtake this with the jack and cash the ♠A. When you play the ♠K, declarer ruffs this with the ♥K, partner discards a club. Declarer now crosses over to dummy with a club, and plays the ♥8. Your move.

West   North   East   South
                                 2♣
pass     2♦¹      pass   3NT²
pass    6NT     all pass

1 - Waiting.
2 - 25-27 balanced.

West leads the ♥K against your 6NT contract. How do you proceed?

You reach 4♠ as South after West overcalls in hearts. West leads the ace and king of hearts, East echoes by playing high-low. West continues with the ♥Q. What are your thoughts?

1 - Fourth Suit Forcing to game
2 - RKC Blackwood
3 - 2 Keycards without the trump queen

You are East on this deal, on lead against 6♥. First, a quick comment about the bidding. The 1♠ bid by North is a terrible choice. The 4-3-3-3 hand pattern along with no intermediate spots warrants a limit raise. Having chosen to force to game, a two-over-one game forcing 2♣ is a better call than 1♠, as it will simplify the rest of the auction. In any case, the auction has revealed a lot about declarer's hand.

Against high-level contracts, your partnership has the useful agreement of leading the king from ace-king to ask for count, so you lead the ♠K. Partner plays the ♠10, showing even number of cards in the suit. What next?

1 - Precision Club showing 16+ points, artificial
2 - RKC Blackwood
3 - 0 or 3 Keycards

This deal came up in the Lebhar IMP Pairs event at the St. Louis NABC. The West player is Zia Mahmood, and East is George Jacobs. We invite you to take the South seat on this deal. Your partnership is playing the Precision system, and partner opens a strong club. Jacobs puts pressure by preempting with 3♦, after which you reach 6♥ after the auction shown.

Zia leads the ♣3 (playing third-fifth leads) to his partner's Queen and your Ace. This is the only lead to cause problems - you have three potential losers (one club, one heart and one spade). You can discard a club loser on the ♦K, but the entry situation in diamonds is another obstacle. What are your thoughts?

The ♦A is led (opponents lead Ace from Ace-King), East follows with the three. Plan the play after West switches to the ♣3 at trick two.

The way it worked was two of the programmers from Great Game Products operated the laptops, and entered the cards, along with bids and plays made by the other three players. When Bridge Baron called for a bid, the operators would make relay that bid to the table using a bidding box. Similarly, when Baron made a play, the operators would play that card on the table.

This deal came up on Wednesday night's game. The challenge is to make 6♣ with the North-South cards after receiving the ♠10 lead to the queen and ace.

You are South playing in a knockout team match. You open 1♦, LHO overcalls 1♥, partner raises you to 2♦, East comes in with 2♠. You have a tough call, and eventually choose 5♦ which ends the auction.

The contract has no legitimate play, as you have to lose at least one club, one diamond and one heart. This is your lucky day, as West gives the contract a reprieve by leading the ♠K. How do you plan to take full advantage of this friendly lead?

The ♦A was led, East signalled with the Queen to indicate possession of the Jack. West played another diamond, which you ruff in hand. There are 10 winners (4 clubs, 4 hearts and 2 spades), but trump control is the main issue. What are your thoughts?

This week's deal took place in an online match. Fulvio Fantoni was South on this deal (rotated for convenience), partnering Jimmy Cayne. This week we step away from the usual format, and present you with all four hands, since the solution is not trivial even after looking at all four hands! It is worth noting that North's 6♦ bid is a bit ambitious, given that even 5♥ is a very difficult contract.

West leads the ♣10, you ruff East's Queen with the ♦A. You play a diamond to the 7, East discards a club. Plan the play knowing that East has 9 clubs.

You are West in this week's deal where neither side is vulnerable. The scoring is IMPs and the objective is to defeat the contract. The contract is 2♠, reached via the bidding sequence shown. You have a tough opening lead, and choose an aggressive ♥Q. Partner discourages the lead by playing the two, declarer wins the Ace. Declarer now plays the ♠7, you play low as does declarer, partner wins a surprise trick with the ♠J. Partner quickly returns a heart, which declarer wins with the King. Declarer plays another spade now, you hop up with the Ace, as partner discards the ♦K. What now?

West leads the ♣A and East plays an encouraging Ten. West switches to the ♥4 to start trick 2. Plan the play.

1 - Both minors
2 - Competitive hand with spades; not invitational

Partner opens a 15-17 1NT, over which East bids the "Unusual 2NT" to show both minors. You play a treatment called "Unusual over Unusual" over this, where 3♣ would show a good hand with hearts, 3♦ would show a good hand with spades, so that 3♥ and 3♠ would be competitive. So you have an easy 3♠ bid available. Partner reevaluates his hand, and raises you to 4. West doubles the final contract, which ends the auction.

The opening lead is ♣Q. How do you play the hand? (If you ruff a club at any stage, East will play the King and West the Jack)

1 - Quantitative

After three passes, partner opens the bidding with 1♦ and shows a powerful hand by rebidding 3♣ over your 1♠ response. What would you bid now with the South hand? This is a difficult and tricky bidding decision. Our discussion boards are working again, so we'd encourage you to express your point of view on what you'd have bid. Holding maximum values for a passed hand, it is reasonable to make a move towards slam by bidding a quantitative 4NT. Partner accepts the invitation and bids 6NT, which becomes the final contract.

West considers his opening lead, and comes up with the ♦10. This diabolical lead disrupts communications between your hand and dummy. On a spade or heart lead, you would have unblocked the major suit winners from dummy, crossed over to ♦K to cash the major suit aces, and then cross back to dummy with the ♣A to cash the diamonds. The diamond lead removes your only entry to hand. Why couldn't West lead a heart, the unbid suit? Any idea on how to take 12 tricks?

You are East, playing the last board in a closely contested team-of-four knockout match. South opens 1♦, partner overcalls 1♥ and North bids 2♦. You try 2♠, as 4♠ would be an excellent contract if partner has spade support. South goes into a tank, and finally bids 5♦, partner and North pass. This is not an enviable situation to be in. Partner is likely to lead spades since you bid the suit, which might not augur well for the defense. You double, hoping it might alert partner not to lead a spade.

Partner apparently did not get your message, and makes the disastrous lead of the ♠K. Declarer wins the trick with the Ace, and leads a diamond and captures partner's King with dummy's Ace. Declarer leads the Queen and Jack of spades, and discards the Ten and King of hearts. He then calls for a low diamond from dummy. Do you give up, or can you think of a way to beat the contract?

West   North   East   South
                       1♦      1♠¹
dbl²     3♦³      dbl⁴    4♠(!!)
all pass

1 - Ill-advised action, not recommended
2 - Negative Double, showing 4 hearts and some values (around 6 or more points)
3 - Mixed Raise, showing 7-9 points and 4+ spades
4 - "I really have diamonds"

This hand came up in a team-of-four knockout match, where the scoring is IMPs. East opened 1♦, at the table South chose to overcall 1♠. This is a poor call that provides an incorrect description of the South hand. If South had a better spade suit along the lines of AKJ10, AQJ9, AKQ9, the 1♠ overcall would have some merit, as the hand also contains length in the opponent suit (diamonds). Even then, overcalling is likely to make partner misjudge the auction.

In any case, West made a Negative Double, and North bid 3♦, which is a "mixed raise" showing 7-9 points and 4 or more spades. East doubled this, showing a real diamond suit, given that the 1♦ could be made on a three-card suit. South was not finished bidding, and he jumped to 4♠! If it is any consolation, the Deal of the Week is a column on card play, and not bidding!

South did not deserve the five trumps that dummy produced. West led the ♦J, East won this with the Ace and returned a low diamond. South rose with the King, West following with the Ten. Think about your next move before you read further.

The right play is a club. Plan the play when

1. West plays the Ace and returns a club (East plays the Queen when you win with dummy's King).
2. West plays the Queen, you cover with the King, East plays the Ace and returns a low diamond.

West   North   East   South
                                 1NT
pass     2♣      dbl*    2♦
pass    3NT     all pass

* Lead Directing - shows a strong club suit and demands a club lead.

You hold the South hand on this deal, which took place in a team-of-four event. The scoring is IMPs, where the objective is to make your contract and overtricks are insignificant. You open a 15-17 1NT, and end up in 3NT after East doubles partner's 2♣ Stayman bid to request a club lead.

West dutifully leads the ♣9, East overtakes this with the 10. From the lead directing double and West's opening lead, you know that East has the missing club honors. So you duck this trick, in an attempt to sever defensive communications. This maneuver succeeds, as East cashes the ♣A with West following with the ♣4, and then plays the ♣Q to trick 3, with West discarding the ♠10. How do you continue?

West   North   East   South
                                 1NT
pass     2♣*    pass    2♦
pass    6NT     all pass

Playing in a pair event where the scoring is matchpoints, you open a 15-17 1NT with the South hand, and soon find yourself in 6NT. West leads the ♠Q, you observe that the diamond suit is the key to the hand. Three tricks in the suit will see you through. You win the first trick in dummy, and noting possible transportation issues later in the hand, decide to tackle the diamond suit immediately, leading a low diamond off of dummy. To your surprise, before the diamond has even made it to your King, East has already played the Queen. What are your thoughts?

This hand was played in an online game, the players involved were all experts, and the scoring was IMPs. You are invited to take the South seat. Neither side is vulnerable, East deals and opens 1♠. After two passes partner reopens with a double. You have your first decision of the day. While it is tempting to pass for penalties, there are quite a few reasons why you should not. First of all, even though you have five trumps, your trump spots are very weak. Second, you don't have an attractive opening lead. If you don't find the right opening lead, declarer might gain a valuable tempo, and there is no way of figuring out what the right lead would be. In the long run, passing is a losing proposition, so you bid a sensible 1NT. Partner raises to 3NT, which becomes the final contract.

West leads the ♠J, East lets this ride to your Queen. You play the ♣Q, and East drops the Jack. Plan the play.

West   North   East   South
                                 1♠
pass    1NT*   pass    3♦
pass    3NT     pass    4♠
all pass

* - forcing one round

In a matchpointed pair event, South becomes declarer in 4♠ after announcing a powerful hand with spades and diamonds. Partner opens the ♥K. It doesn't appear as though you can defeat the contract, but you still need to take all the tricks that are rightfully yours. What are your thoughts?

It is standard to give attitude to partner's honor lead in suit contracts. However, when declarer is unable to produce the ♥A, partner will know that you hold the card. Does this change anything? Is your play to this trick suit preference? Even if partner does interpret your play as an attitude signal, should you play an encouraging 7 to signal for a heart continuation, or a discouraging 3 to ask for a club switch?

You reach 3NT after West overcalled in spades. The ♥2 is led, East plays the King and you duck. East continues with the ♥3. Plan the play (clubs are 3-2, with West having 2).

West   North   East   South
                                 1NT
pass     2♥*    pass    2♠
pass    3NT     all pass

Playing in a pair event, you choose to open a 15-17 NT in preference to opening 1♥, and reach 3NT after a transfer sequence. Concealing the heart suit turns out to be an advantage, as West leads the ♥5. You play low from dummy, East shows out discarding the ♣6, you win the trick with the 9. You lead the ♠10 at trick 2, West plays the King without any thought, you win with dummy's Ace. You continue by playing a diamond to the Jack. West wins the Ace, and plays the ♥8, you win the trick with dummy's Ace, East discards a spade. The contract is safe, but since the scoring is matchpoints, plan the play to score 11 tricks.

* 16-18

You are South, playing in a Sectional Swiss Teams against average opponents. Since your partnership plays sound 1NT overcalls, partner chose to invite aggressively. You accepted the invitation, and are declaring 3NT on the lead of the ♣4. East wins the Ace, and returns the ♣8.

You have your first decision of the day - do you play run this to the 10, or do you play the Queen? There are not many clues to guide you here. You know that East is not the player to make this play from AKx(x), so you play low. It turns out that you could not ge this right, as West wins the Jack and cashes the King, East following. West cashes the fourth club now, you discard a heart from dummy, East discards an encouraging ♥9, you discard a heart as well. West plays a heart to East's Queen and your Ace. Your play.

* 10-13

You are West in a pair event. After two passes South opens 1NT which ends the auction. You lead the ♣4, dummy plays low, partner plays the 9 and declarer wins the trick with the King. Declarer plays a heart to the Ace at trick 2, and runs the ♥10 at trick 3. He now plays a low diamond from dummy, partner plays the two, declarer inserts the 6, and your 7 wins the trick. What do you lead now?

West led the ♠J. South won the spade lead in hand, and played the King and Ace of Clubs, drawing all the missing trumps. Declarer started eliminating the hand, and unblocked the Ace and King of Diamonds. He now cashed the ♠K and ruffed a spade, and was disappointed to see West discard a heart. If West had held four spades, he could have been thrown in with the fourth spade; a diamond ruff in dummy would have completed the elimination, and declarer would have led the fourth spade discarding a heart from hand, leaving West on play.

Since that plan did not come through, declarer ruffed his diamond in dummy, and played a heart. When East alertly contributed the 10 to this trick, declarer knew that the contract had no further chances. He played the ♥K, West won the Ace and quickly cashed two more heart tricks to set the contract.

"I was very unlucky, if West had held four spades, he would have been endplayed", South complained. "Alternatively, if West had carelessly discarded a diamond when I ruffed a spade, he could still have been thrown in with the ♦Q. And finally, if West had AQJ10 of hearts, I could still endplay him. When I led a heart from dummy, if East played a small heart, I would have ducked it to West. I tried my best, but they defended very well, the contract cannot be made". "3NT is laydown", observed North thoughtfully. "Yes, there are 9 top tricks", agreed South. "I could not respond 1NT, as I did not have diamonds stopped. If you cue-bid 2♥, I would bid notrumps".

Do you agree with South's remarks?

West   North   East   South
                                  1♦
1♠      2♣      3♠*     pass
pass    dbl      pass     3NT
all pass

* Preemptive bid, with at least four trumps

East's 3♠ call is preemptive, an attempt to disrupt your auction, and promises at least four spades. You and your partner handle the preempt effectively, and eventually reach 3NT, which is a sound contract.

The ♠Q is led, East wins the Ace and plays a spade back to your King. You play a club to the Ace, both opponents follow with low cards. You quickly realize that you need to bring in the club suit to land the contract. But first, you turn your attention to the diamond suit, to learn more about the hand. You try the ♦10 from dummy, hoping RHO might cover. When he plays low, you play the Ace, and play a diamond to the King, LHO discarding the ♥8. So much for tempting RHO to cover the ♦10... You play a diamond to the Queen, LHO discards the ♥2, completing an echo. You play a club towards dummy, and LHO plays small. The moment of truth has arrived - do you finesse or play for the drop?

You take the East seat in this defensive problem, playing IMPs. You open the bidding with a 3♥ preempt, South and East pass. North reopens with a double, and South's 3NT ends the auction. Partner dutifully leads the ♥3. Before reading on, you should think through your defense.

If declarer has 9 top tricks, there is nothing you can do. You therefore assume that declarer does not have 9 top tricks. The obvious move of setting up hearts seems to be a good idea. Let us look at the heart suit in closer detail. The missing hearts are the K, 10, 9 and 2. Unless South has lost his mind, he should have the ♥K for the 3NT bid. Also, declarer cannot have a doubleton heart; partner would lead the 10 from 1093, and the 2 from 1032 or 932. If partner has the singleton 3, prospects are bleak, as the heart suit becomes entryless. The only relevant holding that you should be concerned about is partner having the 32 doubleton. In that scenario, playing the ♥A and continuing with the ♥Q will remove partner's hearts, and the heart suit is as good as dead.

The correct play to trick 1 is the ♥J. This preserves communications with partner. Declarer can with the trick with the ♥K, but when he has to give up the lead, partner can win and put you in with the ♥2, and you can enjoy all the hearts. You play the ♥J, eagerly thinking about the moment where you cash your lovely hearts. Declarer apparently has done some thinking too, as he ducks the ♥J. What now?

West   North   East   South
                                  1♦
pass     1♥      2♠      pass
pass     3♣     pass     3NT
all pass

You are South in a pair event. East's preempt made life slightly difficult for your partnership, but the final contract is excellent. West chooses to lead his own suit, and leads the ♦7, which is not a success as dummy's queen wins the trick.

The obvious move now is to tackle hearts, but the best play in the suit is not so obvious. East's preempt makes it more likely that West holds the ♥K. In that case, the obvious play of a heart to the queen will lose at least two tricks. The best play in hearts is a heart to the 7. If it loses to the Jack or Ten, you will follow up by leading the ♥Q. If East has a doubleton Ten or Jack, you will lose only one heart trick. This play is called an intra-finesse. West wins the ♥7 with the 10, and plays the ♠10, which is ducked to your queen. You play the ♥Q, covered with the King and Ace, but East follows with a low card. You concede a heart, discarding a diamond from hand, West winning the Jack. So much for your thoughtful heart play! West plays the ♦J, you discard a club from dummy and Win the Ace. The contract of course is cold; in fact, you have 10 tricks at this stage. Since this is matchpoints, you try for the 11th trick. You advance the ♣J, West plays low. Do you finesse?

West   North   East   South
                                 1NT
pass     2♣      pass    2♥
pass    2NT     pass    3NT
all pass

Playing a pair event, you open a 15-17 1NT. Partner bids Stayman and invites you to game. It is not automatic to accept the invitation, as you don't have a clear-cut maximum, and your hand lacks intermediate cards. Nevertheless, you decide to take the aggressive route and proceed to game.

The lead is a fourth best ♠3. Dummy has the deuce, so West has a maximum of four spades. You call for a low card, East wins the Ace after some consideration. East goes into the tank once more, and returns a low club. It is important for defenders to give honest information to each other, so East's play of low club strongly suggests the possession of the Queen. You stick in the Jack, which wins. You are now assured of 9 tricks in the form of 1 spade, 3 hearts (after forcing out the Ace), 2 diamonds and 3 clubs. Playing pairs, your task is to try to score an overtrick. You continue with a heart to the King, East wins the Ace and plays the ♠J. Any thoughts on the tenth trick?

After some deliberation, partner leads the ♥Q, you encourage with the eight. Declarer wins the Ace and plays a low spade to the Jack, and your Queen. How should you continue?

* Support Double - promises exactly 3 hearts.

This deal was featured last week, discussing play to 5♦. This week's challenge is to make 4♥ from the other side of the table, after a similar auction.

Partner invites you to play the cards for him, hoping to learn a trick or two from you. The opening lead is the ♣9, you capture RHOs' Queen with the Ace. You advance the ♥K. Plan the play when

a) LHO wins the ♥A immediately, and switches to a diamond.
b) LHO ducks the ♥K, wins the second round of trump and switches to a diamond.

West   North   East   South
                                 1♦
pass     1♥      4♠     5♦
all pass

You bid 5♦ after East's 4♠ puts pressure on you. Partner comes to your rescue and produces a fine hand, and the final contract is excellent. The ♣K is led, East drops the 9 on your Ace. Plan the play.

The ♣9 is led against your 3NT contract, East's Ace winning the trick. A heart is switched at trick 2, West wins the Ace and plays back a heart. What do you discard from dummy?

Playing in a pair event with neither side vulnerable, East opens 1♥. Your 3♣ preempt is questionable as your clubs are mediocre and your hand contains soft values. When East reopens with a double, a