The Bridge Corner
By Gary Mitchell

The bidding explained: After South showed six Spades (or more), North raised to three to show about 10–11 points with two Spades. With a seventh Spade and nice hand, South bid the game.

The play: The opening Club lead was won by East and a Club returned. South won and started on trump. West won the Spade and led a third Club. East trumped, and the Heart Ace was the setting trick.

When you count your losers and things look rosy, ask yourself what bad thing can happen. Here, you count three losers, so it appears your contract is safe. However, the bad thing that can happen is that someone scores a trump trick, other than the Ace. The only place that looks like it could happen is in Clubs. So, win the Club and play two rounds of Diamonds, discarding your Club. Now pull trump in safety.

Questions: email me at gary@smabridge.com  Lessons: Call 152-6351