The Bridge Corner
By Gary Mitchell, March 2, 2007

Opening Lead: Heart four

The play: You count three Clubs, two Diamonds and two Hearts for seven tricks. If you can bring the Diamond suit in for four tricks, you are safe. As usual, there is a right way and a wrong way to attack that suit. If you need five Diamond tricks, the correct play is to play the Ace and King, hoping for a Doubleton Queen. In this hand you only need four tricks, which makes that play wrong. 

Taking four Diamond tricks is easy if Diamonds break 3-2. The problem arises when they break 4-1. So, that is what you must protect against. 

Lead a diamond to the Ace, and then a low Diamond from dummy towards your Jack. If East has four Diamonds to the Queen, East is held to one Diamond trick. If West has four to the Queen, East shows out and you play the Jack. You can then take a finesse for West’s Ten later.

If interested, the Encyclopedia of Bridge devotes 58 pages to card combinations. Just how bored are you?

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