Bridge

You play your queen, and declarer takes the trick with his king.

South plays a small heart to his ace, your partner playing the lack, and leads a small heart back, on which you play low. South plays the eight, and partner shows out. Declarer then plays the ace jack and ten of spades, throwing two clubs from dummy, while partner follows throughout. What do you do?

Your partner's weak two shows 6-12 high card points. He can't have the ace and king of diamonds, or he wouldn't have led a small spade. So his hand must have consisted of four small spades, the jack of hearts, six diamonds to the ace or king, and a doubleton ace or king of clubs.

If he has an ace, the contract is doomed. As long as partner knows what's going on If you discard on this trick declarer will lead away from his KX, and partner, not knowing whether you have one, two or three diamonds might play low, and then your hearts will be finnessed. So you had better trump this trick with the ten, while you still have it. You may as well play the king of trumps as well, so that partner will know how many tricks be has to take.

Now, a club or a diamond? It doesn't matter, as long as partner has an ace.

Now, from the declarer's point of view, your partner could just have the knave instead of the king of clubs. That would give him six points, Just The important thing is to avoid giving the show away by leading a club. Declarer would then play your partner for the king, going up with the ace and returning the suit. Your partner will then have to give him two diamond tricks. If you lead a diamond, declarer will again go up with the ace and return the suit, but if partner can lead away from his doubleton king with sufficient aplomb, declarer might just conceivably misguess. It's a chance, anyway.

When the hand was actually played, east discarded his higher diamond on the fourth spade. This gave partner a count and avoided his letting declarer get into dummy.

However, when partner has both kings (as was actually the case) this ices the contract. South plays ace and a small club. If west has the king declarer takes two diamond tricks: if west plays the jack, if east over takes and leads a diamond declarer goes up and throws him in with a trump, and west has to give dummy a club trick sooner or later.

Thought for the weak.

Next week our expert panel will turn their penetrating minds to the following situation.