Over the last few weeks, I have written about declarer play techniques involving ruff and discards, and also about keeping the “danger hand” off lead, and both of these come into play on this week’s hand (see Figure 1).

South opened a heart and after North made a limit raise in hearts, South had an obvious raise to game. As he did not like any of his plain suit options for the lead, West led a trump.

When dummy appeared, declarer realised that game would be easy if either the diamond Ace was with East or the King of clubs was on his left. However, if both of those cards were badly placed the contract was likely to fail, since the defenders would then be favourites to take four tricks in the minor suits.

Declarer’s strategy was therefore to try to develop a second trick in clubs without East, the danger hand, being allowed to gain the lead. He found a really elegant answer to the problem.

At trick one, he took the trump lead on table with the eight and called for dummy’s two of spades. When East followed with a low card declarer covered it with his nine! This looks like a crazy play but you will soon see what declarer had in mind.

After winning the trick with the Jack of spades, West exited with a club. Declarer already had a plan and was not tempted to finesse, rising with the Ace of clubs instead.

Declarer continued by playing dummy’s ten of spades to his Ace and then led his seven of trumps to dummy’s nine. Next he cashed the King of spades and threw the seven of clubs from hand.

Now the point of the play in spades becomes clear: he could guarantee his contract by leading dummy’s Queen of clubs and running it if East followed with a low club. (He would make six trumps and four tricks in the black suits.)

In practice, East played the King of clubs and declarer ruffed it with the Ace of trumps. Then declarer led his ten of trumps to dummy’s Jack to cash the Jack of clubs and throw a low diamond from hand.

Finally, declarer led a diamond to his king to try for the overtrick. When West took this with the Ace, declarer conceded another diamond and claimed ten tricks.

What if West had the King of clubs? Then this would have been the position in the endgame (see Figure 2).

Declarer runs the club Queen throwing a diamond – West wins but must now either play a club allowing another diamond discard or cash his diamond Ace: either way the contract makes – brilliant play by South!

• David Ezekiel can be reached on davidezekiel999@gmail.com

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, September 27

North/South

1. Jack Rhind/Molly Taussig

2. Delton Outerbridge/Felicity Lunn

East/West

1. Jane Smith/Sancia Garrison

2. Aida Bostelmann/Heather Woolf

Monday, September 30

1. Louise Rodger/Molly Taussig

2. Wendy Gray/Richard Gray

3. Gertrude Barker/Jane Smith

Tuesday, October 1

1. Duncan Silver/Marion Silver

2. Benjamin Stone/Mark Stevens

3. Tracy Pitt/Desiree Woods

Wednesday, October 2

1. Sheena Rayner/Molly Taussig

2. Rachael Gosling/Martha Ferguson

3. Louise Rodger/Margaret Way

Thursday, October 3

1. Delton Outerbridge/Molly Taussig

2. Caitlin Conyers/Erika Jones

3. Miodrag Novakovic/Margaret Way