Today’s hand is a quiz for you and you can be sure that at the table 95 per cent of advanced players will get it wrong and probably 75 per cent of the “better” players will join them!

Well, you are not at the table now, so take your time and come up with your answer before looking at all four hands.

You open a strong two clubs with the North hand, partner bids two hearts to show a bust and you jump to four spades. The defence starts by cashing three hearts and then switches to a diamond – over to you. See Figure 1.

You don’t have many choices, which may help you find the answer! Trumps break kindly.

At the table many will win the diamond and run five spades hoping for someone to throw a club, and then eventually play the clubs – and go one down.

Now see if you can find the correct play looking at all four hands. See Figure 2.

Do you see it now? The success of the hand revolves around the club suit – if they are 3-3 all is well, but what if they are 4-2 or 5-1? You have to be brave on this – the defender with the long clubs may be the one with the three trumps so win the diamond, draw only two rounds of trumps and now play the Ace-King-Queen of clubs. If they break draw the last trump and claim.

On this hand, when West can’t ruff the third one, you ruff your fourth club in dummy and claim ten tricks. If the third club gets ruffed you were going to go down anyway if you had drawn trumps, so it is pay me now, or pay me later.

So you now see the play – the next challenge is to have the guts to make the play at the table!

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, August 26

1. Charles Hall – John Rayner

2. Joyce Pearson – Lorna Anderson

3. Elizabeth McKee – Molly Taussig

Monday, August 29

1. Kath Bell – Geoff Bell

2. Molly Taussig – Charles Hall

3. Lorna Anderson – Heather Woolf

Tuesday, August 30

1. Wenda Krupp – Rosemary Smith

2. Malcolm Moseley – Mark Stevens

3. Katyna Rabain – Louise Payne

Wednesday, August 31

1. Gertie Barker – Judy King

2. Marge Way – Stephanie Kyme

3. Betsy Baillie – Sharon Shanahan