Terry Pratchett, an Englishman who has written more than 40 science-fiction books about Discworld, claimed: "Sometimes glass glitters more than diamonds because it has more to prove."
That supplies an unsubtle hint to the winning play in this deal. Against your contract of six spades, West leads the club jack. How would you plan the play?
North's first two bids describe a game-force with exactly three spades. (If your partnership employs two-over-one game-force, North would give the same description by rebidding two spades.)
There are 10 top tricks: six spades, one heart, one diamond and two clubs. You could play on hearts, hoping to establish the suit for the loss of only one trick. But with this layout that is doomed to failure. Sooner or later, East will overruff dummy's spade eight with his 10.
You should make use of those wonderful diamonds sparkling on the board.
After winning trick one with the dummy's club king, cash the club ace and discard your diamond ace! Then call for a diamond. If East covers with the king, ruff, draw three rounds of trumps ending on the board, and discard three hearts on dummy's three diamond winners, conceding only one heart trick. Here, though, East plays a low diamond. Discard a heart. West wins the trick but cannot hurt you. Suppose he continues with a club. You ruff, take three rounds of trumps ending in the dummy, and throw your remaining hearts on the top diamonds.
That supplies an unsubtle hint to the winning play in this deal. Against your contract of six spades, West leads the club jack. How would you plan the play?
North's first two bids describe a game-force with exactly three spades. (If your partnership employs two-over-one game-force, North would give the same description by rebidding two spades.)
There are 10 top tricks: six spades, one heart, one diamond and two clubs. You could play on hearts, hoping to establish the suit for the loss of only one trick. But with this layout that is doomed to failure. Sooner or later, East will overruff dummy's spade eight with his 10.
You should make use of those wonderful diamonds sparkling on the board.
After winning trick one with the dummy's club king, cash the club ace and discard your diamond ace! Then call for a diamond. If East covers with the king, ruff, draw three rounds of trumps ending on the board, and discard three hearts on dummy's three diamond winners, conceding only one heart trick. Here, though, East plays a low diamond. Discard a heart. West wins the trick but cannot hurt you. Suppose he continues with a club. You ruff, take three rounds of trumps ending in the dummy, and throw your remaining hearts on the top diamonds.