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Bridge 12/28
Take the ruff in the right hand
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    Author and government official John W. Gardner said, "We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems." And Lee Iacocca said, "We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." I wonder who spoke first.
    In this deal, first East has the opportunity to produce the strongest defense. Then South has the opportunity to solve the problem and make his contract anyway.
    Against four spades, West leads the heart nine. What is East's best play? How does South survive?
    When North responds at the two-level, he promises to make a second bid. So, after East inconveniently makes a two-heart overcall , South can afford to pass. North's three-spade rebid shows game-forcing values with exactly three spades. (If using two-over-one game-force, North would rebid two spades.)
    If West had three hearts, he would have led his lowest. So East takes three heart tricks, West lastly discarding the diamond two to deny the diamond ace. Now East should realize that since his side cannot take any more side-suit tricks, he should lead another heart.
    It looks obvious to run this around to the dummy, overruffing West in the process. But if declarer does that, he can no longer pick up East's spade king. Instead, South must ruff in his hand. Then declarer plays a club to dummy's ace, runs the queen of spades, and repeats the spade finesse. Back to dummy with a diamond to the king, declarer takes a third spade finesse, draws East's last trump, and claims.
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