Winning the KH with your AH, how do you plan to make 5C putting yourself in west's seat.
As you can see, you have a winner in heart, 3 diamond winners and possibly 5 trumps keeping in mind north's double, which surely must be on his retaining J 10 8 4 of trumps. These add up to 9 tricks -2 short of the contract bid. How do you find the remaining tricks?
The diamond ruff can possibly give you a trick. So you start with the 2D to dummy's QD to come back to hand with the KD. What should be your next move?
If you are hoping for a 3-3 break in diamonds you better look elsewhere as it is against all odds.
Well, what else can you hope for? Trumps are also sacked 4-1 leaving you with little chance of conjuring 2 extra tricks. Can you foresee the play? Yes it is a simple and logical conclusion of ruffing out diamonds, based on the fact that south probably has a singleton trump and therefore, more likely to hold 4 diamonds. Planning to ruff out the diamonds to clear the suit is quite sound knowing well that is would hurt the declarer if north ruffs, for he is entitled to a trump trick any way. The plan appears sound as north held:
His double was based on the trump control and the innumerable high card tricks that he hoped to get. In Bridge the maxim: Haste makes waste, holds true in most cases. I hope as west you did not fall in the trap of playing the diamonds too hurriedly without giving a thought as to what could follow. Do you see the danger lurking around the corner? Suppose, after ruffing the diamond with the 10C north under leads his QH putting south in, he can score another diamonds ruff to sink your contract. So what's the counter move? Yes, now you get it. Its the old technique called the scissors coup - cutting enemy communication by playing the heart deuce first.
Lets now get on with our second illustration of finding the elusive tricks to make the contract of 4H bid by west east on the following hand:
The opening head here by north is the 8 H. As west, how do you plan to make 10 tricks?
On the face of it you have 4 trump tricks, 3 sides suit aces along with 2 kings to add to 9 out of 10 tricks required. From where is the elusive 10th trick to come?
The only clue to help west is the opening lead from north of the trump 8, which is a pointer to the fact that south probably has the KH and here too the diamond break is against all odds. What else is there to look for?
Yes, it is again a matter of counting tricks and finding its possible source. The solution here lies in the old technique of dummy reversible. Did you get it? This is how you should have played in case you failed to get the solution. With plentiful entries that east possess, west can make his contract of 4 heart by a simple. Dummy reversal play. Trick one he gets with AH; then the AK of clubs followed by a club ruff to give him 4 tricks. The KS with another club ruff followed by AS and a spade ruff gives him 8 tricks. The diamond ace is his 9th trick and with the final spade played, sitting ever south's KH, west makes his last trump en passant. Bridge is all about finding the right path!
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Holding:
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West East
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- 10 9 8 7 6 2
A 2 9 6 5
A K 8 3 2 Q 4
A K Q 7 6 5 9 3
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West East
8 4 A K 5 3
Q J 10 9 6 A 2
8 5 3 2 A 7 4
7 3 A K 5 4
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A Q J 3
K Q 3
J 10-
J 10 8 4
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