Let us seek to learn by examples north south reach a rather ambitious 6H on the following cards.
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North
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7 5 4
K 3
A K Q 2
K 10 6 5
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South
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K 10
A Q J 10 7 4
8 6 5
A 2
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The opening lead is the innocuous 10D. How do you plan your little slam contract? A look at the dummy reveals that you have 11 top tricks - 6 trumps, the 3 top diamonds and the AK of clubs. All you need to succeed is to fish for the 12th trick 2 possibilities immediate surface. One is if diamond break even 3-3 to offer you the vital spade discard saving you from the stress of placing the AS right to get your KS for the 12th trick. That of course is the second alternate in case diamonds do not break 3-3 as per odds, which call for a 4-2 break when 6 outstanding cards are there.
But does your vision end here or is there more to it than meets the eye? You see Bridge is all about taking every possible chance to success. What else is left here is for you to decide and ensure that you have covered all possible routes that could lead you to victory. Well, let us open the doors for you to a third possibility that you may have over looked.
That is of course the club holding, which can give you a lucky break if the opponents' clubs are divided either 4-2 with the QJX on one side or even 5-2 with the QJ doubleton. A remote possibility is even a singleton QC or JC being with east which opens up a favorable position to take the 2nd round finesse in clubs with the K10 in dummy. In Bridge the timing of the play is important too for with it you can combine your chances to attain the maximum benefit. Lets proceed with the play and see how we can combine our chances to make the little slam. After winning the opening lead with the KD, first things come first. Draw trumps in 3 rounds with west blanking out on the third. Now cash the AK of clubs to find the JC dropping from east on the second round of clubs. You are almost home now even without bothering about the diamond break or KS being favorably placed. On the third club from dummy - look at the QC falls and you have your 12th trick in the 10C which is a winner. Had it not become a winner, you would next have tested the diamond break and even if that had failed to break even you would have gone for the do or die on finesse of the KS.
Let us get on to our next illustration, which is a little more subtle to handle 6S again with the following NS cards.
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North
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A 3 2
8 6 5 4
10 9 7
A K 7
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South
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K Q J 10 9 7 4
A K 2
K 8
6
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The opening lead is QH 11 top trick are there again and you can visualize a sure loser in diamond the AD is favorably placed for you. Of course your heart loser is being shed on the top clubs in dummy. So is that all to it. The KD right or wrong gives you either success or failure or is there another possibility that you may have overlooked. Yes, there is a possibility of heart breaking 3-3 to cover up the diamond losers. It may look a little fuzzy at first. But with proper timing you can improve your chances. The correct line of play will be to win the 1st heart trick to combine your chance with the KD being favorably placed. Then cash 2 high trumps in hand leaving the ace in dummy for an entry in case you need the established winning heart or diamond finesse. Cash the other high heart, lead a club to dummy discard a losing heart on the top clubs. Now lead a heart, to ruff in your hand and lo! - the hearts break 3-3. Entering dummy with the carefully kept AS, you discard on the winning 4th heart to sail home. In case hearts did not break even, you could always hand on the KD finesse being ON as your last chance. Bridge is all about taking chances provided you have the ability to look elsewhere too!