Punters Must Play the Cards Well

Dealer: North
Vuln: E-W
Scoring: Butler IMPs

  1. spadeK Q 10 5 4 2
  2. heart7
  3. diamondK J
  4. clubA 10 8 2
  1. spadeA J 8 7 6
  2. heart8 4
  3. diamond3
  4. clubK 7 5 4 3
club diamond heart spade NT
N 3 - 5 2 -
S 3 - 5 2 -
E - 4 - - -
W - 4 - - -
Green square in centre
  1. spade9
  2. heartJ 9
  3. diamondA Q 10 8 7 6 5 4 2
  4. club9

Contract: 6heart
Declarer: South
Lead: diamond3

  1. spade3
  2. heartA K Q 10 6 5 3 2
  3. diamond9
  4. clubQ J 6
Double dummy analyser: makeable contracts
West North East South
1spade 4diamond 6heart
Pass Pass Pass
You can guess what happened - South pitched spade3 at trick two at just over the speed of light. West knew what to do.

South should realise that for the play to add up so far then West must have started with diamondQxx and East with ace, ten to seven diamonds. That would be a suicidal pre-empt at red vulnerability and South should assume that East has defended deceptively. If West has heartJxx then the contract is doomed, so South should ruff with heart10 at trick two, playing East for heartJx(x). The club finesse has to be (and should be) right, so after drawing trumps South can rely on the clubs for four tricks.
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