Puzzle 7F30 (Nov 95) by Richard Pavlicek
Puzzle 7F30 (Nov 95) by Richard Pavlicek
, but he was stampeded into a brash 5 
bid. This appears destined to fail despite the favorable club lie.
The only hope to make 5 seems to be to catch East in an endplay. His diamond holding certainly looks ripe for it, but it’s a lot easier said than done. Are you up to the task?
5 by South
 | Q 3 2 K 2 A Q 9 8 A Q 10 2 | |
| A K 6 5 4 Q 8 6 10 2 K J 4 | ![[W - E]](t.gif) | J 10 9 8 7 10 9 K J 6 4 8 6 |
| — A J 7 5 4 3 7 5 3 9 7 5 3 |
| West 1 All Pass | North 1 NT | East 4 | South 5 |
West leads the K. Make 5 .
Solution it is necessary to catch East in two endplays (you noticed my plural title, didn’t you?), the first time to break the club suit. A club lead by East may seem useless (declarer can win four clubs on his own), but it is needed to allow declarer to win the fourth round of clubs in dummy which is crucial for the subsequent diamond endplay.
Ruff the opening lead and play the heart jack, queen, king; then duck the next heart forcing East to win. He cannot lead a spade (you would just discard a diamond) so assume he leads the 6, seven, king, ace. Ruff a spade, then draw West’s last trump throwing a diamond to reach the ending shown in the diagram:
| Q — A Q 9 Q 10 2 | |
| A 6 5 — 10 2 J 4 | | J 10 9 — K J 6 8 |
| — 7 7 5 3 9 5 3 |
Lead the 9 to pin East’s eight. Assume West covers with the jack and you win the queen. Now lead the 2 to your precious five, then your last club to dummy’s 10. On this trick East will be squeezed: If he keeps two spades and two diamonds, you can establish the diamonds while you have a trump left. If he keeps one spade and three diamonds, you will ruff the spade and then endplay him by finessing the next diamond lead.
Note that it would make no difference if East led the 8 earlier (South plays the nine) or if West failed to cover. Declarer can always win the last club in dummy after East breaks the suit.
Copyright © 1995 Richard Pavlicek. All rights reserved.