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Article 7K32 by Richard Pavlicek
This deal is from an online IMP game. After South’s 1 
opening, North was obliged to bid 1 NT since he lacked the values for a two-over-one response. South had a borderline jump shift but chose to bid only 2 
because of the anemic texture in his suits. North raised to game with his excellent playing potential.
4 South
E-W Vul | 9 3 Q J 10 4 A 10 9 6 5 3 2 — | |
| J 8 6 5 9 Q J 7 4 A 10 4 3 |  | Q 10 A 8 7 6 8 J 9 8 7 5 2 |
| Lead: Q | A K 7 4 2 K 5 3 2 K K Q 6 |
| West Pass Pass | North 1 NT 4 | East Pass Pass All Pass | South 1 2 |
West had no knowledge of dummy’s long diamonds and chose to lead the Q. Declarer won the king and led the 2 to dummy’s queen as East ducked, then the 4 back to the king, learning the bad news. The K was led, covered and ruffed, then declarer tried to cash the A. Oops. East ruffed with the 8 (South could not overruff) and cashed the A leaving declarer in a hopeless predicament — down two.
Declarer violated an important principle: If there is no clear-cut path to making your contract, you should work on your side suit before drawing trumps. After the Q won, declarer should next lead the A; East ruffs and South overruffs; then a heart is led to the jack and ace. East’s best return is a club to the king and ace, but declarer does not ruff in dummy. No matter what West returns, the diamonds can be set up, losing one more trick. Lay out a deck of cards and try it — it’s a good exercise in suit establishment.
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© 1998 Richard Pavlicek