Hints and tips:
...Strangely, declarer’s initial play of J♦, then K♦, may have sown seeds of doubt in East’s mind....
...Winning A♦, he leads J♠ and runs it. West takes K♠ and exits with 3♦. Declarer cannot now lose a club trick. To succeed, East must hold K♣, but South must be alert to 10♣....
...Either way, South’s J♣ scores his 12th trick....
...When this loses, East can cash K♠ and lead Q♦, but declarer has time to win A♦, cash J♣, cross to dummy with J♥, and then play A♣ on which he can discard a diamond loser....
...East overtakes the lead with A♠ and returns J♠. When this holds the trick, he switches to 10♣. Declarer rises with A♣ and reflects on the play to date....
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...in hand; J♦ followed....
...However, when West continues with K♥ and J♥, you ruff high in dummy and East shows out. How does that change your plans? West is now marked with six hearts headed by ace-king-jack....
...Here, declarer led a low trump from dummy and took his A♠, before next playing to K♠....
...He rose with A♦, laid down K♣ — pinning South’s J♣ — and then continued with 7♣, allowing East to score both his 10♣ and A♣, which set the contract....
...West led J♥; declarer assessed four losers. However, dummy’s K♦ can provide a discard for a club loser, with 10♠ as an entry to the table....
...BiddingDealer: NorthLove All West led J♣ instantly; South indentified five losers: two diamonds, two low hearts and A♠....
...Now, declarer’s carefully preserved 3♠ comes to the fore: overtaken in dummy with 4♠, and J♦ cashed, on which South can pitch a low heart. Still in dummy, a heart can be led towards K♥....
...South put in J♠ and, when West won with A♠, declarer had successfully negotiated all the obstacles. Paul Mendelson’s new book, ‘The Joy of Bridge’, is out now...
...Let’s say that East rises with 10♦, J♦ is played and West wins with K♦. If he leads another diamond, it runs to declarer’s ♦A9; if he opts instead for a spade, this runs to South ♠KJ....
...When West passes, North’s forced 2D response promises nothing, but South must hope that North holds something to make game a good shot: a couple of low spades, plus K♥ or J♣ make it pretty much lay-down....
...Lead J♣ from hand, West covers — if he does not, declarer runs the jack — and declarer wins with dummy’s K♣....
...BiddingDealer: EastN/S Game West led J♥, and declarer assessed one likely loser in each suit. However, if trumps split 2-2, or West holds K♣, all will be well....
...You draw trumps: East holds both A♥ and K♥. He returns a club each time he wins....
...Declarer won K♣ in dummy, played to A♣, and ruffed a low club in dummy. Danger seemingly averted, most now played a trump, West winning....
...He crossed to dummy’s A♦, and led a low spade towards his K♠, losing to West’s A♠. West switched to 10♦, taken with dummy’s K♦. Q♠ and a spade ruff in hand followed, eliminating the suit....
...East continues with J♣; South plays K♣ perforce, West will ruff and switch to a spade. However, now, the spade finesse can be avoided since dummy’s long club suit is almost established....
...At trick 2, South leads J♣, not covered by West, runs it, and is relieved when it holds....
...Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed biopic about American nuclear physicist J Robert Oppenheimer received 13 nominations in total, including nods for the blue-ribbon Best Picture, Best Director for Nolan and Best...
...If West could cover 10♥ with J♥, declarer would play Q♥, losing to K♥. Back would come a low heart and South could play 7♥....
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