Test Your Play

You have finesse possibilities in three suits, and you are playing IMPs. Even if the diamond finesse loses, you still have a chance if either the heart or club finesse works. But a great IMP player like you has to assume all three finesses will lose and see if you can still come up with a 100% line of play, assuming West is the defender with five spades (as indicated by the carding). It can be done, and this is how.

Lead the ♥J at trick three! This is the key play. Say West wins and shifts to a high club, best defense. Go up with the ♣A, return to your ♥A and run the ♦Q. Say it loses. Not much the defense can do at that point. If a spade is returned, you have nine tricks: four diamonds, two spades, two hearts and the ♣A. Even if West has the ♣K and a club is returned, you still have nine tricks. Notice that if you had taken the diamond finesse before leading the ♥J, down you go. East wins and clears spades, and now West has the ♥K as an entry to run spades.

Win the ♥K and lead a low club to the king. If the king holds, run the ♦Q, assuring nine tricks.

If the ♣K loses and a heart comes back, win the third heart – presumably exhausting East – and run the ♦Q. Unless East is the one with five hearts, your contract is secure.

The idea is to develop one club trick before attacking diamonds. If you attack diamonds first and the finesse loses, the opponents will clear hearts. Then you’ll either have to play East for the ♣A or take a spade finesse into East while you still have a diamond entry in dummy.