| West | North | East | South |
| 2NT | |||
| Pass | 3♥ | Pass | 3♠ |
| Pass | 4♠ | All Pass |
Would you take 10 tricks in a spade contract on the following deal after West leads the ♥K? Carefully consider your plan before checking the full deal.
At the table South won the ♥A at trick one. Declarer saw that he had nine tricks, and if he could eliminate clubs without letting East in, he could engineer an endplay against West. There was also the chance that East held the ♦A.
South went to dummy with the ♠Q and played the ♣9. His plan was to let it ride to West, win the return, ruff a heart in dummy, return to hand with a trump and play the ♣A and ♥J, discarding a diamond from dummy. West would then have to break diamonds for declarer or give a ruff-sluff, allowing declarer to get out with only one diamond loser.
Unfortunately for South, East played the ♣10 on the 9, forcing the ace, and when declarer pulled the other outstanding trump and led his other club from hand, West ducked to East’s queen, and the ♦Q was next. Declarer lost a club and three diamonds for down one. Take a look at the full deal and see if you can spot the winning play.
