 8 6
 K 5
 Q J 8 7 6
 K J 5 4 |
|
| Q 10 9 7 4 3 2
Q
A 3
7 6 2 |
| West | North | East | South |
| 1 |
|||
| 3 |
Dbl1 | 4 |
5 |
| Pass | Pass | Pass |
Q
You lead the Q and declarer wins in dummy, partner playing the 2 and declarer the3. At trick two a diamond is led to the king, partner following with the two.
Plan your defense
Bidding commentary: After an opening bid followed by a three-level preempt, “double” by responder is for takeout, not penalty. When partner preempts (or overcall), tend to raise to the level of number of combined trump you hold. Here, East figures 10 spades between the two hands and bids 4. If you don’t believe in this, just watch how often is works.
Play commentary:
A player who leads an obvious singleton often has trump control. A short suit lead when holding the trump ace, is particularly attractive.Defensive commentary
Upon winning theA you have to decide whick black ace partner has. (You probably need a heart ruff to defeat the contract). In any case, if partner recognizes your lead as a singleton, he should tell you by the size of the card he plays where his outside strength lies. In this case the 2 indicates club strength. Therefore, you play is to win the A and shift to a high club. Partner wins and gives you a heart ruff.
The full deal:
| 8 6
K 5
Q J 8 7 6
K J 5 4 |
||
| Q 10 9 7 4 3 2
Q
A 3
7 6 2 |
K J 5
10 9 8 7 2
4 2
A 8 3 |
|
| A
A J 6 4 3
K 10 9 5
Q 10 9 |
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