November / December 2021 | Page 5

with dummy ’ s remaining trump . We lose two hearts , one diamond , and two clubs , but that ’ s all .

Let ’ s up the stakes . On this next deal , we get to 4♠ after the following auction .

West leads the ♦K , and dummy comes down . What ’ s our plan ?

♠ 9 6 3

♥ K 6 3 4♠

♦ A 10 6

♣ 10 7 5 3

♠ Q J 2 n ♠ 10 5 ♥ Q 10 8 7 w e ♥ J 9 ♦ K Q 9 s ♦ J 7 4 3 2

♣ J 8 2

♣ Q 9 6 4

♠ A K 8 7 4

♥ A 5 4 2

♦ 8 5

♣ A K Assuming the five missing spades divide 3-2 , we have one spade loser . We also have two potential heart losers and one diamond loser . That ' s one too many . One possibility is to hope the six missing hearts divide 3-3 , so our fourth heart will become a winner through length . However , that ’ s against the odds . If the hearts divide 4-2 , as might be expected , we have the possibility of ruffing a fourth round of hearts in dummy . To give ourselves that additional chance , we need to plan the play carefully .

Suppose we win the ♦A and immediately play the ♥K , ♥A , and give up a heart . East shows out on the third round and West wins . West can now lead a fourth round of hearts and East can overruff dummy with the ♠10 . Since West still has a spade winner , down we go .

What if we first play the ♠A-K , drawing two rounds of trumps and leaving only one high trump outstanding ? Unfortunately , when we play the ♥A-K and give up a heart , West wins and draws a third round of trumps , removing dummy ’ s last trump . Down one again .

How can we arrange the order of play to both give up a heart trick and maintain control of the trump suit ? After winning the ♦A , we can afford to draw one round of trumps but must then stop . Next , instead of playing the ♥A-K and giving up a heart , we immediately play a low heart from both hands ! We take our losses early . The only danger is if the hearts divide 5-1 and a defender gets a heart ruff with a doubleton trump .

On the actual deal , the defenders win and take their diamond winner , but we are in control . If they lead another diamond , we ruff and now play our second high trump , leaving only one high trump outstanding . Now we take the ♥A-K . If the hearts divide 3-3 , no more problems . If one of our winners is ruffed , it ’ s with the trump trick we had to lose anyway and we still have a trump left in dummy to ruff the fourth heart . On the actual deal , West has to follow to both high hearts and we ruff the fourth heart in dummy . West eventually gets a trick with the ♠Q , but that ’ s all . We lose only one spade , one heart , and one diamond .

Let ’ s try one more deal . We reach 4♠ after the following auction :

losers . We also have two heart losers and one diamond loser . Two more losers than we can afford . Our best plan is to ruff the two heart losers in dummy , but how do we arrange the play to accomplish this ?

If we win the ♥A , play a heart to the ♥K , and ruff a third round of hearts , East overruffs . Now we ’ ll still have trump losers and one diamond loser . Down one .

To prevent a defender with two spades getting a ruff , what if we play the ♠A and a second round of trumps . There will still be two trumps remaining in dummy to ruff the heart losers … but only for a moment . West can draw a third round of trumps , and once again , we are a trick short .

How can we maintain control of the trump suit and still get to ruff our two heart losers in dummy ? We win the first trick with the ♥A and play a low trump from both hands ! We are now in command . If the opponents lead a second round of trumps , we win the ♠A and still have two trumps in dummy . If the opponents lead something else , we win , draw a second round of trumps with the ♠A , and go about ruffing our two heart losers in dummy . The opponents will eventually get their remaining high trump to go with their diamond winner , but that ’ s all . We lose only two trump tricks and one diamond .

In conclusion , there are many deals in which we need to ruff losers in dummy to make our contract . When we ’ ve decided this is the technique we ’ re planning to use , we must still Consider the Order . We need to determine whether we can afford to draw all of the defenders ’ trumps , some of the defenders ’ trumps , or none of the defenders ’ trumps . If we have to give up one or more tricks in the side suit we are planning to ruff , we have to decide whether to take our losses early or later . Sometimes , the order will be straightforward . At other times , we ’ ll need to plan carefully to prevent the opponents from spoiling our plan .

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