Another Three-way Example

Another deal with three potential strains. Game can be made in notrump, hearts, or clubs from one side or the other.

If North is declarer in 3 NT, East can set it with a spade lead.

Declarer cannot play the ♠ K, because he will eventually have to take the club finesses, and will then lose four spades and a club. So declarer must duck, West winning the ♠ J.

Having grabbed a spade trick, West can shift to a diamond, and East/West eventually get two spades, two diamonds, and a club.

Declared by South, though, 3 NT makes. There is no way to put West in to lead diamonds.

If South declares 4 ♥, he will have trouble after a diamond lead. We know, for instance, that if South draws trumps, he can come up with at most nine tricks, since it reverts to the notrump situation discussed above - East gets two diamonds, a spade, and a club.

So South has to score an extra trump trick. Ruffing clubs in hand is fruitless - he would be ruffing winners. So South wins the first diamond, leads a heart to the ten and leads a spade. East flies the ace and continues with two diamonds, forcing the ruff to occur in the diamond suit. The situation is: Stuck in dummy, South cannot get back to his hand to finish off the trumps.

The diamond lead kills the entry to the South hand.

If North is declaring 4 ♥, however, East cannot take more than three tricks. If he leads the diamond king to kill the entry to trumps, he has just given up a trick, and declarer can simply allow West to win a trump. All other leads sacrifice either tricks or tempo.

The 5 ♣ contracts are the easiest to follow.

With West on lead against a club game, a diamond lead immediately sets up a third defensive trick.

Any lead from East gives North time to set up a spade to pitch his diamond loser.