So far East had discarded one diamond & followed suit on both hearts and spades and it seemed likely their shape was either 3451, 4441 or 4351 (which I discounted since West had shown up with 5 spades and if West also had 4 hearts they might have led their singleton diamond at trick 1 hoping for a ruff). If East had started with 3451 then I could ruff my last heart cash a club and play a low diamond to South’s Jack. However, if the shape was 4441, then the line to success required me to exit a diamond towards dummy’s 10 (the J♦ will also work), playing East for KQx, and winning the return, drawing the last trump & setting up a
finessing position after re-gaining the lead in dummy. I decided the shape must be 4441 since if East had started with only 3 spades, West would have started with 6 spades to the KQ10 and would most likely have taken action over the 1♣ opening.
To take advantage of these opportunities where you have boldly pushed on to game or even a challenging
part-score, declarer must have clear thinking and good focus. Dwelling on the optimistic view taken by partner when dummy appears does little to help bring the contract home. Instead focus your thoughts on how to make the contract, what line you plan to take and the continuations. Being able to maintain focus and use all your powers of deduction and reasoning to make game on a difficult hand is a big boost to your confidence and will assist with taking a decisive approach for the remainder of the match and beyond.
© First Published Australian Bridge: June 2021