Assume you reach three notrump on the bidding shown and West leads a heart. How can you give yourself the best chance for the contract?

This is by no means an easy question. However, thanks to West’s opening bid, you do know quite a lot about how the missing cards are divided.

First, West is likely to have all the missing high cards except possibly a jack or two, since only 13 high-card points are unaccounted for. Second, West almost certainly has five or more hearts and presumably does not have the K-J-10, from which he would have led the jack.

You can put this knowledge to work in an unusual fashion. The first step is to go up with the ace of hearts, even though you know you can win the trick more cheaply with the queen in your hand. Next you force out one of West’s aces -- let’s say by playing a diamond to the king.

West takes the ace and makes the best return of a low heart to East’s ten, which you allow to win the trick! There is, of course, a method to this madness -- as soon becomes evident.

Assume East returns a diamond (his play doesn’t really matter). You win and drive out the ace of clubs. The best West can do now is to cash his king of hearts to hold you to nine tricks.

Observe that the contract fails if you don’t play the ace of hearts at trick one. In that case, West would score three hearts and two aces before you could collect nine tricks. You would also go down if you won East’s ten of hearts with the queen at trick three.

Both plays are contrary to the norm but can be justified because West’s hand is virtually an open book. You don’t actually have to see West’s cards to know what they are.

Tomorrow >> Famous Hand.

— Steve Becker