Opening lead: king of clubs.

When there are two playable trump suits, it is certainly normal to select the one with the greater number of cards in it. To outnumber the opponents in trump by the largest possible margin is surely a reasonable aim, but there are occasions when it is better not to do so.

Today’s deal from a national pair championship provides an example. A slam was reached at more than half the tables, but whether it was made depended on whether the contract was six hearts or six diamonds.

Those pairs who got to six hearts had no chance. They had to a lose a spade and a club and go down one. The temptation to play in six hearts (worth 1,430 points) rather than six diamonds (worth 1,370 points) proved irresistible to these pairs, and they paid a heavy penalty for their greed. But those who opted for six diamonds — on the sequence shown or one similar to it — were well-rewarded.

Making six diamonds was no problem. With 11 tricks to start, all declarer had to do was to ruff a club in dummy to produce a 12th trick.

This extra trick was not available to the pairs who played the hand in hearts. The trump suit with nine cards in the combined hands thus did not prove as propitious as the trump suit with only eight cards.

There is nothing extraordinary about this, as it is axiomatic that hands with a 4-4 trump fit are generally more productive than those that offer a choice of an alternative 6-3, 5-3 or 5-4 trump fit. One frequently gains a trick by playing in the 4-4 fit.

Tomorrow >> Famous Hand.

— Steve Becker King Features