There are times when one must violate a basic rule because the situation calls for it. For example, consider this deal where South was in four spades and the defense started with three rounds of hearts, declarer ruffing the third.

South began by cashing the K-Q of trump and A-K-Q of diamonds before leading the 10 of trump to dummy’s ace and returning a club.

After East followed low, South inserted the nine, losing to the queen. It didn’t matter whether West returned a club into declarer’s A-J or yielded a ruff-and-discard by leading a heart. Either way, South had the rest of the tricks and so made the contract.

However, South would have failed had East risen to the occasion by playing his king on the club lead from dummy at trick ten. This would have violated the general defensive principle of playing second-hand-low, but it would also have made South’s position untenable. Whatever he did next, declarer would have had to lose two club tricks.

In retrospect, it is easy to see that East should have gone up with the king. He knew from the play to this point that declarer had started with precisely five spades, two hearts and three diamonds, and therefore had to have exactly three clubs.

If South had the A-Q-x, the king play would make no difference, since the club finesse was due to succeed. But if South had his actual holding, playing the king was absolutely necessary to defeat the contract.

Tomorrow >> Famous Hand.

— Steve Becker