This week’s deals have treated finesses: which one to choose when you have a choice or whether to finesse at all. Cover the East-West cards. Plan the play at four hearts when West leads the K-A of diamonds. (Note the bidding; try to place the missing honors.)

Say you draw trumps with the K-A and lead a spade to dummy’s king. East takes the ace and returns the jack to dummy’s queen. If you let the jack of clubs ride next, West wins and leads a third spade to East’s ten. Down one.

East-West bid and raised diamonds with 17 high-card points: West needed 11 to open; East had one good high card for his raise.

The danger is that East has the ace of spades and West the king of clubs. After you draw trumps, lead a low club toward dummy. West must take his king or lose it, and later you can pitch two spades from dummy on your A-Q.

If East had the king of clubs, you would still be safe. West would hold the ace of spades, so you would lose one trick in each side suit.

Daily question: You hold: ? K Q 5 3 ? K Q 10 6 2 ? Q 5 ? J 3. You open one heart, your partner responds one spade, you raise to two spades and he tries 2NT. What do you say?

Answer: Your opening bid wasn’t the most robust, with no aces, but you did have length in both majors. Partner’s 2NT is a try for game: He has about 11 points with balanced pattern. You can’t consider accepting a try, but with four-card spade support, to sign off at three spades is correct.

West dealer

Neither side vulnerable

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