There are a couple of ways this auction might go. North might only
bid 2♠ over the 2♣ overcall by West. Personally I like an aggressive bid
here. North has a fourth spade and the void in clubs is worth an awful
lot. If North only bids 2♠ I would encourage East to raise partner's
overcall to 3♣. South or North might compete to 3♠ and once either one
has made another move it's probable they'll land in 4♠.
Now to count: 1 spade loser, no heart losers, 1 diamond loser (very
probable given the overcall by West), and four club losers. Three too
many.
West will do best to start with a passive heart lead. North goes up
with the ace and considers his next move. What has dummy given him that
is best? Shortness in clubs is golden and the six diamonds might also
come in handy for dumping some losers. After winning the
♥A lead a small diamond from dummy and finesse
the jack. When this loses to the king West will most likely lead another
heart. Trump in your hand and lead the ♠Q. (you need to save the king as
your transportation to the dummy). West can win the ♠A and lead another
heart, his last. Trump this in hand and lead the ♠J. When both defenders
follow all you need to do is play the ♦AQ
establishing those small diamonds. Now play a small club and trump it in
dummy and lead those three little diamonds to throw away all your club
losers.
In the end all you need to lose is the ♠A and ♦K.
Making 5! |