Occluded long suit holds key to removal of fatal loser

Investing

To paraphrase Eric Morecambe: some hands require you merely to play the right tricks; others demand the right tricks in the right order . . .

Bidding
Dealer: South Game All
North East South West
1S NB
3S NB 4S

Most pairs found their way into game; those who stopped in 3S were happier. Almost no one made 10 tricks. West led Q♦, and declarer could see one loser in each suit. How should he plan to discard one of them? 

Usually, one looks for a long suit in dummy on which to throw losers from hand but, here, with five trumps each, it doesn’t matter whether the discard is made from hand or from dummy. The only long suit worth attacking is clubs. Holding ♣AJ109, there is a good chance of making one extra trick.

Declarer does not have time to draw trumps now. If he does, East wins, returns a diamond and the loser there is exposed. Instead, South should win trick 1 with A♦ in dummy and lead J♣. When East plays low, it should be run, losing to West’s Q♣. West continues with J♦, won in hand with K♦. Declarer must now cross back to dummy with A♥ and lead 3♣. When East plays low this time, declarer must finesse with 9♣. This holds the trick, and South can use A♣ to discard the final diamond from the table. Trumps can now be drawn, and the diamond loser ruffed later.

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