do you sincerely want to be rich?

Cathy Chua briefly discussed the hidden depths of the contract of 4♥ here, but I suspect there were some wrinkles that might allow you to increase your per diem (assuming you are lucky enough to get one) by some strategic wagers. Pick your mark – the dictionary defines a mark as a gullible victim, and did you know that the dictionary has no entry for ‘gullible’?

Board 5. Dealer North. N/S Vul.
	♠ A K 4 ♥ A K 10 8 7 2 ♦ 9 8 ♣ J 6
♠ 10 ♥ Q 6 3 ♦ K Q 10 7 6 4 3 ♣ Q 10		♠ Q 9 7 5 2 ♥ J 4 ♦ 5 2 ♣ K 7 5 4
	♠ J 8 6 3 ♥ 9 5 ♦ A J ♣ A 9 8 3 2

West	North	East	South
	1♥	Pass	1♠
3♦	3♥	Pass	4♥
All Pass

Say you play in the normal game here of 4♥ by North on a diamond lead. At the two tables in the match involving USA-Canada both declarers won and took the two top hearts, then played ace and king of spades (as Cathy pointed out, the correct approach at single-dummy). At one table West discarded, so declarer played a third spade and could not be defeated. In the other room West ruffed and cashed a diamond, then played the club queen. Now declarer had no way home. The line of play that North followed was certainly not unreasonable but it would appear to fail against best defence.

So let’s look at the double-dummy options: win the diamond and play three rounds of hearts. West wins and cashes a diamond, then must play a club; but which? If he leads the club queen, declarer takes the ace, crosses to a spade, then runs the trumps, catching East in a strip-squeeze, to force him to win the club and lead away from the spade queen at trick 12. If West shifts to the club ten, it is covered by North and East, and declarer ducks, then can run the clubs. Again, contract made.

Now let’s go back and see if the defenders can do any better. Instead of cashing the diamond, West exits immediately with the club queen; now the strip-squeeze does not work. After running the trumps declarer has reduced to the following ending:

	♠ A 4 ♥ 2 ♦ 9 ♣ J
♠ 10 ♥ ♦ K Q 10 ♣ 10		♠ Q 9 ♥ ♦ 2 ♣ K 7
	♠ J 8 ♥ ♦ J ♣ 9 8

When the last trump is led, East comes under no pressure; since the count has not been rectified there is no squeeze. Is there a response to this? Yes! The key to declarer’s strategy is that he must DUCK the first trick. West can do no better than continue with a diamond and the play transposes to the winning endings discussed above.

Is that the end of the story? No: there is a defence to four hearts. On a club lead to the queen and a top diamond shift, declarer has to win in dummy. When West gets in with the heart queen (or East with the heart jack) a top diamond then a club breaks up any tension in the ending and the defence must get a spade trick eventually.

So the contract can always be defeated, right? No! As Cathy pointed out, game is cold – just so long as you declare it from the South seat – South is ALWAYS supposed to be declarer, as we all know – since the initial club lead from West is ineffective. On the lead of the club queen (a top diamond lead, ducked, transposes the position) declarer wins, cashes the two top trumps and plays the club jack to establish the clubs for a diamond discard. And the club-ten lead is no more effective.