Bridge is a game of decision making. It is a game of control and technique. But you need to have motivation and hope for the plan you make in the making of the contract to succeed. Of course the cards fall randomly in their slots and all you can really hope for that they lie favourably for you.
The percentage breaks, the odd-even ratios, the combined chances, the restricted choice and the squeeze variation are all techniques derived from the study of the division of cards over a period of time with conclusions drawn in terms of every 100 deals as a guideline for making more correct percentage wise decisions in the play and making of the contract.
Every decision making however requires certain ingredients the factual information gathered as far as possible up to date and the ability to count and visualise the distribution on the favourable assumptions of the cards breaking in favour of the making of the contract. The other ingredient of course is the multiplicity of choice - the options available to choose the best winning line.
Those who cater to better and successful choices more consistently than the others are regarded as better players. Nevertheless the mental faculty is available to all and the one who can use it to the best advantage with the right inferences from the data available is the one who comes out shining at the apex.
Bridge problem hands are quite varied and can be resolved with some deep thought based on logical inference and reasonable assumption of the lie of the cards.
Today's hand is an interesting one. North south hold the following hand:
The opening lead is the queen of hearts. As south how do you plan to succeed in making 3NT? As first things first, you count your winners: 3 in spades, 2 in hearts and 3 in diamonds giving you a tally of 8 tricks. From where do you propose to extract the 9th trick to enable you to succeed in the making of the 3NT contract. The opening lead for you has been a devastating one robbing you of the initiative to search for a trick in the 5-3 club fit that you and the dummy have betwixt themselves.
For with one top heart honour removed at trick I and the diamond ace your first priority to concede, the return of a heart and removal of the last heart honour will open up the defenders' hearts to run with one of the defenders bound to take 3 heart tricks minimum, which added to the 2 minor aces will give the opponents 5 tricks to defeat your 3NT contract.
The situation looks precarious and quite hopeless. But bridge is a game of hope and optimism. It is a game where declarer's faith in himself and in his ability to turn the tide in his favour can change the course of things and bring the success that presently looks so elusive and hard to achieve.
Your boat maybe rocking in the rough sea but as declarer you need to clutch every straw. As always when nothing seems to be in favour, you need to assume some sort of a miraculous distribution which may give you the breather to hope for the best. As you pause to think, the only fear you have about the unknown number of hearts the defenders can take, is the one which can be your salvaging point too. For if there is even a remote possibility of a certain distribution and the lie of the cards that can break in your favour you need to find it and assume that distribution. How?
The point to ponder is that the defenders have linkages, the fluidity to reach each other when they knock out your hearts after taking the diamond ace, so your only hope lies in breaking that linkage, that fluidity of reaching out to each other. Of course the defenders have enough hearts to reach each other after knocking your heart honours. But wait a minute? What about the clubs? Suppose the defender with the diamond ace has a very vulnerable club situation that could just turn in your favour. But what? Yes, if east holding ace of diamonds has just a singleton QC. Do you see now how things can work out in your favour on the following possible distribution of west east hands:
Now when at trick 2 you lead the KC, the defence collapses. Taking AC, if he tries to knock out your second heart honour you have enough club winners to make 3NT and don't need the diamonds. If west ducks, you have your 9th trick and revert to the knocking out of AD. West may also be hit psychologically thinking you have KQ of clubs for the mandatory duck as actually happened in a European Championship. The mis-defender was no less than the World's Top Expert Terrence Reese. It was one of his rare mistake of judgement. But so what if he made a mistake. We all do.

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North     South
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   64      AKQ2
   73        AK
 8532     KQJ10
J9743       K52
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The bidding:
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South    West     North      East
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 2         P        2D          P
2S         P        3C          P
3NT                      ALL PASS
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   West       East
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97          J10853
QJ1084        9652
    96         A74
A1086            Q
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