For a declarer to be good at Bridge, it is necessary that he should think logically and have the foresight to explore all possible avenues in an effort to make his contract which may look easy at first but gets more threatening with the distribution unfolding rather unfavorably.
Today let us put you to a dummy play test to judge where do you stand in these 4 problems. Solving any 2 will give you a passing margin, solving 3 would be very good and all 4 would definitely make you qualify for the expertise level. Of course anything below 2 is a failure prompting you to brush up your concentration, inferential conclusions and logical thinking. We shall deal with each, every week. So, are you ready for the first.If so, here goes the hand, wherein NS reach a contract of 6S on the following bidding with NS hands as under:-
The bidding opened with east 3H preemptive on which south came in 4S, raised by north to 6S. The opening lead is the deuce of hearts. Plan your play on what looks like a relatively easy hand to play with one of the club losers exiting on the KH. But is that all, drawing trumps, throwing club from dummy on the second heart and just giving up a club for 12 tricks 5 trumps in hand, 2 hearts, 1 club, 1 diamond, one club ruff in dummy along with 2 heart ruffs to make 12 tricks. Alternately, playing revise dummy you can ruff 3 diamonds in hand which along with one diamond ace, one club aceand the AK of heart would yield12 tricks again.
But there is more to it than meets the eyes. Suppose you take the obvious 2H lead (singleton) with west,by the AH and play the AS. Oh no! East shows void,which would means that if you knock 3 trumps there would not be enough trumps either in dummy to ruff a club as well as 2 hearts or the vice versa to ruff all 3 diamonds in hand playing reverse dummy, oddly enough, neither plan works when trumps break 3-0 and the hearts 7-1.
Well have you found your solution? Is it based on placing east with the KC, and so doing away with the requirement of a club ruff. Let me give you an inferential clue. Test the diamonds first AD diamond ruff, spade 7to 8S in dummy, diamond ruff : now a heart ruff and the third diamond ruffed does it help you now if east drops the KD on the third diamond ruffed his preemptive call of 3H places the likelihood of KC to be with west. The position as it stands after 8 tricks taken is as under.
If you think ruffing a heart in dummy and drawing trumps would end play east when you run the club from dummy to your 8 in hand, taken by 9 in west hand who end played would be forced to yield the remaining 2 tricks in clubs to your queen and ace of clubs.
But wait a minute. There is a twist in the tale. When you play a club from dummy,eastopils your fun to stage an end play by putting in the 10C. You need to do better than that but what? Just lead the KH. If west ruffs as he should, otherwise the play would be over with dummy discarding a club loser, to yield only one club trick to west. If west ruffs KH, refrain from over ruffing. Just discard a club leaving west end played again.
We shall continue this 4 problem test next week while leaving wondering how west'slowest trump could be his only trick.

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     North          South
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10 9 8 6 5      A K Q J 7
         4        A K 7 5
   A 7 6 4             10
     A 6 3          Q 8 2
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North      West       East   South
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9 8      A 6 3      Q J 10       -
4          -           -       K 7
-          -         10 4        -
-       K J 97         -     Q 8 2
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