bridge

It is an excellent idea to try visualising declarer's hand when you are defending. The trouble arises when you visualise the wrong hand. Mind you, South deserves credit for spotting an opportunity to make his "impossible" contract.

South opened 14. North responded 22 and to say that they both did a little too much bidding would be an understatement, for the final contract was 64.

West led !5 and it was immediately clear to declarer that there seemed to be inescapable losers in both of the black suits. Or was there an outside chance? He won the heart lead with his king and at trick two led a low club from hand.

Now West started to think. Perhaps South held something like 4A,K,Q,x,x,x,x !K,x,x #K,x 2x. Now going in with 2A would allow declarer to take a ruffing finesse in clubs to dispose of his heart loser. So West played low on the club lead and this proved fatal.

Dummy's queen won and, after drawing two rounds of trumps, South followed with the ace and jack of hearts to discard his 2K. After that West, who was feeling distinctly uneasy by now, was put in with his 4J. With no safe exit, he did his best by getting off lead with #J but, having come this far successfully, South was not going to get the ending wrong. After winning in hand, he played off his remaining trumps and West, discarding before dummy, had to give up.

Should West have asked himself why, if the South hand was as he imagined, declarer had not drawn trumps before playing clubs? It was the point that a peeved East made afterwards, but not, I feel, a strong one.