A play that is very tough to make

Thomas Fuller, an English scholar and preacher who died in 1661, said, "All things are difficult before they are easy."

The key play in today's deal is very difficult to find, and even after seeing it once, many players would miss it the next time it flew by, a decade or three later!

South is in five hearts. What should he do after West leads the spade king?

The auction went badly for North. He had hoped to be able to respond two diamonds and to rebid four hearts to describe his hand. But East made a Law of Total Tricks raise to four spades - in a competitive auction, bid to the 10-trick level with a 10-card fit. North considered doubling that, but eventually plowed on to five hearts. (Note that four spades can be made.)

Suppose South wins the first trick with dummy's spade ace, draws trumps ending in his hand, and runs his diamond queen. What happens next?

Here, East takes the trick and, if in midseason form, shifts to the club 10. Then the defenders take one diamond and two clubs to defeat the contract.

Declarer must establish dummy's diamond suit without letting East on lead for that nasty club switch. South must let West take the first trick.

Suppose West leads another spade. Declarer discards a diamond from his hand, plays a heart to his ace, leads the diamond queen to dummy's ace, ruffs a diamond high, plays a heart to dummy's jack, ruffs another diamond, leads a heart to the king, and cashes dummy's three diamond winners.