#10 East West Vulnerable
South   West   North   East
   1♣          1♠         3♣        4♠
   5♣         AP
 
                                                North
                                                ♠ 10 8
                                                ♥ Q 5 4
                                                ♦ 7 5 3
                                                ♣ K 10 8 5 4
                               West                                     East
                                ♠ 6                                         ♠ A
                                ♥                                            ♥ 
                                ♦                                            ♦ 
                                ♣                                           ♣
                                                South (you)
                                                ♠ —
                                                ♥ A K J
                                                ♦ K 9 6 2
                                                ♣ A J 9 7 3 2
 
West leads the ♠6. East plays the ♠A. What is South’s plan?
 
As South, you have losers in one suit – diamonds. Whenever there are loser in one suit, and the hand can be stripped before playing that suit, strip the hand. Trump the opening spade lead, cross to the ♣K, ruff a spade and play three rounds of hearts stripping both major suits from your South and North’s hands.
 
Now lead a low diamond from dummy. If East plays low, then you play the 9. West wins but is now endplayed. West can lead a spade or a heart and South can discard a diamond from North’s hand and trump in South’s hand. Or West can lead a diamond into South’s ♦K62. In any case, South gets out with only two diamond losers…Making 5♣!
 
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