Never give up on a hand. Use proper technique, place the cards where they need to be, and proceed with conviction. In this month’s hand, South found himself in a difficult contract but made the best of it and brought home the aggressive six-♦ bid. Can you do the same?

vul: Both
dealer: West

the bidding
W: 1♥
N: Pass
E: 3♥
S: 4♦
W: 4♥
N: 5♦
E: Pass
S: 6♦
W: Pass
N: Pass
E: Pass

opening lead: ♥ K

North
♠ Q 10 3
♥ 9 8 5
♦ A Q 8 7
♣ J 6 3

West 
♠ 7 5 4
♥ A K 10 7 4 2
♦ Void
♣ K Q 10 8

East
♠ K 9 6
♥ Q J 6 3
♦ J 9 3
♣ 9 7 4

South
♠ A J 8 2
♥ Void
♦ K 10 6 5 4 2
♣ A 5 2

the play 
1. West led the ♥ King, 5 from Dummy, East the Queen, trumped by Declarer.
2. Declarer took stock and realized the prospects to make were not good. Proper technique and timing were paramount.
3. Declarer led the ♦ 4, West showed out, Queen from Dummy, 3 from East.
4. Declarer trumped a second ♥ in hand.
5. Declarer knew to prevail, the ♠ finesse for the King had to be on.
6. Declarer cashed the ♦ King.
7. Declarer then led to Dummy’s ♦ Ace, drawing the last trump.
8. The ♠ Queen was led, King from East, Declarer the Ace.
9. Declarer led a ♠ to the Dummy’s 10.
10. ♠ 3 from Dummy, East the 9, Declarer the Jack and West the 7.
11. Declarer, with a sigh of relief, cashed the ♠ 8, discarding a ♥ from Dummy.
12. The last gambit was at hand. Declarer led a low ♣ toward Dummy’s Jack. Declarer needed West to hold both the King and Queen.
13. West had no choice. To duck would allow Declarer to make his 12th trick.
14. West won the Queen but was end-played. A ♥ would provide Declarer a sluff and a ruff. A ♣ away from the King gives Declarer two ♣ tricks. Either way, 12 tricks for Declarer.

Comment: Very well played!

tip of the day
Playing at the local Dup, my partner and I were in a bad contract, and we went down. How do we stay out of bad contracts?
Sometimes bad contracts are inevitable, even when we bid well. That’s bridge! Always do the best you can.

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