When you are the declarer and the dummy has been tabled, on average how long do you take to call for a card from the board?
Unless the play is trivial, you should take at least 30 seconds, probably as much as a minute. The more planning you do at the beginning, the better.
With that helpful hint, how would you plan the play in this five-club contract? West leads the spade ace.
West’s takeout double was reasonable, although a few would have preferred to bid one heart, immediately telling partner about the five-card major and hoping to double later to bring the pointed suits into the picture. Then, West’s three-heart rebid was understandable. He knew that his partner would realize from the opponents’ bidding that he was weaker in high-card terms than would be normal.
At trick one, you must unblock the spade queen. If East has all four clubs, which would not be a big surprise, you need three dummy entries to take a trio of trump finesses. You have the two top diamonds, but the spade jack must be the third. If you fail to unblock, West can shift to a red suit and stop that spade jack from becoming an entry. But after playing the spade queen, suppose West shifts to a heart. You win in hand and lead a spade toward the board. West can win and try a second heart, but you take it, play a spade to the jack, and take a club finesse. When West discards, you twice cross to the board in diamonds and take two more club finesses to wrap up your game.
Unless the play is trivial, you should take at least 30 seconds, probably as much as a minute. The more planning you do at the beginning, the better.
With that helpful hint, how would you plan the play in this five-club contract? West leads the spade ace.
West’s takeout double was reasonable, although a few would have preferred to bid one heart, immediately telling partner about the five-card major and hoping to double later to bring the pointed suits into the picture. Then, West’s three-heart rebid was understandable. He knew that his partner would realize from the opponents’ bidding that he was weaker in high-card terms than would be normal.
At trick one, you must unblock the spade queen. If East has all four clubs, which would not be a big surprise, you need three dummy entries to take a trio of trump finesses. You have the two top diamonds, but the spade jack must be the third. If you fail to unblock, West can shift to a red suit and stop that spade jack from becoming an entry. But after playing the spade queen, suppose West shifts to a heart. You win in hand and lead a spade toward the board. West can win and try a second heart, but you take it, play a spade to the jack, and take a club finesse. When West discards, you twice cross to the board in diamonds and take two more club finesses to wrap up your game.