Solution

The start of the play is fairly straightforward.   The challenging part comes when West is executed at T8.

T1-7 : win ♣Q, draw trumps (3 rounds) and, importantly, play one extra round.  Then cross to ♣AK, everyone being reduced to the position shown with 6 cards remaining:

T8 : On ♣J, South discards his remaining heart, but West is in trouble.

1. If West discards a spade, South leads ♠Q and can establish his long spade losing only ♠K, his last trump protecting against a heart continuation by West.
2. If West discards a heart he is left with a bare Ace.  A heart lead from dummy, on which South discards ♠3, forces West to win and, with only spades remaining, is endplayed.
   1. If West leads a small spade, ♠Q, ♥K, ♠A and a trump give South the 4 tricks needed.
   2. If West leads ♠K, South wins with Ace, followed by ♠Q, heart ruff to hand, ♠J for the 4 tricks needed.

Solution

T1 : Win with ♠A
T2 : run ♥J (West ducks)
T3 : Heart finesse to dummy
T4 : Diamond ruff
T5 : Heart finesse to dummy
T6 : Diamond ruff (South's last trump)
T7 : Cross to dummy with ♣K, leaving this position:

T8 : ♥A, drawing West’s trump and squeezing East in clubs and spades:

1. If East discards ♠7, South discards ♣6: then club finesse, ♠K, ♠2 loses to East who must return a club to South’s two winners
2. If East discards ♣9, South discards ♠2: then club finesse to three winning clubs and ♠K

Solution

T1-6 : 3 rounds of trumps followed by 3 rounds of spades (taking the finesse) leads to this position:

T7: ♣A, drawing East’s last trump and discarding ♠8 from dummy, puts pressure on West:

• If West discards a heart: with 2 diamond entries to dummy, ♥A and a small heart then enables Declarer to establish ♥9 for the 12^th trick.
• If West discards a diamond (uncovering his Q):  ♦AK establishes the Jack in declarer’s hand with a trump left to reach it.

Solution

South wins the trump lead in dummy, takes the heart finesse followed by ♠A, ♥A, heart ruff, spade ruff.

South then leads ♦2 to establish a further entry to dummy.  When West takes his ♦A he needs to lead another trump or South can prevail on a high cross ruff.  West’s trump lead is won in dummy, ♠6 ruffed in hand and a heart ruff at trick 10 puts the lead in dummy with the following 3 cards remaining:

♠7 is ruffed with ♣A and West finds himself in an impossible position, forced to under-ruff (when dummy is high) or discard a red suit winner, enabling South to play red suit winners until ♣3 is over-ruffed by North’s ♣K.

Solution

At first sight 12 tricks seem to be there:  6 trump tricks, 4 heart tricks (with a successful finesse) and 2 Aces give you the 12 tricks needed.   The 6-0 spade break adds some spice however as all South’s spades are needed to draw West’s trumps.  The question then becomes one of how to get back to hand after a successful heart finesse.

The answer is fairly simple when you see it;  pretty much impossible if you don’t.  On one of South’s spades, discard ♦A from dummy.   Then, after ♥J and ♥K, lead ♦6 to South’s ♦Q.   What can East do?   If he ducks. South’s ♦Q wins and gives the entry needed for 2 more heart tricks;   if he wins with ♦K, the enforced red suit lead that must then follow brings the same result.

Solution

West’s club lead at T1 is important in giving the extra entry needed to dummy.    Dummy’s ♣K is covered by ♣A.   Trumps are drawn, dummy entered with ♦J, and ♣Q then played giving a key discard from the South hand.  A third round of clubs is ruffed and the remaining trumps then run off.

The play has been described as the Belladonna Coup;  like a repeating squeeze it conjures two tricks out of apparently nothing.   Its origin seems to be uncertain but is generally attributed to Georgio Belladonna, from a highly praised hand he played in 1973.   Onlookers were somewhat taken aback when he discarded ♠10 on ♣Q.

West needs to guard both Hearts and Spades; when the last trump is played he is in an impossible position:

1. If he discards a Spade, dummy discards a Heart.   ♠A followed by ♠Q set up 2 spade winners in dummy, with ♥K as entry.
2. If he discards a Heart, dummy discards a Spade, ♥AK is followed by a third heart.   West wins and has to lead into South’s ♠AQ with South’s last heart giving him the 12^th trick needed.

Solution

This hand is a good introduction to squeeze play for those unfamiliar with it.   After ♦Q-K-A, a club switch by East at T2 will defeat the slam but any other lead enables South to preserve the vital ♣A entry to dummy and West comes under more and more pressure as South runs off a string of hearts.  Several variations are possible, but after a Heart return at T2 (say) followed by 5 more rounds of hearts the cards remaining could be as shown below.   When ♥4 is led, West has no discard remaining that does not enable South to establish his 12^th trick with ♠10, ♦10 or ♣J.

Solution

♦KQ must clearly be played before using ♣Q entry to dummy to reach ♦A, but the key is to realise that the club suit is blocked.   South must therefore duck the spade lead as well as the (assumed) spade continuation so that dummy’s blocking ♣9 can be thrown under ♠A on the 3^rd round and the way becomes clear to run off the 5 club tricks needed for the contract.  If opponents switch to clubs at T2, South should win in hand and clear ♦KQ before then playing a losing 2^nd round of spades, preserving his ♠A for the unblock on the 3^rd round.  If opponents switch to hearts South will come to 2 heart tricks and make his contract without needing the club unblock.

Solution

This puzzle presented little problem to those who had seen its like before; more perhaps to those who hadn’t.

South jettisons his ♥A under East’s ruff, draws trumps, plays ♦AK and ♣A in some order and then exits with ♥2.

West, with only Hearts remaining, is forced to win.  His first heart lead allows a Club discard from North and a Diamond discard from South.  His second is ruffed by North while South discards his second club.   South makes the remaining tricks on a cross ruff.

Solution - #15 (1)

Solvers did not appear to find this hand too difficult.  The key is to trump trick 2 with ♠6, preserving ♠2 in order to be able to under-ruff dummy later in the play.  South then plays 5 top tricks in Diamonds and Hearts.  He then needs 4 of the 6 remaining tricks as he exits with ♥5 at T8 with the cards as follows:

a) If trick 8 is won by E with ♥Q:  A trump lead by E at T9 is won by South, who then returns the lower of ♠10 or ♠8 to put East back on lead:  a further trump lead from East at T11 then gives South his contract, while ♣J lead is ruffed by the carefully preserved ♠2 and over-ruffed in dummy.   The lead is then in dummy with South holding a tenace over East’s 2 remaining trumps.  The same play follows in a different order if East leads ♣J at T9.

b)  If East unblocks his ♥Q so that West wins T8 with ♥J, play follows the same lines.

Solution

Given that West led a club and did not find the diamond lead that would enable to defence to take the first 6 tricks on a cross ruff, the contract can be made only by finding the right play at T1.  Declarer must win the club lead in dummy and discard ♦Q from hand. 

Declarer plays ♠AQJ to draw trumps, discarding a club and diamond from dummy.  Now ♥K.  If East wins this he is endplayed and must give an entry to dummy via a club or ♥10.  Declarer is then home via 6 spades, 3 clubs, 1 heart, 1 diamond and an extra club or heart depending on what East plays.

East must therefore duck ♥K.  Declarer now leads a small diamond.  If West ducks, dummy wins ♦10 and declarer is home with 6 spades, 3 clubs, 1 heart and ♦A10.  So West must play ♦J and is now endplayed, forced to give an entry to dummy via a club or ♦10.  Again declarer is home with 6 spades, 3 clubs, 1 heart, ♦A and an extra club or diamond depending on what West plays.

NB:  If declarer throws a small diamond at trick 1, he cannot later force the entry to dummy.  If he leads small from ♦AQ9 after winning ♥K, West wins and returns a diamond lo South’s blocked ♦AQ.   Declarer must then lose 2 heart tricks.   If Declarer leads ♦Q, West can duck, and continue diamonds when he wins the continuation. Again Declarer must then lose 2 heart tricks.

Solution

The key to success is to use the 3 remaining trumps in dummy, after East’s return at Trick 2, to ruff spades.

Win T2 with AD, followed by AS and a spade ruff.   To succeed, you need 3 entries back to hand to be able to get two more spade ruffs and return to hand to draw trumps.

However, you have only 2 immediate entries (AC and a Heart ruff) and must create a third entry without allowing West to win and lead a 2^nd round of trumps, or East to win and play a 3^rd Heart to promote West’s QD.

This is achieved, either at T5 or at T7 after AC and a 2^nd spade ruff, by leading QC from dummy and allowing East to win (if East doesn’t cover you will make an overtrick).  East has no more trumps to lead and a 3^rd round club ruff creates the 3^rd entry back to hand to draw trumps and claim.

Solution

The trump lead can be won in either hand.    Cash ♣A, win a second round of trumps in dummy, Club ruff, ♥A, Heart ruff, Club ruff, Heart ruff.  With hearts and clubs now eliminated, play a low diamond from each hand.  If East’s ♦J wins he is forced to give you a ruff and discard.   If West overtakes with ♦Q and returns ♦10, win with ♦K and a finesse sees you home, with ♦A7 in dummy over West’s remaining ♦96.

For those who prefer squeezes however an alternative line after Trick 3 is to ruff ♣10, cross to ♥A, ruff ♣J to eliminate the clubs and then run trumps from dummy.   After trick 8 you have the position shown and the lead of ♠5 squeezes West into either baring his ♥K or being end-played by ♦K and then ♦8.

Solution

This puzzle is essentially about the club suit, which can be brought in successfully for the 13th trick if you can work out the club layout.  Of course, you have to assume clubs break 4-1, and diamonds 4-2 or worse.

Win the lead in hand, and to tricks 2-5, cash ♣K, ♥K and ♦KQ in some order.  Now cash ♦A.  At this point, you know the diamond distribution.

For tricks 7-9, play ♠AKQ, discarding ♥J109.  You now know the spade distribution, too.

Take ♥A, discarding ♦10 from dummy (unless at any point the ♦J has been discarded, in which case ♦10 becomes your 13th trick).

With three cards remaining, you have one of two situations:

1. If ♦J has not been discarded, the defender holding it can have at most two clubs.
   T11: Play the high club to this defender's left and
   T12: Either drop ♣J or take the marked finesse if the defender holding ♦J shows out at T11.
2. After you discard ♦10 at trick 10, South discards ♦J.
   All is revealed!  You already know how many diamonds and spades South started with, and for him to be able to discard ♦J on ♥A, he must be out of hearts.  Having seen the number of hearts he played in tricks 1-9, you know the number of hearts he started with.  So you can work out how many clubs he started with and, therefore, which defender (if either) started with 4 clubs.   Drop ♣J or take the marked finesse for your 13th trick.

Simples (I think not....)

Solution

East must rise with ♥K or there are 12 tricks off the top.   South must duck this to correct the count for the squeeze to come.

South wins East’s return and cashes ♥A (if East did not return a Heart at trick 2 - East’s best return is actually ♠Q or ♠10 but play is still as above).

South then runs 5 club tricks leading to the position in Fig A (less Ace of suit returned at T2):

On the 5^th club, East is forced to discard a Spade in order to keep Diamonds covered.  South then discards ♦4.

South then plays ♦AKQ squeezing West in Hearts and Spades, forcing him either to discard ♥Q or unguard spades.

Either ♥J or ♠9 then gives South his 12^th trick.

Incomplete replies:

Everyone correctly ducked at T1, but several assumed a Heart return at T2 without stating that, on a Spade return at T2, ♥A must be played before the clubs are run.   Otherwise, East still has a heart left to discard on the 5^th club, and if ♠Q or ♠10 was returned at T2 (so that West still has the Spades guarded) South cannot afford to discard his last spade, ends up squeezing himself and the contract fails.

Solution

T1           Win ♠A
T2           ♥6-9-Q-2
T3           ♦2 from North
At this point the play develops in different ways according to whether or not East rises with ♦K.

a)  T3           East plays ♦ K

The play now becomes fairly straightforward.   South has 2 entries to hand : ♣ A and ♦ Q.
Win a minor suit return in hand, ruff a spade, ♥ AK, return to hand with the other minor suit winner, ♥ J draws West’s last trump, ♣ K and ♦ A86 (if East returns a Spade, ruff in dummy and continue as above).

b)  T3           East ducks (best defence) and South wins with ♦ Q

It is tempting to now play ♦ A and another diamond to establish the suit, but this line will not work.   West will discard a Club on the third round of diamonds, which East will win with ♦ K and return a club.   South cannot now successfully ruff a third round of clubs in hand.   If he ruffs low West will over-ruff, while if he ruffs high (♥ J) he will be unable to cope with West's 3 remaining trumps.

There are however 2 routes to success.

1. South plays another round of Hearts at T4:

i)  If West covers with ♥ 10 (♥ 53 remaining): ♥ 7-10-K, followed by ♦ A and a 3rd diamond (to East’s ♦ K).  Then :

1. If East returns a Spade:  Ruff high with ♥ A, ♥ 4 to ♥ J, ♥ 8, ♣ A, then ♣ K to dummy’s diamonds
2. If East returns a Club: ♣ A, Spade ruffed high (♥ A), ♥ 4 to ♥ J8, then ♣ K to dummy’s diamonds

ii)  If West ducks: ♥ 7-2-4,  followed by ♦ A and another diamond to East’s ♦ K.

1. If East returns a Spade:  Ruff with ♥ K, ♥ A, back to ♣ A, ♥ J, then back to ♣ K to dummy’s diamonds
2. If East returns a Club: ♣ A, ♣ K, ruff a club high with ♥ J, then back to ♥ AK and dummy’s diamonds

2. South leads a spade at T4 and engineers 3 spade ruffs in the North hand:
Ruff a spade (♥ 4), back to ♣ A, ruff a spade (♥ K), ♣ K and a club ruff (♥ 7), ruff South’s last spade (♥ A), ♦ A.
At this point (i.e after Trick 10), South holds ♥ J8 and ♦ 9, while West has been stripped of all cards except trumps (♥ 1052).
T11: North exits with a diamond and West finds himself forced to ruff East’s ♦ K (which ironically doesn’t then make a trick at all).   West is then end played, having to lead from ♥ 105 into South’s ♥ J8 for the last two tricks.

Solution

Ruff low in dummy, cash one trump honour from each hand to take East out of the picture, and set about running the clubs, starting with the ♣QJ.

After five tricks, the layout is:

Now play a third round of clubs.

1. Assume West elects to ruff:  If West returns a red card, you can win in dummy, draw trumps if necessary, and dummy is high.  If West leads a spade, you can ruff in dummy, return to hand with a diamond, draw West's last trump and claim.
2. If instead West elects to discard:  Lead a fourth club and discard ♠7 from hand.  You can continue to lead clubs, but if at any stage West comes down to only one diamond, you must now switch to diamonds - if you don't do this, West will discard his last diamond and you won't be able to get back to dummy to draw the last trump.  Whenever West chooses to ruff in, a spade return allows dummy's last diamond to disappear, and you ruff with ♥Q.  Now you can simply lead your high cards from hand;  if West ruffs, dummy overruffs and is also high.

Solution

In essence, you set up the top diamonds in dummy and a winning club in hand, while ruffing dummy's losing hearts in hand.  You'll lose one trump, as well as the minor suit Aces.

But the exact line will depend on the defence;  there are lots of defensive options, and I've set out various possibilities here in detail.  In judging whether an entry is correct, I haven't insisted on every detail being mentioned.  However, there are certain key plays - underlined below - without which the contract will fail and I've made sure those are included.

Win the lead in dummy with ♥Q, and lead a low diamond, which West takes.

A:  If West returns a low trump:

1. Play ♠9 from dummy, and win in hand.  Lead a low club, which East wins (West winning makes it easier for declarer).
2. Assume East gives partner a diamond ruff at trick 5:
   1. It does West no good to lead a club (this would just enable you to set up a club winner more quickly), or a heart (you'll ruff in hand; take a trump finesse; use your last trump to ruff another heart; re-enter dummy with a club ruff and dummy is high).
      So instead West has to exit with a trump.
   2. If it's a low trump, play ♠7 from dummy and win in hand (if it's ♠J, win in dummy and return to hand with ♠8).  The situation will now be:

      	♠ K 10 ♥ A 9 8 ♦ K Q ♣ -
      ♠ J ♥ K 10 7 ♦ - ♣ K 9 8	Declarer needs the remainder	♠ - ♥ J 6 4 ♦ J 10 5 ♣ 4
      	♠ 5 3 ♥ - ♦ - ♣ J 10 6 5 3

      Lead ♣J to drive out West's ♣K (it doesn't help West to play low); return to hand with a heart ruff and discard dummy's last heart on ♣10; return to dummy with a spade, drawing West's last trump in the process, and dummy is now high.

3. If, instead of giving partner a diamond ruff at trick 5, East leads a heart - a club would just speed things up - you ruff in hand, and lead ♣J.
   1. If West ducks, discard ♦9 from dummy (you could also discard ♥9, with a slightly different ending); lead a trump, and beat West's card; ruff dummy's remaining low heart in hand.  The layout is now:

      	♠ K 10 ♥ A ♦ K Q ♣ -
      ♠ J 6      ♥ K ♦ - ♣ K 9	Declarer can afford to lose one trick	♠ - ♥ J ♦ J 10 5 4 ♣ -
      	♠ - ♥ - ♦ 7 ♣ 10 6 5 3

      Now lead ♦7 towards dummy.  If West ruffs this, you can win the next lead in dummy, draw West's last trump and claim.
      If West doesn't ruff, cash ♠K and play high cards until West decides to take ♠J.  Dummy still has ♠10 to regain the lead.

   2. If West covers, ruff in dummy, cash ♥A, and ruff the last heart in hand.  The layout is now:

      	♠ K 10 ♥ - ♦ K Q 9 ♣ -
      ♠ J 6 4   ♥ - ♦ - ♣ 9 8	Declarer can afford to lose one trick	♠ - ♥ - ♦ J 10 5 4 3 ♣ -
      	♠ 8 ♥ - ♦ 7 ♣ 10 6 5

      It's tempting to cash ♣10 here, but that would be a mistake.  Rather, lead ♦7 towards dummy.  If West ruffs this, dummy's ♦9 goes, and West is thrown in to lead either a spade for the trump finesse, or a club so you can win it in hand and take that finesse yourself.
      If instead of ruffing West discards a club, win in dummy and lead ♦9 back, ruffing in hand, and West has the same dilemma again.  If West still refuses to ruff, your clubs are now high so lead them until West has no option.

4. Another option at trick 5 is that East returns ♦J, but West discards a heart instead of ruffing.  This leads to a very different ending, the only one to involve East.  Declarer wins in dummy, ruffs a heart in hand, runs ♠8 (playing dummy's carefully-preserved ♠7 if necessary), and draws all the trumps.  The layout is now:

   	♠ - ♥ A 9 ♦ K 9 ♣ -
   ♠ -  ♥ K ♦ - ♣ K 9 8	Declarer can afford to lose one trick	♠ - ♥ J 6 ♦ 10 5         ♣ -
   	♠ - ♥ - ♦ - ♣ J 10 6 5

   Declarer cashes ♥A and throws East in with the last heart.  East now has to lead into dummy's diamond tenace.

B:  If West returns a club at trick 3, this just brings forward the play in A above.

C:  If West returns a heart at trick 3, you ruff in hand and set about the clubs, as in A above.

Phew.

Solution

Win the ♦A, discarding ♣10.  There's lots of flexibility about the order in which you do this, but in essence you cash three heart tricks, finessing against East's ♥Q, and lead a fourth, discarding a club from dummy.  However East defends, declarer can now ruff the losing ♣Q in dummy.

If East ruffs at any stage, declarer can pick up the trumps for no loser.  If East refuses to ruff, declarer can draw three rounds of trumps and lead the fifth heart, losing only to ♠Q on the final trick.

Solution

Q1:  Declarer must win the first trick in dummy, and aim to set up ♦10 for a club discard in dummy.

To trick 2, lead ♦3.  Whether or not East plays high, declarer's ♦K forces out the Ace (it doesn't help West to duck).  Whatever West returns, declarer can ruff two rounds of diamonds in dummy, returning to hand with spade ruffs as necessary.  East's ♦QJ drop, promoting declarer's ♦10.  Cash this, and discard dummy's ♣2.  After eight tricks, with the lead in hand and East's holding no longer relevant, the layout will be akin to:

(There can be small variations, depending particularly on what West returns at trick 3.)

Declarer now ruffs ♣10 with dummy's remaining trump, returns to hand with yet another spade ruff, draws the last two trumps and just has the winning ♣K as the last trick.

Q2:  To defeat the contract, West must lead a trump.  When I first looked at this puzzle, my solution said that West should continue with a second trump when in again with ♦A.  This seems the obvious thing to do, but in fact it's not good enough - declarer ruffs both losing diamonds in dummy, setting up the ♦10, and returns to hand with another spade ruff.  The layout is then:

Declarer draws West's last trump, and uses dummy's ♣A as an entry to take the club finesse for the contract.  (Again, the details can vary slightly.)

To me it seems counter-intuitive, but after taking ♦A West must continue with ♣J at trick 3.  If that's taken in dummy, declarer later runs out of trumps in hand and West makes a trump trick; or, if it's taken in hand, declarer has a minor-suit loser.  I'll leave puzzlers to work through the details.

A huge thank-you to Roger Eddleston for spotting both that my original solution didn't work, and that the continuation of ♣J did scupper it.

Had I posed the problem more broadly as "how should West have defended to defeat the contract?", this would in my opinion have taken it beyond Tricky, into the Tough category.  But I asked only "what should West have led?", and that is the question I've used to determine whether an entry is correct.

Solution

Cross to dummy with ♦K and lead a heart.  If East plays an honour, ten tricks are straightforward - you win with ♥A, ruff your losing diamond with dummy's last trump, return to hand with a spade ruff, say, and drive out East's trumps, losing only to East's remaining honour.

So East must play low, leaving the position after five tricks as:

After ruffing ♠9 in hand and your diamond in dummy, you cash ♣AK and ruff a third club in hand.

Your three remaining cards are ♥A109, and East holds ♥KJ4;  the North and West hands are no longer relevant.  Lead a low heart from your hand.  East has to win, otherwise a winner disappears, but then has no option but to lead another trump, giving you a finesse for your contract.

Solution

On West’s ♣10 lead, play low in dummy and win in hand.  Cash the eight red-suit winners, ending in hand.  Dummy discards two spades and a club.  To guard spades, East has to keep at least three, so is forced to bare the ♣K.  After nine tricks, the position is:

Now lead ♠J.  If West covers, win with dummy's ♠A, and lead ♣Q.  East wins, but has to lead a spade into dummy's ♠K9.  If West ducks, you play dummy's ♠9 and this time lead a club from hand to throw East in.

A more complex variation:  On West’s ♣10 lead, play low in dummy and win in hand.  This time, cash only the four top hearts, discarding a spade from dummy.  East can afford to discard two spades and a diamond, but on the fourth heart:

• If East throws ♣J, duck a club to the now singleton King.  Whichever suit East returns, win in dummy and cash ♠AK, ♦K and ♣Q.  East has to retain ♠10 so cannot keep three diamonds, enabling declarer to overtake ♦J now and win the remaining tricks.
• If East discards a second diamond, declarer can afford to overtake the second round of diamonds to cash four rounds of the suit, and the hand reverts to the main solution described above.

Solution

You've got enough trumps in dummy to take three trump finesses, but the problem is one of them's needed to ruff your club loser.  So you have to reduce your trump length to the same as East's, and the final 'finesse' is brought about by forcing East to ruff so you can overruff.

Use dummy's three club entries to ruff a further spade and take two diamond finesses, covering whichever card East plays.

After nine tricks, with the lead in hand, the layout is:

Now ruff the fourth round of clubs using dummy's last trump, and lead ♥Q from dummy.  East can see it would be fatal to ruff, so discards ♠J, and you throw your last club.  Finally, on the lead of a spade from dummy, East has no option but to ruff and you overruff for the contract.

Solution - Key Points

Q1:  On a club lead (other options make it simpler), declarer drives out ♥A, before tackling trumps.  Later, having eliminated W's exit cards, that hand is thrown in to lead diamonds or give a ruff-&-discard on hearts.

There's no need to lead trumps from dummy towards ♠K, declarer can simply lead that card from hand.  That can be crucial because, if the play goes:

• Opening club lead from W, won in dummy
• Heart from dummy, won by E, who returns a second club, again won in dummy
• Spade from dummy…

… then E can pop up with ♠A and give partner a club ruff.  W can still exit safely with a heart, and there will be no throw-in.

Subsequent addition:  In fact, if S really wants to lead towards the ♠K, there is a way, spotted by a couple of our entrants - declarer can win the second club lead in hand, ruff ♥K in dummy, and then lead the spade.  But the apparent need to do so is an illusion.

Q2:  On a small spade lead from E, it's E that’s end-played later, rather than W

Solution - Detail

Preamble  In principle, declarer has four losers: ♠Q, ♠A, ♥A and a diamond.   Neither defender can lead diamonds at any stage, otherwise the defence collapses:

• if West leads low, dummy's ♦8 forces the King;
• if West leads high, dummy's Jack forces the King, and West's remaining high diamond can be finessed;
• and it's self-evident for a diamond lead from East.

To save repetition, it's taken for granted in these notes that a diamond lead is never a workable option for the defenders.

In the same way, if the defenders ever give a ruff-&-discard, it's assumed to be ruffed in dummy, with a losing diamond being discarded from declarer's hand, and the defence will be over.

Q1  Opening lead:  W can't lead a spade, as the defence then won't make ♠Q.

1a.  If W leads a heart, E wins.  Then:

1. If E returns a heart at trick 2, S wins, discarding a diamond from dummy.  S cashes two clubs, ending in hand.

(*) Now S continues with ♠K from hand (see Key Points, above).  E can see he has to win - if it's ducked, declarer will lead another spade and W will be forced to lead hearts, giving a ruff-&-discard.  In with ♠A, E can't now lead a second spade, because that would just throw W in as before, and a heart would give a ruff-&-discard, so it has to be a third club.  S plays high from hand: W can't ruff because again he'd be thrown in, so discards a diamond.
After six tricks, with S to lead, the situation is now:

S now plays another spade, and W is thrown in.  Assuming he leads a heart, that’s ruffed in dummy, S discarding a diamond.  Declarer now draws E's last trump, crosses to ♣K and takes the diamond finesse for his contract.

2. If E returns a club at trick 2, declarer wins in dummy with ♣10, returns to hand with ♣A, cashes ♥K, discarding a diamond from dummy, and leads ♠K.  We are now in the same position as (*).

1b.  If W leads a club, declarer wins in dummy with ♣10 and leads a heart, E winning.  The situation is now essentially the same as 1a.

Q2  This time, declarer is N, and dummy S.  If E makes the opening lead, a heart immediately gives the same situation as Q1, as does a club.

E can't lead S:A, as this would expose W's ♠Q to being dropped, but a low spade is safe.  Declarer cannot allow W to win this, as W would return another spade to E's Ace, who would cash ♥A and exit, avoiding the throw-in.  The trick is therefore won with ♠K; declarer comes back to hand with ♣10 and leads a heart, E winning.

E can see that any lead other than another spade will expose W to the usual throw-in, so leads a second small spade.  W wins, and now has a heart as a safe exit.  (There are small variations if declarer cashes a couple of rounds of clubs before tackling hearts, but the end point is the same.)

Declarer wins the heart in dummy, and cashes enough more clubs to denude E of them.  On the lead of a third spade, it's now E that’s thrown in, rather than W.  Declarer must ensure the N hand retains an entry to take the diamond finesse later.