Three no-trump looks so easy to make on today's deal - especially after an opening diamond lead - that the casual player might well ask "What's the problem?"  Yet it contains a trap that would very likely ensnare many unsuspecting declarers.

After the diamond lead, South briefly pauses to count his winners and sees nine in plain view - one spade, two hearts, three diamonds and three clubs.  Having made this determination, he puts up dummy's jack of diamonds, which holds, and cashes the A-Q of clubs.

It is at this point that South begins to realize that his initial assessment of his prospects might have been premature.  The difficulty lies in the fact that although dummy's king of clubs is the game going trick, there is no way to reach dummy to collect it.

South will find himself fighting a losing battle.  If, for example, he tries to get to dummy by leading his remaining low diamond toward the 10-5, West takes the queen, leaving South with the lone A-K opposite the 10.

The solution is not really difficult, providing declarer negotiates the first hurdle.  Before he plays to the opening trick, he should note the blockage in the club suit and take immediate steps to resolve that problem.

This can be done easily by playing the five of diamonds from dummy rather than the jack or 10.  East's seven is taken with the king, and the A-Q of clubs are cashed.  South then leads a low diamond towards the J-10.

West can take his queen now or later, but the result is the same in either case.  Nine tricks are assured regardless of what the defenders do.

What the deal points up is that the natural impulse to play high from dummy at trick one must be curbed until the hand is examined as a whole.  In other words, look before you leap!

Source: Steve Becker, Globe and Mail, January11, 2025