East has a choice of evils.

After (a somewhat unusual SA lead) and a club shift, I took two clubs and two top trumps, and played four rounds of clubs pitching two diamonds. It would not help East to ruff the fourth club with his master trump, because I then cash DA, conceded a diamond and ruff my losing diamond, losing just three tricks, Spade Ace, master trump, and a diamond. He chose to discard. I now continued DA and a Diamond. East was in a curious postion. He either has to let his partner win with the Queen and since his partner does not have the master trump to pull trump with, I cross ruff conceding just one trick to the master trump, OR he has to overtake DK to play a master trump but then my DJ has grown up into trick ten.

First things first. A simple hand.

On a club lead from East, North declares the contract of 4Spades. Plan play.

Let us say you quickly take a Heart discard on the king of clubs. Next, what is the first order of the day? A surprising number of declarers played a spade up to the King and a spade back, and now they were short entry and timing to take two diamond finesses. Clearly, there is no rush to pull trumps. If the D finesse is onside, you have ten guaranteed tricks 5 trump, 3 diamonds, 2 clubs. It is essential to take an immediate diamond finesse. Next, try the trumps, they fail but, in with the spade ace, take the second diamond finesse

If instead you play spades, you will lose two hearts and be stuck in hand to lose a diamond along with the trump trick to be lost, (defense will force you in clubs to lead from your hand)

The Art of the impossible

My partner the robot, transferred into club, auto-splintered and raised my FIVE CLUBS to an ambitions SIX CLUBS. West took DA and now shifted to a spade and I was still in the game.

In the end, I took a mundane heart finesse and went quietly down. But I can make it on the dubious spade continuation double dummy. Do you see how?

I need to transfer the diamond menace to East. For this, he needs to hold the T987 as he, in fact, did!

Win the spade shift, pull two round of trump ending in hand, lead the DQ forcing a cover, ruff in dummy, tricks 6 through 8 finish trump, on the last trump pitching a heart from closed hand preserving the D6, Then tricks 9-10 two more spades ending in hand.

With dummy having H:AJx and east having H:Kx D:T and Declarer having S:K H:Q D:6, the last spade turns the screw on East who must let go the D master or bare the HK.

Razzamatazz in bidding to slam. Setting up dummy's clubs

Robot partner opened one club and my book response is One spade, but i chose to bid up the line, knowing i could have trouble later, in the expectation and hope of locating a four four heart fit early. When the fit was found, I figured that partner rated to have a lot of cards in clubs and hearts (not a given, but quite likely), and liking my hand, bid six hearts with razzamatazz. Thank heavens, the machine did not raise me to Seven. For once.

LHO led its singleton club, i pull just two rounds of trump, leaving the master Queen out, and play on clubs. Dummy gets set up soon, and all they can take is one trump. A 94% board.

Doubledummy play in 4NT

My nineteen point 3NT overcall was a bit undisciplined, but I had reckoned without my Robot partner reading me for 25 points and raising to 4NT quantitative. I passed in a hurry, and the play took less time than it takes to describe.

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I played low on the spade lead from dummy, and the appearance of the Queen was one small relief. I chose to guess the clubs as Jx and Kxx, by playing the Ace and Queen of clubs. When this came to pass, I had two entries to dummy. I could then play diamonds up toward my hand, keep an exit card to strip endplay RHO to play away from his (its) marked king of hearts. ten tricks in a hurry and a unshared top board.