Puzzle This

Your top losers are the ♠A K and the ♣A, too, so you have to find some way to avoid a heart loser. Dummy’s diamonds can provide a parking place for the heart loser, but how do you decide whether to finesse against West or take a ruffing finesse against East, i.e., play the ♦A and run the ♦Q?

The answer is in the bidding. You know East has 12 to 14 points, so first find out who has the ♣A. If you play a club honor from dummy and East covers, you know everything about his values: the ♠A K, the ♥Q J (from his play at trick three) and the ♣A. That’s 14 points, meaning that West has the ♦K. You can eventually cross to your hand with a trump to take the diamond finesse. If West wins the ♣A, however, you’ll know that East must have started with the ♦;K to open. Therefore, you’ll play the ♦;A and the ♦;Q, pitching a heart if East doesn’t cover. If he does cover, you’ll ruff, return to dummy and pitch a heart on the ♦;J.