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Bridge

Today’s North-South can make 3NT, but only if they arrange for South to be declarer.

If they “wrong-side” the contract, making North declarer, a spade opening lead sets up four spade tricks for West while he has the ace of clubs as an entry. But if South is declarer, a spade lead from West is not immediately fatal.

“Right-side” situations are common, and expert pairs have agreements to cope with them. When North cue-bid three spades, he promised (by agreement) a trick in spades, so South had an easy 3NT bid. Some pairs might agree that the cue bid would ask South to bid 3NT only if he had a solid spade stopper. Other pairs might treat a cue bid to show a partial stopper such as J-x-x.

West led the jack of spades (not best), and South took the queen and needed eight more tricks. He led the ace and a low diamond but was in trouble when West threw a heart. If South lost a diamond, East would return a spade, setting up the spades before South had nine tricks.

So South took the king of diamonds and led the king of clubs, but West won and led the king of spades. South had to duck that, and then West led a club, dislodging dummy’s last entry to the diamonds and assuring down one.

To make 3NT South leads a club at Trick Two, forcing out West’s possible entry to the spades. If West wins and continues spades, South ducks, wins the third spade and leads the ace and another diamond. When West shows out, South plays dummy’s jack to guarantee nine tricks.