In declarer play we always talk about keeping the “danger hand” off lead — with that huge hint sort this one out for yourself!

North opened one diamond, South bid a spade and when North showed support she jumped straight to the four-spade game. After this simple auction, West led the Queen of clubs.

Declarer realised that she could make ten tricks with four trumps, five diamonds and the Ace of clubs. The main danger was that if she lost a trump trick to East, the danger hand, that would prove fatal if the Ace of hearts was offside.

Declarer’s first step was to allow the Queen of clubs to hold. (If instead declarer had won the Ace, West might have been able to cross to his partner's King of clubs later in the play.)

West continued with a low club to declarer’s Ace. Bearing in mind that she could afford to lose a club, a trump and a heart, declarer played the trump suit with the sole aim of preventing East from gaining the lead, not minding if she lost a trump trick in the process.

So, declarer led a low trump to dummy’s Ace and ran the Jack of trumps when East followed with a second low trump. When the finesse succeeded, declarer drew the last trump then threw two hearts on the diamonds, and made an overtrick.

The main lesson from this hand is that even if the finesse had lost, the contract would have been safe. West would be on lead and could not then profitably attack hearts.

Declarer would win the diamond exit and run the diamonds, throwing two hearts from hand. The trap was that if declarer had carelessly played the trumps by cashing the Ace and King instead, the contract would have failed: East would eventually gain the lead with the Queen of trumps in time to make the obvious heart shift.

• David Ezekiel can be reached on davidezekiel999@gmail.com

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday November 6

North/South

1 Elysa Burland/Magda Farag

2 Richard Gray/Wendy Gray

3 John Rayner/Sancia Garrison

East/West

1 John F W Glynn/Molly Taussig

2 Patricia Siddle/Louise Rodger

3 Lorna Anderson/Charles Hall

Monday, November 9

North/South

1 William Pollett/Judith Bussell

2 Betsy Baillie/Joyce Pearson

3 Sheena Rayner/Magda Farag

East/West

1 Gertrude Barker/Sharon Shanahan

2 Peter Donnellan/Lynanne Bolton

3 Sancia Garrison/Stephanie Kyme

Tuesday, November 10

North/South

1 Joshimar Hussey/Julia Tadman

2 Barbara Harington/Eldon Lewis

East/West

1 Richard Neame/Louise Neame

2 Amanda Ingham/Heidi Dyson

Wednesday, November 11

North/South

1 Richard Gray/Wendy Gray

2 Sally Irvine/Wenda Krupp

3 Claude Guay/Sharon Shanahan

East/West

1 Elizabeth McKee/Stephanie Kyme

2 Tracy Nash/Desmond Nash

3 Linda Pollett/William Pollett

Thursday, November 12

North/South

1 Charles Hall/Stephanie Kyme

2 Erika Jones/Delton Outerbridge

3 Duncan Silver/Marion Silver

East/West

1 Peter Donnellan/Lynanne Bolton

2 Gertrude Barker/John F W Glynn

3 Tracy Nash/Desmond Nash