Today’s hand is a real teaser or tester — call it what you will — the choice facing declarer looks like a clear-cut one, but if it was it would not be in this column!

I’d like you to take a good look and think deeply about the right play — if you get it right you deserve a huge pat on the back for your brilliant analysis.

The bidding was simple — North transferred to spades and then jumped to 3NT offering South a choice of games — with two small spades South chose the 3NT contract.

West led the five of clubs and declarer won the first trick with the ten — now what?

Declarer has six tricks in hearts and clubs and needs three more from diamonds and spades — so which suit should she attack first?

Some clever bunnies among you will immediately say diamonds, because the odds of a 3-2 break in diamonds (which will provide three tricks) is better than a 3-3 break in spades, which is what you need to get three tricks before the club is knocked out.

Well, you are partly right — the 3-2 in diamonds is 78 per cent and the 3-3 spades is 44 per cent. But no pat on the back as yet because I want 100 per cent, so keep thinking!

Before you make the play you must recognise that East is the “danger hand” and if East wins early and plays a club you are toast if West has the other Ace and the suits don’t break well.

The answer is to play diamonds first, but only after crossing to dummy with a heart to lead a low diamond — if West has the Ace of diamonds he cannot attack clubs and the contract becomes easy — if East has the Ace of diamonds and jumps up with it at trick three he presents you with three diamond tricks and your contract.

Of course, if your Queen of diamonds holds the trick at trick three you now switch to spades to force two tricks there and make your contract! See the full hand in Figure 2.

At no point have I said this game was easy!

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

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, March 27

1 Jane Smith/Sancia Garrison

2 Patricia Siddle/Louise Rodger

3 Tony Saunders/Margaret Way

Monday, March 30

North/South

1 Charles Hall/Tony Saunders

2 Jane Clipper/Caroline Svenson

3 Peter Donnellan/Lynanne Bolton

East/West

1 Linda Pollett/William Pollett

2 Lorna Anderson/Heather Woolf

3 Aida Bostelmann/Elysa Burland

Tuesday, March 31

North/South

1 Amanda Ingham/Heidi Dyson

2 Tracey Pitt/David Leach

East/West

1 Veronica Boyce/Carol Eastham

2 Andy McComb/Jaques Bonneau

Wednesday, April 1

North/South

1 Sheena Rayner/Molly Taussig

2 Louise Rodger/Margaret Way

East/West

1 Linda Pollett/William Pollett

2 Charles Hall/Martha Ferguson

Thursday, April 2

1 Linda Pollett/Willian Pollett

2 Delton Outerbridge/Tim Mardon

3= Miodrag Novakovic/Margaret Way

3= Gertrude Barker/John F W Glynn