I wrote earlier this year of the passing of the great Eddie Kantar, who was not only a great player and teacher, but one of the nicest and funniest people I have ever met. His partnership with the volatile and outgoing “Broadway” Billy Eisenberg was one of the most formidable in the game in the 1970s and 1980s.

Eddie was a marvellous teacher and if there is any area of the game you want to perfect, Google his books and buy them – they are, without exception, brilliant. This hand came from one of his lessons , where he was talking about getting your opponents to help you.

That is such an important part of declarer play – if you have some difficult decisions in a couple of suits and have certain losers in one suit, hand the lead to your opponents and you will be amazed how much they will help you, sometimes because they have to and other times because they get too busy in the critical suits. See Figure 1.

North and East passed and South opened one spade – after West passed North bid three diamonds, a Bergen raise showing a limit raise in spades with at least four trumps.

Normally South would go to game holding a singleton but with 11 points opposite a passed partner she wisely signed off in three spades.

West lead a heart and declarer saw the play straight away – she won the heart, drew two rounds of trumps, and cashed the other heart throwing a diamond, and then ruffed a heart to come to this position. See Figure 2.

The key now is not to touch clubs yourself but exit with a diamond – the defence is helpless!

They can cash two diamonds but then have to open up clubs themselves which guarantees you only two losers in the suit – if they lead another red card you can ruff in the South hand and throw a club from the North hand with the same result .

So, there are two keys here. After drawing trumps and taking the discard ruff the last heart, taking away an exit card for the opponents. And then, hand them the lead in a suit where you have unavoidable losers.

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, August 19

1. Gertie Barker - Judy King

2. Molly Taussig - John Glynn

3. Stephanie Kyme - Diana Diel

Monday, August 22

1. Elizabeth McKee - Stephanie Kyme

2. Lorna Anderson - Heather Woolf

3. Diana Diel - Marge Way

Tuesday, August 23

1. Katyna Rabain - Louise Payne

2. Tim Mardon - Richard Hall

3. Duncan Silver - Mark Stevens

Wednesday, August 24

1. Molly Taussig - Sheena Rayner

2. Gertie Barker - Jane Smith

3. Judy King - Richard Gray