Heads Up Needed


J 4
A Q 9 6
K 10 8 3
J 8 2
K 10 5 9 6
10 8 5 2 J 7 3
2 Q J 9 6
A 6 5 4 3 K Q 10 7
A Q 8 7 3 2
K 4
A 7 5 4 Contract: 4 spades
9 Opening lead: 2 of diamonds

Declarer took the opening lead, saw an opportunity to get rid of a club loser, and so ran three heart tricks, sluffing the low club in the closed hand. At this point, he led the J of spades, finessing into West's K, that worthy following that with the A of clubs and a shift back to spades. Declarer took that trick with the A, cashed the Q of spades, getting the 10 of clubs from East, and then the 8 of spades, now getting the 6 of diamonds from East. Declarer now finessed a diamond into East's J, but the rest of the tricks were his.
East led a club, which declarer ruffed, and now on a low diamond to the K 10 of diamonds, he dropped the Q with the K, taking the last trick with the 10 of diamonds. Declarer had his contractd made, but East had allowed a valuable overtrick by cutting his diamond holding down to one less than dummy was showing, when he could well have spared a club discard. The hand looked like this at the start of trick 9:

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K 10 8
J 8
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10 ------
------ Q J 6
6 5 4 3 K Q
8 7
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7 5 4
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Declarer led the 8 of spades, sluffing 8 of clubs from dummy. East is in a comfortable position, discarding after declarer does from dummy, and he needs only to keep the same number dummy shows in each suit to realize two tricks from this end position. The K & Q of clubs might have looked powerful, but in fact only one is useful when dummy is cut to one club, and even that usefulness consists of preventing the J from being a winner rather than becoming a winner in its own right.
If East will just keep the same number of cards as dummy shows, if he'll keep Q J 6 back of declarer's K 10 8, he'll win a trick with the J on a finesse of the 8, get out with a top club, which declarer will ruff, and then with Q low back of dummy's K 10, East would get a second diamond trick.
Bid and made, yes, but with no overtrick if East is watching carefully.