Get 'em Out: Trump, trump, trump


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

Two declarers went down in this cold contract, one advertising himself as Advanced plus, the other more modestly advertising herself as Intermediate. Since they each went down one, it might be difficult to distinguish the advanced from the intermediate. I'll tell you at the end.
Opening lead as given (for both). Declarer cashed the A of spades at trick 2 and continued the suit, for a good start. East went up and shifted to a low club, declarer taking this with the K. With the K? But you wanna be in dummy to lead spades again! Why on earth not let it ride to the J? To be sure, there's a near hidden danger there. If declarer does let it ride to the J of clubs and again leads a trump, East now goes up and continues spades himself, and now declarer has no access to those lovely hearts. The obvious antidote is to cash two rounds of hearts, sluffing two diamonds before continuing with the third round of spades. Declarer could now handle an return from East and claim.
Anyway, he took the club lead in the wrong hand, then ruffed a diamond -- and was overruffed! Who woulda thought a 7-1 split, huh? Silly question. If your mind is focussed, you don't hafta ruff a diamond. Whaddya think those hearts are for? Get to dummy. Sluff two diamonds on the top hearts, and now lead the third round of trump.
The other declarer jumped right into the heart suit at trick two -- and overdid it. How many heart winners do you need? And of course the answer is two. You sluff two diamonds. The rest of your side suit cards are winners, making allowance that a trick must be lost to the A of clubs. But she sluffed a club and two diamonds. A club! But that's substantially a winner, or winner-enabler, if you will, and beyond that, means of a certain entry to dummy when all trump are out! You lead the 9 and 4 to the J and 10, and one of 'em has to be a winner. (Remember, I said when trump are out.) So you don't wanna discard that lovely card.
Note that East can now inhibit an entry to dummy, given that singleton diamond. And if declarer cannot get back to dummy, declarer cannot pick up the 10 of spades. Well, now, after three heart leads, declarer cashed the A of spades and continued with a low spade. East won the second round, played the A of clubs, declarer playing the 9, and continued the suit. Declarer playing the 9! Though East could have inhibited an entry to dummy, that's not the same as saying he would, for indeed he made the one play that offered it. Declarer, of course, should unblock the clubs on that ace and now she has an entry to dummy. But declining that, her cause was doomed. After winning the club continuation with the K, she ruffed the K of diamonds(!)and was overruffed. Well, at least she lasted out till trick 9, whereas the first declarer was down at trick 5.
Well, you might have guessed that the second declarer was the intermediate. The first was indifferent to entries and the need to get out trump. The second not only discarded the valuable 4 of clubs as if it were rubbish, but when given a second chance to have an entry to dummy by way of clubs, couldn't bear to part with the K under the ace.