This one could appear in a Truscott column. Indeed, I just saw recently where a 4-2 fit (maybe in Frank Stewart's column) was the best trump suit on the hand!

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

After that opening lead, West had two ways of holding declarer to five, but thought declarer might have trouble returning to her hand after a spade ruff, and so continued spades, giving her opponent a chance for six. But when declarer wound up down two, it didn't appear to be such a bad gamble: one overtrick offered for getting a misplayed cold game and down two.

I hardly need to go through what declarer should have done. She ruffs the second spade lead, cashes the king of trump, comes to her hand with the queen of diamonds and draws trump. She gets the most favorable break the cards could offer: 4-3 with the jack in the short hand. An initial cursory glance made me think she was exceedingly lucky there. But I later saw that she was only lucky for an extra trick and that she can make the hand on any 4-3 heart break, the odds-on split with 7 cards out.

If the jack of hearts didn't fall in three leads, she would just lead diamonds until somebody ruffed in. She could then handle a spade lead in her own hand with the last trump and run her winners. On best defense (a diamond lead), declarer (against a thrice-guarded jack of hearts) would win four heart tricks (i.e., three on leads, then the fourth after running diamonds until a defender ruffed in), four diamonds (five minus one that is ruffed) and two clubs. But this declarer was cold for five against best defense and six with the defense she got! What went wrong?

Here's what she did: she ruffed the second spade lead, played the king of hearts, came to the closed hand with a diamond, cashed the ace of hearts. So far so good. Just one more heart lead would presumably have shown her the light. But at that point, she shifted to diamonds!

West ruffed, of course and led a spade, declarer ruffing with the ten. Now she still had it within her grasp for one overtrick, since she and West at that point had traded boo-boo's. There were only two trump out and she had the top one. She only had to cash it for trump were then 1-1. Instead, she went to her clubs, cashing the top two and conceding the third round to the queen, and now it was hopeless. West led spades a fourth time, which declarer ducked, then a fifth time, which she ruffed, and on her ace of diamonds, both East and West had a trump to offer.

What can one say? Diamonds would have been a much safer contract, of course, but they weren't in diamonds. Indeed, they were not only in a makable major suit contract, but West offered an opportunity for a second overtrick! You've got to play the hand you're given, and here it was a simple hand, requiring only the drawing of trump. And if you get a bad trump break? Well, there'll be time enough to worry about that when you see it.

Yes, there are reasons for not drawing trump immediately, yes, yes, yes. But I can't see a glimmer of one here. Cash your trump, run your winners and congratulate your partner on his astute bidding, even though you wanted to strangle him when you saw dummy. The cast of mind I think I see here (as elsewhere) is that elementary lessons no longer apply when you reach greater sophistication. Yes, Virginia, they still apply, though greater sophistication should lead you to recognizing the times they don't. But get out your trump should be your number one inclination in any trump contract, to be sidestepped momentarily only for positive reasons.