Watch Them Spots


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

How do you avoid three diamond losers here, or to word it another way, how do you make a winner out of those cards? The answer is you don't, without help from the defense. But defenders found three different ways of allowing that trick.
A few led low from dummy's holding, East hopping up and now whether East continues with his second top honor or lets declarer initiate the second round of diamonds, declarer has a winner coming if he doesn't squander his 10. East has a tough decision there and I'm not here to critique the play. The other two ways the defense allowed a trick, however, are not so tolerable.
One West player went up with the J on declarer's low lead first round. Declarer covers, and now, of course, can generate a winner by leading toward his guarded 10 when he regains the lead. But the play that caught my attention and which was repeated by several East players was the play of the 9 of diamonds on the third round of trump!
It was obviously a signal: "Hey, Pard, I've some good stuff in diamonds. If you get the lead, how about a diamond to me, huh?" This was information West couldn't use, didn't ask for, didn't need to know -- and not least, cost the defense a trick.
For now declarer can lead the 7 or 8 and push it through if uncovered. Declarer regains the lead and knocks out the second top honor with the Q, taking the J with her and the 10 is a winner. The 9 is a winner-enabler. It won't win a trick, or at least is unlikely to, but it guards the A, K & J to maximum productivity.
Q 9 8 7
2
K J 7 3
K 7 3 2
6 3 A 4
Q J 9 8 7 6 5 10 4
A 4 Q 10 9 6 2
J 9 A 10 6 4
K J 10 5 2
A K 3
8 5 Contract: 4 spades
Q 8 5 Opening lead: A of diamonds

Declarer was relieved of a guess on that opening lead, but still had his problems. He'd have to lose a trick to the A of spades and A of clubs, and the question at issue was whether he could avoid a second club loser.
West continued at trick 2 with another diamond, declarer wisely declining to trust his fortunes to a finesse there.
He now knocked out the A of spades, and when East continued with diamonds, wisely ruffed too high for third hand to overruff, West discarding the 9 of clubs. Declarer now drew the second round of trump, cashed the top hearts and ruffed a heart, led the J of diamonds, covered by East, ruffed by declarer, who now led a club to the K and East's Ace. East continued the suit, declarer finessing the 8, and when that held, he was home free.
I think the defensive loss of a winner-enabler is probably apparent. With seven hearts, West couldn't spare one rather than that 9 of clubs? Oh, he wanted to shorten the suit so as to get a ruff? Maybe. But with a declarer leading trump as soon as he got the lead and feeling comfortable ruffing with the K while the Q is showing, the likelihood of getting a ruff is about as great as the likelihood that those hearts will prove important.
No, there isn't much excuse for pitching that 9 of clubs. Declarer has the lead with the high trump in dummy, the hearts are useless, or at least the 7th was, and by golly, 9's have been known to bear some important, ya know, even if they don't win a trick.