In a duplicate pairs’ competition, there is a continuing battle to see if a declarer can manage an overtrick or two, or if the defenders can gain an additional undertrick. Just making the contract, or defeating it by one trick, is often not good enough. In a team competition, or at rubber bridge (real bridge, some say), just making the contract is declarer’s goal. Overtricks don’t matter very much unless the contract is doubled. It is easy for a declarer to lose sight of this and get careless.
South won the opening spade lead with his king and led a club to the 10 and king. East ducked the first club, but won the second as West shed a low spade. East reasoned that West would not have discarded a spade if he wanted that suit returned. As West might easily have discarded a higher spade, East decided that his partner would prefer a diamond shift, the lower ranking of the other two suits.
East shifted to the eight of diamonds, South put up his king, and West allowed the king to hold. Declarer tried the jack and another club. East won and led a second diamond, allowing West to take three diamond tricks for down one.
A lovely defense, but declarer might have succeeded. He could have allowed West’s 10 to hold the first club trick by not covering it in dummy. His diamond holding would be safe from attack and he could knock out the ace of clubs later. There would have been nine tricks in his pile at the end of the hand.
