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Where is the sixth winner?!

For some reasons, the blog hasn't been updated since the end of April. And now I'm back, HAHAHA!

This is the deal in our weekly online training.

Board 1
Vul: None
Dealer: North
North    East    South    West
 Pass       1♣       1♢         1♠*
 Pass       2♡       Ap

1♠: take out X
Lead: ♢K

Trick     North    East    South    West
   1          ♢T        ♢A       ♢K         ♢4
   2                      ♡Q         ?

You lead ♢K and the declarer wins with the ♢A. Then the declarer plays ♡Q quickly. Now how to defend? Assuming that you duck on the first round and win with ♡A on the next round. You partner follows ♡8 and ♡5 respectively.

What we do first is to estimate the points and the distributions of the declarer's hand. He might hold 3♠, 4♡, 3♢, 3♣ or 2-4-3-4. You could win 2♢ and 1♡ now. The signal from your partner shows that he hold ♠AQ at least. Will you cash ♢ certainly? If you do that, where is the sixth winner?

If declarer is 2-4-3-4, the contract is icy. So the declarer must have 3♠ and the sixth winner will come from ruffing the third ♠ or through ♠ twice. So you should shift ♠ at once and ♢ is the connection between defenders.

Pay attention please: For North, it's still a challenge. If North holds ♠AQX, he should play ♠AQ before shifting ♢ to prevent blocking.

The full deal:
Board 1
Vul: None
Dealer: North

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