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Your support makes all the difference.WITH both minor suit finesses wrong, Six Spades looks impossible on the deal below after the lead of the jack of clubs, but South spotted a tiny extra chance that would not have occurred to many players.
North opened One No- trump (12-14 points) and South responded Three Spades. With a maximum, in a hand including two aces and four-card trump support. North made an advance cue-bid of Four Clubs. This was enough for South and he jumped to Six Spades.
West led the jack of clubs and dummy's 4-3-3-3 hand shape was a slight disappointment. It was likely, after the lead, that the king of clubs was wrong and that the contract would depend on the diamond finesse. Oddly enough, there was no hurry to play for the remote chance of the club finesse succeeding and declarer won with dummy's ace.
South cashed the ace and king of hearts, drew trumps in two rounds, and led the five of hearts from the table. When East covered, he discarded his losing club. This exchanged one loser for another and left East on lead.
With an unenviable choice East tried a low diamond, but declarer got it right when he played low from hand and so made three diamond tricks.
And if West, rather than East, had been able to win the third round of hearts? He would be reduced to leading another club, whether he held the king or not, and there would still be time to try dummy's queen, with a possible diamond finesse in reserve.
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