South in today’s deal was young Australian star Michael Whibley. One no trump showed 14-16 points and the three-heart bid was a re-transfer, showing at least invitational values. Whibley’s three spades was a rejection. Four diamonds promised a singleton diamond — a psyche trying to inhibit a diamond lead. Whew!
Whibley rose with dummy’s ace on the opening spade lead, felling the jack from East. There were 11 tricks, and either the clubs or the hearts might provide another. Should Whibley knock out the king of trumps right away, however, East might win and shift to a heart, forcing Whibley to decide immediately which suit to go after for the extra trick. Whibley wanted to combine his chances, so he immediately cashed dummy’s ace and king of clubs. That dropped the queen from West, so Whibley could lead a trump and he had no further problems.
Had the queen of clubs not fallen, Whibley would have cashed the ace and king of hearts, shedding a low club from dummy. A club ruff with the eight of spades would establish the suit and he could then safely lead another spade. A well-thought-out line of play.