1. You are sure to make the slam if the opposing clubs are divided 3-2, so all of your thoughts should be centered on how to overcome a 4-1 or 5-0 club division.

By far the best approach, after winning the spade lead with the ace, is to play as many trumps as necessary until the opponents have exactly one trump remaining. You deliberately do not draw this last trump, but instead next play the ace of hearts and A-K of clubs.

If both opponents follow to both clubs, you draw the missing trump and concede a club trick. If the clubs divide 4-1 or 5-0, and the ace or king of clubs gets trumped, you score the rest of the tricks because the player who ruffs is forced to return a spade or a heart to dummy.

If the clubs divide 4-1 or 5-0 and neither the ace nor king gets ruffed, you next lead the deuce of trump, hoping that the player who wins with the missing trump will be forced to return a spade or a heart.

2. Let’s say you win the spade queen with the king and try a club finesse. If it loses, South will return a spade, and if North started with five spades to the A-10, you go down one.

Alternatively, you could win the spade lead, cross to the king of hearts and take a heart finesse through South. If this lost, you’d still be in trouble because you’d have only eight sure tricks. You could then try a club finesse but again would go down if it lost.

The safest line of play, though, is to let South win the first trick! This assures the contract whether North has four or five spades. Let’s say South returns a spade at trick two. When you play the jack, North may or may not take his ace, but the contract is safe either way.

Assume he ducks. You next try the club finesse, confident that if it loses, South cannot harm you. If he has a spade to play, it means North started with only four of them, and you finish with nine tricks. If South has no more spades, you also have at least nine tricks.

Tomorrow: Club play saves the day.

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