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As South, how would you play 4H when West leads the four of clubs? Let’s say South has opened 1H and West has bid spades quite strongly. We can look at the full deal to make the problem into another double dummy one.

Board 6 from Tuesday 30/01/24
Dealer E EW Vul

	9 Q9742 T73 A985
KJT7653 J86 AQ 4		Q2 3 J9642 QJT32
	A84 AKT5 K85 K76

Few declarers made twelve tricks in a 4H contract on Board 18. Needless to say, there were none in 6H which can be made, if you have the help of Deep Finesse.
Board 18 from Wednesday 17/01/24
Dealer E NS Vul

	KQ862 AK6 A432 T
AJ753 T2 QJ6 A72		T94 J53 T95 9843
	Q9874 K87 KQJ65

Normal Blackwood 4NT or even Gerber (4C) will work well enough in most situations but there will be times when the RKC asking bid is crucial to being able to find the best final contract, which of course will nearly always be a slam, though sometimes it may be a five level contract when you find that a slam is unlikely or even impossible.

Before we start reviewing ‘double dummy’ problems from play in 2024, I would like to take another look at an interesting deal that I have reviewed some time ago, because it features one of my pet ‘likes’, the opening lead of an ace from specifically AQx against a No Trump contract.

Dealer N Nil Vul

	765 742 743 AKT7
983 AQ85 AQ6 864		KJ4 T93 KT852 J2
	AQT2 KJ6 J9 Q953

Heart in Mouth Stuff:
This one might possibly have been bid to 6H but never was. It might have made 6H but almost never was, in fact only three Souths made six on the obvious queen of diamonds lead. That is a good double dummy exercise in itself, how to make six the obvious and only sensible way, or how to make 6H the more risky Deep Finesse way. And finally we will have the real double dummy problem that would never occur in play, or in fact going to be executed by any declarer unless he was Deep Finesse or was clairvoyant or maybe obsessed with finessing everything that can be finessed!

Board 15 From Friday 8/12/23
Dealer S NS Vul

	642 KQ8 K632 J86
73 J6 QJT987 543		KJ95 973 A5 T972
	AQT8 AT542 4 AKQ