How to make extra tricks

Usually when you are declarer you have a stronger hand than dummy, and more trumps. You can therefore view your hand as providing the main source of tricks, with dummy giving a bit of help. Sometimes dummy helps with high cards, sometimes with a shortage that means you can ruff. Sometimes dummy helps with a long side-suit that you can establish, which is a bit harder to spot.

Very often when dummy has shortage (meaning you can ruff), it also has a long side-suit (which you can establish). But it's usually difficult to do both, and you have to decide which to do. For example, take this hand that my Junior teams played in the Inter Schools Trophy.

You are East. Playing 4♥ you have 9 top tricks: 1 Spade, 5 Hearts, 2 Diamonds, 1 Club. You only need one more trick. The easiest way to get it is to ruff a Diamond. Then take the Spade finesse for the overtrick.

But what about if you are playing 6♥? Not so far-fetched, as one Junior Pair bid it. You now need three extra tricks on top of the nine you already have.

• Option 1 is to go for two Diamond ruffs, plus the Spade finesse. If this all works you get 2 Spades, 5 Hearts, 4 Diamonds, 1 Club for 12 tricks.
• Option 2 is to try and set up the Clubs for one loser. If it works you get 1 Spade, 5 Hearts, 1 Diamond, 5 Clubs for 12 tricks.

Although going for the ruffs is the natural thing to do for most players, it's going to be tough. You need the 50/50 Spade finesse, plus a lot more, as getting back to hand each time to ruff, then draw trumps, is going to be tricky. In Option 2 if Clubs behave reasonably you are home, and that's it. So if you need 12 tricks then setting up the long suit is the better option.

On this layout the Spade finesse fails, so Option 1 will never get you 12 tricks. Option 2 will lead to 6♥= unless you get a Spade lead.

In total the hand was played four times. The two more experienced Junior declarers in 4♥ both took a Diamond ruff, and picked up a second Club trick, for 4♥+1 (the Spade finesse failed). One of the less experienced declarers got to 6♥, and got a Diamond lead. Unfortunately the play didn't match the bidding, and perhaps overwhelmed by options and the level of the contract declarer neither ruffed Diamonds or set up Clubs and finished with the 9 tricks he started off with, for 6♥-3.

Summary: if you need lots of tricks consider setting up a long suit in dummy.