“Did Stella really play badly?”

This Sunday evening, when she gave me the details of a training session, Isabelle told me how her teammate Stella, a little Newbie, misdefended a hand. The latter is sixteen years young and still lacks experience.

Isabelle: “Stella led the Heart 7 for East’s Jack and declarer’s Queen. It wasn’t too hard to know that South had Ace and Queen of Hearts, right? If East held the Ace, she would have played high in third position. She cannot play the Jack and let declarer win the first trick with the Queen when the defense could take the first five tricks in Hearts.

Me: ”Yes, you’re right. But I think Stella did realize that.”

Her: “So she probably didn’t count declarer’s tricks. Because we know that declarer is going to take two Hearts, five Clubs and at least two Diamonds.”

Me: “How do we know declarer is going to take five Clubs?”