You are North and have to play in a IMP-match a reasonable 6 contract.
East leads the 4 of s.

Make your plan.

How do you plan handle the trump suit?

R

Repetition

In a suit-contract you count your (or dummy's) loser and try to avoid as many as necessary.

With 9 trumps missing KJ10x there is a safety play for losing not more than 1 trick:
Play the A (this guards against RHO holding the stiff K) and then play small against Q.

If you apply a safety depends on all other circumstances of the hand. How many tricks you are allowed lose? What will happen, if you apply the safty in other suit?? ..............

A

Answer

You treat dummy as the main-hand and count 5 loser in , 1-2 in .

You can throw 3 of the spade losers on the high s and ruff the other 2. So you must draw exactly 2 rounds of trumps. You must be aware not to lose the trump control by playing the A in the 1. round.

You cannot win, if LHO Kxxx, x or void in s (28%)

You have a lot of transportation problems in the hand, so you should play:
trick 2. to A
trick 3. ruff
trick 4. to AQ with the intention to finesse the Q, if LHO plays low.
You'll make 7 if LHO has Kx of s. (20%)
You'll make 6, if LHO has xx, Kxx or K of s. (45%)
You'll go down, if LHO has xxx of s. (7%)

If you play the A in trick 4, you must come back to your hand with a heart (only sucessful, if s are 22).
[To come back to you hand by a 2. spade ruff is only sucessful, if spades are 33 or opp must ruff with the K]
You'll make 7 never 0% (fee for insurance)
You'll make 6, if LHO has xxx, xx, Kx or K in s (53%)
You'll go down, if LHO has Kxx (19%)
The "insurance" makes your chance to win 12% more less, because you cannot win against Kxx

In the actual you not this problem LHO had the stiff K, you take the A and what now?

This will be the next puzzle.

S

Source: No movie this time. The puzzle will be continued next week.