West has opened with at most 12 points (East showed up with ¨A J).  He has bid to the five level with only a doubleton in partner’s suit and so must have seven clubs.  So he is likely to have four hearts to ©K Q.  If East’s singleton heart is ©10, as it was, the suit can be established.  If not, declarer will lose two hearts but no club as West cannot touch the suit and the hearts can be established; West will either have to concede the fourth heart to North or give §Q its day in the sun.

So, after drawing trumps, ©J is played and West is helpless.  Covering with an honour sets up the suit.  A second heart is played to ©8.  West can duck and win the third but then has no escape.  Ducking the first round is no better; a small heart is played from South and West is fixed as before.

Declarer was right to remove North’s double - 5§ is nearly a make and needs careful defence (playing diamonds).  Double dummy enthusiasts will note that the only effective defence against 5ª is to lead a SMALL diamond at trick one so that partner can win with ¨J and play back a club while a heart trick is still outstanding.  Leading ©K initially also works as long as West holds up ©Q for one round to put East on play to lead a club.

Notes on the bidding:

1.        Not a great suit but not everyone likes to double with such hands.

2.        Having limited his hand y passing this must show a good suit and some tolerance for clubs.

3.        With a partial fit for partner this is not as wild as it looks.

4.        A balanced hand with two aces looks best for defence.

5.        A reasonable shot at the vulnerability.