The one bridge resolution I made years ago was that if you have a 5-4 fit in a suit, play for the drop (i.e. play for the outstanding cards to be 2-2) unless there is a huge reason not to. The one time I deviated from my resolution was in Hungary, in a very strong teams tournament. I bid a rather optimistic grandslam, missing the Queen of trumps, and I froze when drawing trump. Resolutions were forgotten and as I sat there wondering what on earth to do, I didn’t play them to split and I went down! Hero to zero in one card. Obvs I was the only nutter to bid it.

A good principle is not to let the opps lead you away from a good plan (see diagram).

Pre-empts vary, but with an 8-bagger and an Ace, 4 Spades can’t be too dangerous. West leads the ◆Q, ducked all around, and the next Diamond goes to East, who plays a Club. You win and lay down the King of trumps, which holds the trick. What now?

There are three trumps outstanding, and now they need to be 2-1. You could play a small Spade and hope to bring down the Ace, or you could play the Queen hoping to pin the Jack. So, which one?

If you think it’s a guess, make this your resolution – it will improve your game and is very simple: stick to your original plan. What would you do if the opponents had taken the King of Spades? Then, naturally, you would have no option but to next play the Queen and hope that the Jack drops. So, the opponents ducking the King should not alter that plan; after the King holds, it’s 100 per cent correct to follow with the Queen.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!