Three Views–Solution

Here was the original (matchpoint) problem:

Trick 1: 2♥️(West), 4♥️, 8♥️, A♥️

Now what?

Solution–
We don’t know who has the K♦️. Let’s start with Declarer’s view of East’s view:

If East wins the K♦️she will almost certainly return a ♥️. Her partner seems likely to have some high ♥️s. And she won’t want to give declarer a free finesse in ♣️s.

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Now for Declarer’s view of West’s view:

When South leads a small ♦️–West will likely duck because it looks like partner has the A♦️. Even if West does not duck, declarer has lost nothing because the ♦️ finesse was losing anyway.

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Conclusion: Declarer should lead a small ♦️ away from his ♦️ A 6.
(1) If East has K♦️:  she will return a ♥️. The ♦️s are then set up for ♣️ discards. Declarer wins 12 tricks (if ♠️s are 2-1).
(2) If West has K♦️:   he will most likely duck rather than risk setting up partner’s A♦️ to be ruffed by South. Declarer loses no ♦️s.

Either way, leading 6♦️ from the South hand is your best chance for a great matchpoint score. Do it immediately before the defenders figure out what’s going down!

Here was the entire deal:

When this hand was played, West ducked the 6♦️ from South. North/South got a top matchpoint score.

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