K 8 6 5    

J 5 2

7 6 4 3             

K 2          

A

A K Q

A K 2

A 8 7 6 5 3

Contract: 6NT          Opening lead: J

After a difficult auction, you stumble into 6NT. Obviously, you’ll have to assume that clubs are 3-2. You plan to discard your 2 on dummy’s K, but because you are in 6NT rather than 6, you have an entry problem. Do you see it?

If you make the "normal" play at trick two of leading a club to the king, you can no longer make the hand! If you then cash the K and play clubs, East-West will run spades. Of course, if you don’t cash the K, unless E-W are eager to help you by leading spades, you’ll never get back to dummy to cash the spade, and will eventually concede the 2 for the setting trick.

What’s the answer? You must lose your loser early. At trick two, lead your 3 and play the 2 from the board. Now, you are totally in control.