Robert Frost said, “By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be boss and work 12 hours a day.”

At major bridge tournaments, there are two sessions of play, each lasting almost four hours – eight hours a day. But this deal revolves around the trump eight. How does it have a key role to play?

South is in four hearts. West leads the diamond 10 in answer to his partner’s opening bid. What should happen after that?

South, with a good eightcard suit and no outside values, correctly jumped straight to the four-level. He hoped that if he could not make his contract, he might force the opponents into an erroneous decision. Note that five diamonds doubled by East could cost a painful 1,400, North-South taking two spades, one heart, three clubs and a spade ruff by South.

East wins the first trick with his diamond queen, cashes the diamond ace, and continues with the diamond king, which South ruffs with his heart queen.

West might think that it cannot cost to overruff. But first, he should ask himself what he will do next. East cannot have a quick entry. Also, as the heart king will always score a trick, it cannot gain to overruff. West should discard.

South crosses to the dummy and leads the heart nine, which is covered by East’s 10 and South’s jack. Now West can take his king, and suddenly his eight has become a trick.

So, if you have nothing important to do, calmly discard; perhaps even an eight will be promoted as a winner.