Declarer's maneuvers in the trump suit

Mark Twain said, "Tell the truth or trump - but get the trick."

A bridge player will happily trump if it gains a trick, but there are times when winning that one trick costs two in the future. This week, we will look at declarer's efforts to gain extra trump tricks and to avoid losing tricks unnecessarily.

In this deal, for example, South is in four hearts. West leads his fourth-highest spade. East wins with the ace and returns the spade four. Should South discard a club loser or ruff?