BRIDGE

North-South vulnerable. South deals.
NORTH
x 10 7 6 4
u Void
v A J 8 7 4
w K 10 7 5
WEST EAST
x J 3 2 x 9 8 5
u K 9 8 6 4 3 u Q J 2
v K v Q 10 6 3 2
w Q 8 2 w J 4
SOUTH
x A K Q
u A 10 7 5
v 9 5
w A 9 6 3
The bidding:
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
1w 1uDbl 2u
Dbl Pass 3w Pass
5w Pass 6w Pass
Pass Pass
Opening lead: Six of u
If you know there is only one distribution that will permit you to make a contract, you may as well try for it. Consider this deal.
South decided, correctly in our opinion, that the wealth of prime cards and the lack of tenaces made this hand unsuitable for an opening of one no trump (15-17). North's double of the one-heart overcall was negative -- for takeout, not penalties. South's double of East's heart raise showed extra values. Since the one-club opening bid did not promise more than three cards in the suit, we don't know why North elected to bid clubs rather than diamonds. In any event, South's jump to five clubs was, to put it mildly, highly imaginative (we would have preferred a cue-bid of three hearts), and North's raise to slam would have been understandable had the jack of diamonds been the queen of clubs.
With a spade or a diamond lead, declarer would have stood no chance. After the heart lead, however, South took advantage of his very slim prospects to bring home the questionable slam. Declarer ruffed the heart in dummy, crossed to hand twice with spade winners to ruff two more hearts, then cashed the king of clubs as the defenders followed to all these tricks. The remaining high spade provided the entry to cash the ace of clubs, setting up a long spade on the table as both defenders still followed. All that remained was for South to cross to dummy with the ace of diamonds and to discard a diamond on the 13th spade. The high trump provided the only trick for the defense.
XThis column is written by Tannah Hirsch and Omar Sharif. For information about Charles Goren's newsletter for bridge players, call (800) 788-1225 or write Goren Bridge Letter, P.O. Box 4410, Chicago, Ill. 60680
& copy; 2003, Tribune Media Services