BRIDGE

Both vulnerable. East deals.
NORTH
x A K 7 6 4 2
u A K J 8 5 3
v A
w Void
WEST EAST
x Q 9 8 x Void
u Q 9 4 u 7
v J 8 3 v K Q 10 9 7 6
w K 9 7 5 w A Q J 10 8 2
SOUTH
x J 10 5 3
u 10 6 2
v 5 4 2
w 6 4 3
The bidding:
EAST SOUTH WEST NORTH
4NT Pass 5w 6w
Pass 6x Pass Pass
Pass
Opening lead: Five of w
You won't find much in bridge literature devoted to handling freak hands. That is because there is usually no right way to bid them -- you select an option and hope for the best. Here, however, North had to act for the first time at the five-level and had a sound option available.
East's four-no-trump opening bid asked partner to choose a minor suit. North's six-club cue-bid asked partner to select a major, and the excellent spade slam was reached.
West led the five of clubs, declarer ruffing in dummy. The first complication arose when declarer led the king of trumps and East showed out. There was a possible loser in each major suit. One way out of the dilemma was to concede a trick to the queen of spades immediately, win any return, cash the king of hearts and cross to the closed hand with the remaining trump honor to draw the last trump and lead a heart, then guess whether to take the finesse or play for a 2-2 split.
There was a better way available. Declarer abandoned trumps and led the jack of hearts at trick three, leaving West with a Hobson's choice. If West won with the queen, the ten of hearts would be an entry to the table to take the marked trump finesse; if West allowed the jack to win, East-West's heart trick would vanish and South would lose only a trump trick! Either way, 12 tricks were there.
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; 2004, Tribune Media Services