BRIDGE

North-South vulnerable. East deals.
NORTH
x A K 8 2
u 10 8 5
v A Q 10 3
w K Q
WEST EAST
x 7 6 x 3
u K Q 7 4 u 9
v J 7 v K 9 8 6 5 4 2
w J 9 8 6 2 w 10 5 4 3
SOUTH
x Q J 10 9 5 4
u A J 6 3 2
v Void
w A 7
The bidding:
EAST SOUTH WEST NORTH
3v 4v Pass 5v
Pass 5x Pass 6x
Pass Pass Pass
Opening lead: Jack of v
Pre-emptive bids are two-edged swords. They can disrupt the enemy auctions, but they can also point the way to the winning line. Consider this deal.
In these days of aggressive preempts, East's three diamonds at favorable vulnerability will meet with approval by many despite the poor quality of the suit. South's cue-bid was a two-suited takeout and North's return cue-bid asked South to pick the suit. The spade slam was reached in short order.
West led the jack of diamonds, covered by the queen and king and ruffed high in hand. The queen of trumps was overtaken with the king and the three of diamonds was trumped with the ten. The last trump was drawn, the ace of clubs was cashed and a club to the king stripped that suit from both declarer's hand and dummy. The two diamond winners were cashed to eliminate the other minor from the table, declarer discards two hearts.
With the groundwork complete, a low heart was led from the table to cater to the possibility of East holding a singleton honor. When East produced the nine, declarer played the jack from hand.
In with the queen of hearts, West had a choice of losing alternatives. Since a club would allow declarer to ruff in hand while discarding a heart from the board, West returned a low heart. Dummy's ten was inserted and, when that held, the slam was home.
Declarer might have found this line without the help of East's preempt, but there are other lines available which might have been tempting.
& copy;2004, Tribune Media Services