BRIDGE

Both vulnerable. South deals.
NORTH
x J 10 7
u K J 9
v A J 3
w 7 5 4 2
WEST EAST
x 9 6 4 3 x 8 5 2
u Void u Q 10 8 4
v 9 7 6 2 v 10 8 5
w Q J 10 8 6 w K 9 3
SOUTH
x A K Q
u A 7 6 5 3 2
v K Q 4
w A
The bidding:
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
1u Pass 1NT Pass
3v Pass 4u Pass
6u Pass Pass Pass
Opening lead: Queen of w
It was late in the evening and the games at the club were wrapping up, but few players were leaving. Instead, they were crowded around the table where Trump Coup Tommy was declarer at six hearts, a contract that seemed impossible in view of the bad trump break. But such was the reputation of Tommy on hands with bad trump distributions that everyone was awaiting the outcome.
The auction was interesting. North's one-no-trump response was, by agreement, forcing and Tommy, needing to show his powerful hand, manufactured a jump shift to three diamonds. North's jump to game, conventionally, showed invitational values with three-card trump support, and Tommy bid the slam without a moment's hesitation.
West led the queen of clubs. Tommy won the opening lead and immediately led a heart to the king, the technically correct way of guarding against either defender holding all four missing trumps. When West discarded a club, the hand was right down Tommy's alley. Declarer rose with the king of hearts and ruffed a club, cashed out the spades, then crossed to the jack of diamonds to ruff another club. The king of diamonds was cashed and the queen of diamonds to the ace reduced both East and Tommy to three trumps while the J 9 of hearts and a club remained in dummy.
When the club was led, East was a dead duck. He ruffed with the eight of hearts, and Tommy countered by underruffing! East now had to lead away from the queen of trumps into declarer's combined A J tenace, and the slam was home.
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