BRIDGE

Both vulnerable. South deals.
NORTH
x A 8 4
u A J 3
v J 5
w Q J 7 4 2
WESTEAST
x 10 7 5 3x Q J 6 2
u 8 2u K 7 6 5
v 10 7 2v 8 4 3
w K 10 8 3w 9 5
SOUTH
x K 9
u Q 10 9 4
v A K Q 9 6
w A 6
The bidding:
SOUTHWESTNORTHEAST
1vPass2wPass
2uPass2xPass
3NTPass6NTPass
PassPass
Opening lead: Seven of x
When there are several possible lines for your contract, it is important to test them in the right order. Cover the East-West hands. How would you play this hand at six no trump after the lead of the seven of spades?
When the auction starts with an opening bid of one diamond and a response of two clubs, any reverse bid by opener must be treated with a touch of caution. Because the response stole so much bidding space, opener's next bid might be forced. Here, North elected to check on South's strength with a temporizing bid in a new suit. When South confirmed extra values by jumping to three no trump, North decided that there would be play for slam.
West led the second-best of a shabby suit, and declarer had several possibilities: Assuming that the diamonds were going to produce five tricks, a 3-3 heart split combined with a successful finesse would produce 12 tricks; if hearts did not break, two tricks could be established in clubs, but that ran the risk of losing a trick in both hearts and clubs.
The club suit could produce enough tricks if the suit broke 3-3, whether or not the finesse succeeded. However, after a 4-2 break, declarer could not afford a losing heart finesse.
After some thought, declarer came up with the best of all worlds. After winning the first trick in hand, declarer led a low club toward the queen. If West held the king and rose with it, the club suit would probably produce four tricks and a heart finesse would be unnecessary. If West played low on the club and the jack lost to the king, declarer would have time to test the club. If the suit produced four tricks, the heart finesse would not be needed. And if the jack won, declarer could abandon clubs and set up three tricks in hearts, collecting two tricks in each black suit to go with five diamonds and three hearts.
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