BRIDGE
BRIDGE
East-West vulnerable. South deals.
NORTH
xA J 8 7 2
uA Q J
vJ 9
wA J 10
WEST EAST
xQ 9 x6 4 3
uK 10 9 2 u7 6 5 4 3
vQ 8 5 4 3 2 v10 7 6
w3 wK 9
SOUTH
xK 10 5
u8
vA K
wQ 8 7 6 5 4 2
The bidding:
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
1w Pass 1x Pass
2w Pass 2u Pass
2x Pass 3w Pass
3v Pass 6w Pass
Pass Pass
Opening lead: Four of v
Some contracts are almost unbreakable. However, that does not mean that, as declarer, you should not look for the best line.
Note that the club slam was reached without a single jump until the final bid. Three clubs was unconditionally forcing. When you have bid two suits, then remove from a major-suit partial to partner’s minor suit, you are not looking for a better partscore — you are probing for bigger things. It needed no more than a diamond cue-bid from South for North to contract for 12 tricks in clubs.
West led a diamond to declarer’s king. The ace of diamonds was cashed and a club to the ten lost to the king — had his majesty been singleton, East would have been endplayed; as it was, the defender had a safe exit with a trump, taken with the ace. Rather than guess which major-suit finesse to take, declarer first cashed the ace and king of spades — had the queen not appeared declarer would have taken the heart finesse to discard a spade on the ace of hearts, but when her majesty dropped the slam was in the bag.
Neatly as declarer played, this line was second-best. Correct is to win the king of diamonds, then cash the ace of diamonds and cross to the ace of hearts to ruff a heart. A club to ace provides the entry for another heart ruff and now a trump is led. Whichever defender wins must either give declarer a ruff-sluff for a spade discard from hand, or eliminate declarer’s spade guess by breaking that suit. This line requires only a 2-1 trump split to guarantee the contract.
2013 Tribune Media Services