ANOTHER UNUSUAL SUIT ESTABLISHMENT

Alfred North Whitehead, an English mathematician and philosopher, said, “It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.”

Yesterday, we had a thin slam that needed luck and skill — here is another, one that requires an unusual form of suit establishment. How should South plan the play in seven spades after West leads a trump, and East discards a diamond?

Over South’s one-spade opening, North responded four diamonds, a splinter bid promising fourcard or longer spade support, a singleton or void in diamonds and at least game-going values. This bid improved South’s hand, so he control-bid the heart ace. That was sufficient for North, who jumped to five no-trump, which was the Grand Slam Force, asking South to bid seven spades with two of the top three spade honors.

At first glance, maybe you went for these 13 tricks: five spades, two hearts, three clubs and three diamond ruffs in the dummy. However, the bad heart break is fatal.

It is better to play for five spades, three hearts, three clubs and two diamond ruffs. Declarer should draw trumps and cash the heart ace. (Starting with the heart king is fatal if West has all four hearts, unlikely though that may be.) If both opponents follow, South plays a heart to the king, discards his remaining hearts on the top clubs and ruffs a heart.

Here, when West discards, declarer also plays a heart to the king and pitches his last three hearts, but then he leads the heart jack for a ruffing finesse through East’s queen to establish a third winner in the suit.