ACES ON BRIDGE
Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for us to endure nobly.
— Matthew Quick When South showed short hearts and a slam try, North bid slam. What was already a touch-and-go contract turned into a very tough one when South won the heart and led a trump to dummy to find the horrid break. Declarer ruffed a heart next, and then crossed to the diamond king to eliminate the hearts. However, when declarer exited with a trump, East could get out with a club. Declarer ran that to dummy but still had to lose a spade trick later on.
Declarer’s best chance is to endplay East, but she needs to eliminate clubs as well as hearts. Declarer should run the club jack at trick three, after which she can ruff a heart.
South can now cross to the second top trump, ruff another heart, cash the club ace-king, and then exit in trumps. East must now lead a spade around to dummy’s queen, and declarer finesses the spade jack on the way back.
Incidentally, consider how the slam should be played if trumps break more favorably. Strangely enough, South should next play a spade to the jack, not a club. If that holds, declarer can assume the spade king is onside.
South leads the diamond jack to the king, ruffs a heart high, plays the diamond four to dummy, and then ruffs a heart to eliminate that suit. She can subsequently play off the club ace-king and give up a club. If East wins, he is endplayed in a way similar to before, except that now he has the additional option of conceding a ruff-and-sluff.
This line brings home the slam when West holds queen-doubleton in clubs.
ANSWER: Your spade support is excellent, but a jump raise would show four spades. Three clubs is a game force, and three diamonds is inappropriate with such a bad suit and good spades. You could reverse into hearts — if partner raises those, he must have five spades and you can correct to spades. All told, I might seriously consider a call of two clubs.