Contract Bridge

Eight of diamonds

When you’re playing a seemingly hopeless contract, you can sometimes accomplish your mission by enlisting the aid of the enemy. For example, take this deal where South bid and made six spades. This overly ambitious undertaking was entirely South’s fault. His jump- shift to two spades on only 13 points in high cards, while marginally acceptable, suggested a possible slam. But having already stretched his initial response by several points, South should not have gone to six unilaterally, which is what he essentially did later. He could have bid four spades over three to indicate minimum values for the jump- shift, or four diamonds over three spades to see whether North was interested in going beyond game. West led a diamond, and declarer saw that he had two apparently inescapable heart losers. But he also saw he might make the slam if he got phenomenally lucky. So after winning the diamond in dummy and drawing two rounds of trumps, South cashed the club ace and three more diamonds, discarding the jack of clubs from dummy. Then he led the five of hearts. West went up with the queen, and it was all over but the shouting. East had to win with the king and return a diamond or a club, either of which allowed South to discard his remaining heart as he ruffed in dummy. West should have realized that declarer could not have the K- x of hearts and play the hand the way he did. Had South held the K- x, he surely would have led a heart from dummy toward his hand at some point. West should therefore have played the ace of hearts rather than the queen on the assumption that East had the singleton king.