NEW CANADIAN BRIDGE

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

East won the heart ace to switch to a diamond for the king. South drew trump, ending on the table, to continue with deuce of clubs. East rose with ace but declarer ruffed and claimed twelve tricks. Declarer did not actually need a club trick on this layout because the diamond jack would drop in three rounds. If East had played low, declarer would ruff and play off three top diamonds in search of the jack. If the jack had failed to appear, he would fall back on a ruffing finesse in clubs to produce a slam fulfilling twelfth winner. The club ace was likely to reside with East since he had offered a vulnerable overcall.

South's resolve to bid five spades in search of slam was duly rewarded when North advanced to an excellent slam. This action invited North to advance to slam as long as he could prevent the defense from cashing two heart tricks. Since North owned a singleton heart, he obliged by bidding six spades.

It was quite possible that North held two hearts where defeat would be imminent when West begins with a heart.

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