Choosing between line A and line B

Christopher Hitchens, an English author who lived the last 30 years of his life in the United States, said, “Beautiful sentences pop into my head. Beautiful sentences that aren’t always absolutely accurate. Then, I have to choose between the beautiful sentence and being absolutely accurate. It can be a difficult choice.”

At the bridge table, you try to find the accurate line of play or defense. If it is also beautiful, that’s an added bonus, giving you a story for dinner companions and grandchildren. You are teaching your grandchildren to play bridge, aren’t you?

South is in seven spades. What should he do after West leads a low heart?

Yes, this is the same deal as yesterday’s. Then, though, North bid more circumspectly by using a second dose of Blackwood to learn that two kings were missing; he stopped in six spades. Now, though, he just plunged into the grand slam. Let’s charitably assume that it was the last board of a total-point match in which North-south had to make a grand slam to win.

South has 11 top tricks: six spades, one heart, three diamonds and one club. He has finesses available in each rounded suit that could generate an extra winner or two.

The declarer should realize that even if the heart finesse wins, he will also need the club finesse to work. But if the club king is well placed, it gives South three tricks in that suit and 13 in all.

South should win with the heart ace, draw trumps and run the club jack. Assuming it wins, declarer plays a club to dummy’s queen, discards his last heart on the club ace and claims.