Get out from under your own feet

Robert Or ben, a comedy writer, penned :“Every speaker has a mouth ;/ An arrangement rather neat ./ Sometimes it’ s filled with wisdom ./ Sometimes it’ s filled with feet .” There are times at the bridge table when you feel as though you must get out fromunderyourownfeet.In this deal, for example, South is in four spa des. West leads the heart ace and continues with the heart king. Everything looks so easy, but what must declarer do? North made a support double over West’ s two-heart intervention, which showed exactly-three-card spade support, but did not define his point-count. South, with an opening bid of his own, jumped to game, trusting that North would bid more in the unlikely event that he had extra values, and West had made a very weak vulnerable over call. The contract looked easy, with South apparentlyhaving 10 winners via five spades and five clubs. But after ruffing the heart king, cashing his spa de ace and playing a spa de to dummy’ s king, East’ s diamond discard was a blow. South pa used, then saw the solution. He cashed two top clubs, then finished removing West’ s trumps, and declarer, on the fourth round of spa des, ditched dummy’ s last club. South took three more tricks with his remaining high clubs to make his contract. Finally, note that if East had brave ly raised hearts, despite zero points and being vulnerable, West might have taken the push to five hearts, knowing that East was very short in spa des. Five hearts doubled goes down two, or perhaps only one if North does not lead a trump very early in the defence to cut down those spade ruffs.