If you bid up, you must play up

If your partner overbids, pushing you into a contract that rates to be too ambitious, maybe you will find a clever line of play and pull through. In this deal from last month’s World Youth Bridge Team Championships in China, how did South play in seven diamonds after West had led the heart queen? North opened with a Polish Club, which would usually have hidden a balanced 12-14 points, but in this case was any 18-plus-pointer. South’s one-heart response promised four-plus hearts and 8-plus points. After two natural bids, North indicated five or more spades and 18-plus points. The diamond fit was uncovered, four hearts was a control-bid, four no-trump was Roman Key Card Blackwood, five hearts indicated two key cards, and North plunged into seven diamonds. The deal was originally described in the daily bulletin by David Bird from England. The declarer was Piotr Marcinowski from Poland. With only 10 top tricks, he needed to establish a fourth spade and score a couple of ruffing tricks. After winning with dummy’s heart king, declarer took the three top spades and discarded two clubs. Then came the spade six. When East covered with the jack, South had to ruff with his diamond 10. Luckily, West could not overruff. Now came the diamond ace, the heart ace for a club discard from dummy, a club to the ace, a club ruff with the diamond nine, two more rounds of trumps and claim. Marcinowski took four spades, two hearts, four diamonds, one club and two ruffs in the South hand.