Have courage never to submit or yeild

In a matchpointed pair game, in the quest for a lucrative overtrick it can be right to risk your guaranteed contract. Or, if you make a light opening bid, see it through. Don’t lie about your aces if partner produces Blackwood, and never pass a forcing bid. Similarly, when your prospects as declarer look dismal, play for any chance of success, however unlikely it might be. In today’s deal, South was in six spades. West led the heart king. Declarer won with dummy’s ace and cashed his two top trumps, East discarding a club on the second. How did South continue?

North’s four no-trump was Roman Key Card Blackwood. South’s response showed (zero or) three key cards, counting the four aces and the trump king as key. North used the next step to ask for the spade queen and settled for six spades when South denied that card. With a guaranteed trump loser, declarer had to discard both of his low hearts before West could ruff in and cash the heart queen. That required finding West with four diamonds and East with a singleton nine, 10 or jack. At trick four, South cashed the diamond queen, carefully unblocking the seven from the dummy. East’s 10 was a hopeful start. Next came the diamond six. When

West played the four, declarer didn’t submit or yield: He called for dummy’s five. The six won! Declarer played three more rounds of diamonds, discarding his heart losers, and claimed.