Bridge

How did South play in six spades after West led the heart king?

North’s four-club response was a splinter bid, showing four-plus spades, at least game-going values and a singleton (or void) in clubs; South control-bid in diamonds; North control-bid in hearts; and South used Blackwood twice before stopping in six spades.

South won with dummy’s heart ace, drew trumps, cashed the diamond ace and ran the diamond nine. However, East produced the queen and returned a heart to defeat the slam.

“I followed the odds in the diamond suit,” commented South. “Why?” asked North. “What do you mean?” North explained that South should have immediately played a club to his ace, ruffed a club high, drawn trumps ending in his hand and ruffed the last club. Then declarer could have led dummy’s heart six. Yes, West would have won with his queen, but what would he have done then?

West would have been endplayed. If he shifted to a diamond, it would have found the queen for South. Or, if West led a heart or a club, declarer would have ruffed on the board and sluffed a diamond from his hand.