Contract Bridge

Post-mortems often prove very illuminating, since they permit an analysis of every avenue of play with all four hands in view.

Consider this deal played in a national championship. East opened five clubs, vulnerable, and carried on to six after South bid five spades. North doubled, and East finished down one after South led the ace and another diamond.

South was unhappy with the outcome, contending he could have made a slam in spades — worth 980 points — against any defense. After a club lead, he would have ruffed, played a diamond to the jack, continued with the K-A of diamonds and ruffed a diamond in dummy to produce his 12th trick. His only loser would have been a trump.

West challenged this statement, claiming he could stop the slam by leading the ace and another trump. But South stuck to his guns, insisting he would have made the slam even with a trump lead and offered to back his opinion by betting the traditional old family homestead.

Further analysis led to the conclusion that South was right. Declarer wins the second trump lead with dummy’s six and returns the king of hearts, forcing East to cover with the ace. South ruffs, leads a diamond to the jack and returns the jack of hearts.

When East covers with the queen, South ruffs and then cashes all his remaining trumps, reducing his own hand to the A-7-4 of diamonds. On the last trump, West must choose a discard from the Q-8-6 of diamonds and ten of hearts in front of dummy’s K-5 of diamonds and 9-7 of hearts. West can’t discard successfully, and declarer makes the slam.

All of which explains why South is still living happily on his old family homestead.