Contract Bridge

One of the best ways to decide whether you have the values to open with a forcing two- bid is to imagine that you open with one of a suit instead and partner passes. If your immediate reaction is that you would like to be in game even though partner has less than six points, you should open with a forcing two- bid.

Here South, looking at 11 solid tricks, had a clear- cut opening two- bid. When partner had enough to make a positive response and later showed the ace of clubs in response to Blackwood, South very reasonably undertook a grand slam. His next problem was how to play the hand after West led a diamond.

South has one potential loser to take care of — the queen of hearts — and there are three possible ways to take care of it. Two are obvious: He can try a heart finesse, or he can try a club finesse. If the finesse he chooses succeeds, he makes the grand slam.

But if the finesse loses, South does not get a second chance. Furthermore, there is no compelling reason to prefer one finesse over the other. Each has a 50% chance of success.

The third approach, not quite as easy to see, substantially increases declarer’s chances. For starters, South gives up on the club finesse. This leaves him no worse off, since he still has the heart finesse in reserve.

But he gains something valuable in exchange — a chance to establish a club trick without risking a finesse. So he wins the opening diamond lead, plays a club to the ace and ruffs a club high.

A low trump to dummy’s nine and another club ruff high are followed by a low trump to the ten and still another club ruff. This establishes dummy’s queen of clubs as a trick on which South can discard his queen of hearts, with dummy’s remaining spade as the entry, and the grand slam is home.