Bridge Chances are

Here’s a math puzzle for you: A fast-food place sells chicken strips in orders of six, nine and 20 strips only. What is the largest number of strips you can’t order?

While you’re pondering that, look at today’s North-South cards. How good are South’s chances of making his contract of 7NT?

North’s bids of four clubs and five clubs are the Gerber convention. When North finds that South has one ace and three kings, North can hope for five spade tricks, two hearts, three diamonds and two clubs, and if South has a queen, 13 tricks may be easy. (North’s bidding may strike you as bold — five spade tricks are not assured — but when South happens to hold a second queen, the grand slam has extra chances.)

West leads the ten of clubs, and South wins and counts 12 sure tricks: three in each suit. He may be tempted to test the spades next, his best suit, but then on the third high spade, South would have to discard a diamond or heart that might be his 13th winner.

Declarer can start by taking the top diamonds. When East discards, South continues with the A-K of hearts and a third heart to his queen. When the suit breaks 3-3, South is home.

If the hearts didn’t break well either, South would cash his other two high clubs, then try the spades. The last club might have squeezed a defender who started with length in both spades and a red suit. Failing that, South would succeed if the jack of spades fell. He would have to be quite unlucky to fail.

Puzzle answer: 43 strips. (For an explanation, visit goodriddlesnow.com/riddles/ view/749.)