A Helpless Suit That Is The Key

One of the hard parts of defense is realizing when an apparently useless suit actually has a key role to play. With that huge hint, it shouldn’t be too tough to spot the relevant suit in today’s deal.

What do you think about the bidding , and how should the play proceed in six no-trump after West leads a spade?

East was distinctly cowardly when he passed in third chair instead of opening with a weak two-heart bid. (If he had opened two hearts, South would have jumped to three no-trump, being too strong for two no-trump; or made a takeout double, which might have resulted in their playing in a makable four spades, despite the 5-1 trump break.

In the actual auction, North used Stayman to try to uncover a 4-4 spade fit, but when South denied four spades, North plunged into six no-trump, hoping that the heart suit would be double-stopped.

When East passed throughout, West understandably led a spade, selecting the slightly deceptive four because it was a slam contract. How should South have planned the play?

Declarer could see 12 potential tricks: four spades, two hearts, two or three (or four) diamonds and two (or three or four) clubs. He won with the spade 10 and crossed to the spade jack. What should East discard?

Right -- a heart, but he bizarrely pitched a diamond. South led toward his clubs.

After winning the trick, he returned to the dummy with a spade and played another club. Now East shifted to a heart.

Declarer had to guess the diamonds. Normally, he would cash the ace and finesse on the second round. However, influenced by the East robot’s discard, he guessed to take the ace and king, making the slam and getting a cold top.