The immortal composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was better known in his own time as an organ virtuoso and a builder and tester of organs. Bach is reported to have stated that the organ is not difficult to play — you just hit the right keys at the right time, and the instrument plays itself.
Good dummy play amounts to playing the right cards at the right time. How would you handle this textbookish slam?
A 6 4 A Q K 7 4 A Q 9 6 5
K 9 8 7 5 2 10 A J 3 2 K 2
You reach 6, and West leads the Q. When you take the ace and king, East discards a heart. You expect to set up the clubs for two diamond discards, but when you take the K and lead a second club, West discards a heart. After winning in dummy with the ace, how do you continue?
North A 6 4 A Q K 7 4 A Q 9 6 5
West Q J 10 J 9 7 6 4 2 9 8 5 3
East 3 K 8 5 3 Q 10 6 J 10 8 7 4
South K 9 8 7 5 2 10 A J 3 2 K 2
The actual declarer tried to combine their chances. They cashed the KA.When the queen didn’t fall, they tried a heart finesse. That line of play earned them an extra undertrick since East produced the K and cashed the Q.
South does better to continue with the Q at the fourth trick, discarding a heart. If West declines to ruff, South exits with a trump, forcing West to lead a heart or a diamond. If West leads a heart, South can finesse with the queen. If East has the king, South ruffs and can still try a finesse with the J.
I watched two slams on OKbridge that were more taxing.
Dlr: South Vul: None
North A 9 Q 2 A Q 10 6 4 10 9 8 4
West K 8 10 9 7 5 9 8 5 2 K 5 2
East 4 3 K 8 6 3 K J 7 Q 7 6 3
South Q J 10 7 6 5 2 A J 4 3 A J
West
North
East
South
1
Pass
2
Pass
2
Pass
3
Pass
4NT
Pass
5
Pass
6
All Pass
The auction was yet another case of what can happen when a casual partnership tries to play “two over one.” South had read somebody’s book and thought North’s 3 was a slam try. North had read somebody else’s book and thought he could force with 3 to look for the best game. The result was a tenuous slam.
West, afraid of dummy’s diamond suit, attacked with the 2: 4, queen, ace. South could have made the slam by playing for a friendly lie of the trumps. Instead, he adopted a line that looks slightly superior — he led to the Q. If the finesse had worked, he would have discarded the J on the A and would have succeeded if either the heart finesse had won or the trumps had come in. Alas, East produced the K and returned a club for down one.
Declarer was luckier in the other slam.
Dlr: South Vul: None
North A 8 3 2 A 10 A 10 9 5 A K 7
West 7 4 J 3 K 3 2 10 8 6 5 4 2
East K 10 9 6 8 7 6 5 8 7 6 4 J
South Q J 5 K Q 9 4 2 Q J Q 9 3
West
North
East
South
1
Pass
1
Pass
1NT
Pass
6NT
All Pass
Long ago, players would have turned up their nose at the idea of opening the South hand. Now a little thing such as having only one defensive trick is no deterrent to initiating an auction. When South rebid 1NT, North had an easy raise to 6NT and might have half expected South to take 13 tricks. (South could have held J4, KQJ72, KQ3, Q93.)
West led a club, and South won in dummy, noting the fall of East’s jack. They knew they were safe if they picked up the hearts. Correctly divining that East was short in clubs and therefore long in hearts, South cashed the A and let the 10 ride.
West gratefully took the jack and shifted to a spade, but South wasn’t tempted to take a practice finesse in that suit — what he needed was good luck in diamonds. So South grabbed the A, came to his Q, cashed his hearts to discard dummy’s remaining spades, and led the Q. All was well.
Frank Stewart is one of the world's most prolific bridge journalists. He won many tournament events before devoting himself to writing. Frank has published hundreds of magazine and on-line articles. He has written 24 books, among them "Becoming an Expert," "Play Bridge With Me," "Who Has the Queen?" and most recently "Keys to Winning Bridge." In 2014, Frank Stewart received the International Bridge Press Association's Alan Truscott Award. He has been the senior analyst for ACBL-wide Charity and International Fund events since 1980. Frank and his wife, Charlotte, a pediatric speech pathologist, live in Fayette AL. They have a 17-year-old daughter.
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