Bridge
One of the arts of declarer play is giving a defender a chance to aid your cause. In this deal, you bid brilliantly to seven diamonds. How should South plan the play after West leads the spade queen?
It is much easier said than done to get to seven diamonds, which is an excellent contract. In this constructed sequence, where I have used a convention to fit the layout, North’s three spades showed length in both minors.
After South set diamonds as trump, North control-bid (cue-bid) his first-round heart control, South control-bid in spades, North showed his second-round club control, and South leapt to seven diamonds – real bridge players don’t need Blackwood!
North was nervous that his partner had assumed he held the club ace. But if South had been missing an ace, he would have used Blackwood over four hearts.
The contract looked too easy – draw trumps and claim. But just in case East had all three missing diamonds, declarer won the first trick with dummy’s spade king and called for the diamond jack.
East was caught napping.
Holding the 10 as well, he thought it could not cost to cover with his queen.
He learned a salutary lesson when South won with his ace, ruffed a heart in the dummy, and ran the diamond nine through East.
Seven diamonds, bid and made.
Of course, if East had played low smoothly at trick two, declarer was going to win with his ace. He was not going to risk losing to a singleton or doubleton queen in the West hand.