Another impossible contract. Bridge Column for August 16, 2002, Harvey Bernstein North-South vulnerable. North deals. North S: 2 H: 4 D: A 9 5 3 C: K J 10 9 6 5 4 West East S: 8 6 S: A K 10 9 5 3 H: Q 8 6 5 3 H: K 7 D: Q J 10 7 2 D: 6 4 C: 3 C: 8 7 2 South S: Q J 7 4 H: A J 10 9 2 D: K 8 C: A Q The Bidding: North East South West 1C 2S 3H Pass 4C Pass 4NT Pass 5D Pass 6NT Pass Pass Double Pass Pass Pass A friend of mine called to tell me about this hand that was played during a match point duplicate bridge tournament. There are two very important thoughts that should be examined with relation to this deal, but the bidding sequence shown is not one of them. The final contract is also a little silly, which brings us to point one. The player in the East seat has bid spades and the opposition has found it's way, in some manner, to a no trump slam. I would suspect that West would lead a spade against six no trump, if there was no reason not to. When East doubled this contract, West thought that his partner was asking him to make an unusual lead. This was not so unreasonable, South had heard the spade bid as well and bid six no trump anyway. After some though, West led the three of clubs. So, the first lesson is, when you have them where you want them, maybe is is best to not give your partner a chance (or a reason) to make a mistake. South realized that there was not much chance for his contract when the dummy came down, and then he saw the opening lead and he brightened up some. He could only count ten top tricks but it was very likely that West could be placed under a lot of pressure. Here is what the end position looked like after seven rounds of clubs: North S: 2 H: 4 D: A 9 5 3 C: Void West East S: Void S: A K 10 H: Q 8 6 H: K 7 D: Q J 10 D: 6 C: Void C: Void South S: Void H: A J 10 9 D: K 8 C: Void With the lead in dummy, South called for the four of hearts. East played the seven and declarer played the nine. West won the queen and returned the queen of diamonds. South let that ride to the king and then cashed the ace of hearts. The king fell from East and South was able to claim. From the bidding, West felt that he had to keep the queen of hearts twice protected. If he did not, and South held the ace and king of that suit, the queen would come crashing down. It is possible that East could have helped by discarding the king of hearts at his first opportunity. Now West would know that he could keep the queen only once protected and so have room to keep one small spade, but that is not what happened. Here is the second important point: When the dummy comes down, no matter how bad things appear to be, remain confident and look for a way to take advantage of whatever assets are available. When you look at the recap sheet and see an impossible score, keep in mind that nothing is really impossible. Some scores may be more difficult to explain than others, but that is what makes the game what it is. _______________________________________________________ Bernstein is a free-lance writer in Solon.