Just another easy slam.
Bridge Column for February 28, 2003, Harvey Bernstein
East-West vulnerable.  South deals.
                              North
                              S: A                
                              H: A K Q 7     
                              D: 10 8 7    
                              C: A K 7 5 4 
            West                             East
            S: 7 5 4 3                       S: J 10 9     
            H: 4 2                           H: 9 6        
            D: Q J 9 3                       D: A K 6 5 4         
            C: 9 8 3                         C: 10 6 2      
                              South                         
                              S: K Q 8 6 2
                              H: J 10 8 5 4 
                              D: 2         
                              C: Q J      
          The Bidding:  
                  South    West    North    East                  
                   1S      Pass     2C      Pass
                   2H      Pass     3D      Pass
                   3H      Pass     4NT     Pass
                   5C      Pass     6H      Pass
                   Pass    Pass
     This hand was dealt at a local duplicate game.  I held the
North cards and my partner was Mort Pierce of Chagrin Falls.  It
is a great feeling to pick up a hand like North in this layout. 
It's even better to hold these cards and hear your partner open
the bidding.
     Many players will disagree with Pierce's one spade call. 
His hand is marginal, at best.  But the vulnerability is in our
favor and he has an easy rebid.  I could list a number of pros
and cons, but I think he made the correct decision.  The hand was
played nine times and we were the only pair to reach the easy
slam.
     The opening lead was the queen of diamonds.  After the hand
was over, the East-West pair asked me about the three diamond
bid.  I explained that it was a new suit at the three level by an
unpassed hand, so it was forcing and I needed to know more about
my partner's hand.  Additionally, I was trying to inhibit a
diamond lead, since that was my weakness.  Had Pierce and I been
playing "fourth suit forcing", the bid would have been alertable,
since it would have been conventionally forcing, but this was not
the case.
     While it is true that Pierce could have held a singleton
club and two diamonds, in which case the slam would have been
defeated with a diamond lead, I was willing to take that chance. 
There are many situations when the defense needs to make a
specific lead to defeat a contract and just can't make that lead. 
This is one of the reasons that aggresive bidding pays off.
______________________________________________________
Bernstein is a free-lance writer in Solon.