Bridge Column for August 22, 2003, Harvey Bernstein
Both sides vulnerable.  South deals.
                              North
                              S: A K 3            
                              H: Q 4         
                              D: 6 5         
                              C: A 9 8 7 3 2 
            West                             East
            S: Q                             S: 2            
            H: K J 9 3                       H: 10 8 7 5 2 
            D: K 10 8 7 3                    D: Q J 4 2           
            C: K 10 5                        C: Q J 6       
                              South                         
                              S: J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 
                              H: A 6        
                              D: A 9     
                              C: 4      
          The Bidding:  
                  South    West    North    East                  
                   4S      Pass     6S      Pass
                   Pass    Pass
     Thanks to Marty Baff of Beachwood for bringing this hand to
my attention.  The hand is pure fiction and has been around in
one form or another for quite a while, but it is still a lot of
fun.
     North, after raising partner's preemptive bid to the six
level, decided to play a 'little' practical joke.  After West led
the queen of spades, North placed the three of spades on the
table and then continued to put the rest of his cards down,
holding back the ace and king of spades until the very end. 
Before he could get to the two top spades, South, in disgust,
called for the three of spades from the dummy to be played to the
first trick.
     The practical joker was not too happy at this point and
tried to insist that his partner could not be held to this play
having not seen the entire dummy, but to no avail.
     As it turns out, this is the only play that allows declarer
to make his contract.  If he plays one of the top honors on the
first trick, he will later find himself an entry short to
establish and cash the long club tricks for discards.  If he wins
the first trick, he must lose two red tricks later in the play.
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Bernstein is a free-lance writer in Solon.