Aces On Bridge

“Man, of all the animals, is probably the only one to regard himself as a great delicacy.” -- Jacques Cousteau The target in today’s deal is to reach the heart slam, and then to make it.

Control-showing responses to the two-club opener fortuitously get South to be declarer in slam after North shows a balanced 22 to 24, then jumps to four hearts over the transfer. This suggests four trumps and a non-minimum in context.

In six hearts, declarer wins the spade lead with the ace and cashes the heart ace. If trumps break, there are 12 top tricks. But the 4-0 trump division places a real onus of care on South. When West pitches a club, the risk of 5-2 clubs becomes a real one, in which case declarer cannot take a club ruff in dummy with either a high or a low trump without creating a winner for the defenders. Accordingly, he must make sure to set up the diamonds to ensure his discard, then play to ruff spades in hand.

At trick three he leads a heart to his 10, then advances the diamond queen. East takes the second diamond and returns a spade. After winning this with dummy’s king, declarer cashes the diamond king, throwing a club from hand.

Now comes a spade ruff in hand, followed by the two top clubs ending in dummy, and declarer has reached a three-card ending in which he can lead the last spade from dummy and leave East with no winning options. If East ruffs in, South overruffs and draws trumps. If he discards instead, declarer scores his small heart and has two high trumps for the last two tricks.

ANSWER: Your partner has set up a forcing auction (had he bid hearts at his second turn, that would have been a very good hand -- this is a better one). I can’t see three no-trump as being a sensible spot, so I’ll repeat my clubs and cross my fingers that we have a fit.