Time hovers o’er the contract

How often have you looked at your watch to drop an unsubtle hint to a slowpoke? However, take your time on this deal from a tournament in the watch center of the world, Switzerland. How should South play in four hearts after West leads the diamond five?

North-South were lucky to be employing a four-card-major system. If North plays in four hearts, a spade lead defeats the contract easily.

I dislike takeout doubles with 4-3-33 distribution and minimum opening strength, especially without a fourcard major. North’s three-heart response was preemptive. (With a limit raise, North would have bid an artificial two no-trump.) Holding 19 points, South felt justified in bidding game.

One declarer speedily won trick one with dummy’s diamond king, cashed the heart ace-king and ran the diamonds, discarding two spades from the dummy. However, West ruffed and returned a low club. Whatever South did next, he had to lose one heart and three black-suit tricks: down one.

The winning line was found by Janusz Polec, a Polish world champion in 1978. He won the first trick in the dummy, then led a club

to the king and ace. West returned a diamond, and Polec cashed a third round, discarding a club from the dummy. Next he played the club queen, ruffed the club five on the board, drew two rounds of trumps ending in his hand and led the diamond jack. West discarded, but at trick 10, Polec put him on play with a trump. West had to lead a spade around to declarer’s king or concede a ruff-and-sluff. So Polec lost only one spade trick and made his contract.