Problem Corner by Patrick Jourdain
How should West play Four Spades? North leads the ♥ Q.
Answer to Prize problem 247
There are nine top tricks and the club suit provides the tenth provided you handle the entries carefully. You must win the opening lead in the West hand, draw trumps using West’s high cards and then play the ♣J. The defence win and switch, best, to a diamond. You win at once and play a second club discarding a diamond. The defence can win and cash a diamond, but then you can win the heart switch and ditch a losing heart on the good club.
Non-prize problem for August 2010
How should West play Seven Notrumps? North leads the ten of clubs.
Answer to non-prize problem
Irving Gordon & Boris Schapiro reached this unfortunate grand slam in the 1999 European Senior Teams in Malta. Any legitimate line seemed sure to fail so Gordon tried some larceny. He cashed all his major suit winners, abandoning the ♦ K with no entry in dummy. For his last four cards he held three clubs and the diamond ace. Dummy held three diamonds and a club. In the ending both defenders, convinced partner had only two diamonds left, felt obliged to hang on to three diamonds. As a consequence, when Gordon played the ace of clubs he saw the pleasant sight of the king from one defender and the queen from the other! Slam made.
This article has been published with permission from Bridge Magazine