Goren Bridge
Bob Jones
| Dlr: North | ♠ A K 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Vul: None | ♥ 10 8 7 5 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ♦ A J 6 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ♣ Q | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ♠ J 10 9 7 5 4 2 | ♠ Q 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ♥ J | ♥ Q 9 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ♦ 9 3 | ♦ Q 10 8 7 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ♣ 8 3 2 | ♣ 7 6 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ♠ 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ♥ A K 3 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ♦ K 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ♣ A K J 10 9 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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*Two key cards without the ♥Q
Opening lead: ♠J
Key Card Blackwood told South that the ♥Q was missing, but that didn’t deter him from bidding a grand slam. His bid of 7♣ gave partner a choice between playing in hearts or clubs. Holding weak hearts and the golden ♣Q, North happily passed in 7♣.
South won the opening spade lead with dummy’s ace and cashed the ♣Q. Many players at this point would have crossed to their hand with either the ♦K or the ♥A. This South made the clairvoyant play of cashing the ♠K, discarding a heart, and then ruffing a spade. Seeing East show out on the third spade made a huge difference in the rest of the play.
Two high trumps showed that West had started with three clubs along with his seven spades. When West discarded on the second high heart, that meant that he had started with exactly two diamonds. East was known to hold the ♥Q, and he would have to keep it to protect against South’s ♥3. All declarer needed to do was run all of his clubs and keep a look-out for the ♥Q. He came down to a three-card ending, East had discarded down to two diamonds in order to keep his ♥Q. The ♦K and a diamond to the ace was sure to drop the queen, and the jack gave South had his 13th trick. Well done!