ETCETERA / Bridge

IT LOOKS impossible for South to go down in Seven Hearts on the deal below - with the fortunate club position there seem to be 14 sure winners] What is more, an undisciplined opening lead gave him yet another trick but, in an unforeseeable fashion, this now gave declarer a losing option.

North opened One Club and South forced to game with Two Hearts. Clearly outgunned, West decided to pass and perhaps both North and South did a little too much bidding to end in Seven Hearts.

For some incomprehensible reason West led the jack of spades. There can be little point in trying to establish a trick when defending against a grand slam and the only charitable explanation is that he hoped to find both ace and queen in dummy and so talk declarer out of taking what would be a winning finesse.

Declarer won with the queen, drew trumps, and followed with the ace and king of diamonds and a diamond ruff (the queen and jack might have fallen in three rounds). When this brought no joy, he cashed his ace of spades and his last trump. This left dummy with one discard to find from D10 CAJ9 and, playing for a squeeze which would succeed if either opponent had started with the queen of diamonds and three or more clubs, the nine of clubs was discarded.

You can see the sequel - no one was squeezed, and at trick 13, South's three of clubs lost ignominiously to East's six]