Now put yourself in the West seat and play the 6C slam that you have put yourself in after East has opened 1S and put down the most unhelpful dummy that you have ever seen from an opening bid. North leads the ten of hearts.
Board 13 from 1/05/2025
Dealer N All Vul
Whatever the bidding is, EW should have a way of talking to each other for West to get the most information, and that is for a suit bid when partner opens a weak two to be FORCING. Or, after a 1S opening, a 2H response followed by a 3C bid to also be forcing, to game. West has a two loser hand as long as East has as many as two cards in either of West’s suits, so surely West can expect that East must be able to cover one of the losers. The bidding can be a bit adventurous and West can bid hearts followed by 6C, leaving East to give preference. But I guess the proof is in the pudding. Only those few EW pairs who played in 4H got the best results, so I can eat humble pie and just theorise about the best way to try to make 6C, a contract that not a single EW pair were in. Silly me, I would have been.
I did ask a number of club players how they would play the 6C slam. North leads the ten of hearts. That could be a sign that hearts are not going to break. Most of my respondents know their technique well enough to win the ace of hearts and immediately ruff a low one. That does now establish the heart suit, yet I was somewhat taken aback by the number of people who would needlessly cash the two top spades and discard two WINNING hearts from hand. What is the point, other than telling the defenders that you have what you have, or near enough. But given that declarer, after ruffing a heart, immediately embarks on trumps. How to play them? Finesse the TEN, or finesse the QUEEN? Against defenders who can count, I believe the best chance is to play the ACE and then decide which card to follow with next. Who is most likely to have the doubleton king or doubleton jack? I believe the odds slightly favour a doubleton king with North. Given the bidding, a trump lead can certainly be considered, but not if North holds Kx or Jx. Jxx? Maybe. Given the heart lead, as guessed by declarer to be from 1097x when South’s jack appears, play North for Kx and play ace followed by the TEN of clubs (the ten just to muddy the waters. A good defender won’t, or should not, miss the fact that a third round of hearts can be ruffed by South. So much for optimism, I’d still bid to 6C with or without any opening bid from East. Where’s the fun otherwise?
QJ42
T972
652
K3