“It’s better to underbid and overplay than to overbid and overplay” has been a favourite adage of mine, but in fact it is best to bid accurately and play accurately, especially when it comes to slams. This board, from X-Clubs on Thursday 10/7/25 gave contestants every chance to bid, and make, an excellent 6H slam, but few did. I’m pleased to say that at our club, the only pair that bid 6H also made 6H, whereas those who conservatively underbid to 4H failed to make more than eleven tricks. I understand why they did if they were only in game, but there should be no excuse for failing to make the slam if you have bid well to get to it, which should not be difficult once North opens the bidding and South locates the heart fit.
Board 20. Dealer W All Vul
Let’s look at the play in 6H and we will then see why those in 4H might not make twelve tricks. Say East leads the diamond jack. If declarer does a count, given that hearts break 3-2 there are a total of thirteen tricks if the clubs provide six tricks. But declarer should try and ensure that the slam is made once it has been bid: win the first trick with the ace of diamonds draw two trumps only leaving the ace in dummy, then king of clubs. Now the final trump is drawn and that gives declarer the entry needed to play more clubs, ruffing out West’s jack, with the spade ace the final entry to dummy once the clubs are established. Twelve tricks are assured, and if the clubs had behaved, thirteen tricks would still have been made, by taking care to manage your entries. A spade lead removes a vital entry at trick one, so the play has to be a bit different, and it is necessary to ruff the second round of clubs and keep a top heart for the final entry. But whatever happens, bidding the slam and ensuring that you make it, is the priority objective with this deal.
QJ75
K9652
A43
K