Clash of interest by Patrick Jourdain
Would
a journalist rather have a top, or a good story and a bottom? I had the latter
on the following board:
Love All. Dealer East.
S K652
H K4
D AKQ5
C K95
S J4
S 9873
H
J87 H T32
D 9643 D J8
C AT86 C 7432
S AQT
H
AQ965
D
T72
C
QJ
The unopposed auction was fine until South decided to bid one for
the road:
West North
East South
Pass 1H
Pass 2NT(1) Pass
3H
Pass 4NT(2)
Pass 5S(3)
Pass 6NT Pass 7NT(4)
Pass
Pass Pass
(1) 2NT was Baron
(2) 4NT was Roman Keycard
Blackwood
(3) 5S
showed 2 of 5 aces and the HQ
(4) 7NT was undisciplined.
If I had led a club, we would have
had 100% but no story. I chose the S8. Declarer can cash 13 winners by taking advantage
of hearts being 3-3 and both doubleton jacks falling, but transportation is
very difficult.
Declarer must unblock in spades and diamonds first,
then use HK to reach SK and the top diamond, before going back
to the
hearts.
Declarer actually won the first trick with SA and ran the hearts
throwing three clubs from his own hand. This was the
ending:
S K65
H --
D AKQ5
C
--
S J S 973
H -- H --
D 9643 D J8
C AT C 74
S QT
H --
D T72
C QJ
It was too
late to unblock everything, but declarer followed with SQ which felled West's
Jack, S10, on which West threw a low club, a diamond to hand and the last spade,
throwing a club from dummy.
If West throws a diamond, declarer's
diamonds are good, so, west had to throw the CA. Now, when the next top diamond
felled my Jack, declarer
crossed to dummy's ten to make the CQ as his 13th trick. Declarer had executed
a clash squeeze to make the grand slam for 100%.