BRIDGE
Young not easy
Andrew Robson
YOUTHFUL bidding combined with bril- liant card reading saw declarer land the following most unlikely slam.
It is hard to see how he managed it, even looking at all four hands. However after the opening lead — V2 — it would have taken a brilliant defence to defeat him.
Dealer South North-South vulnerable
• Q 9 3 2 • K J 107
• J 8 4 4AQ 47 11() 5 3 2
• K 9 6 3 4 K 10 5 3
4108
• A 6 4 • 7 2 • J 9 8 7 42 N W E S
• A K J 6 5 4 V9 8 • A Q 105 4 6 The Bidding South 14 64 West pass pass North 44 pass East pass pass South's 64 bid was certainly on the opti- mistic side, but neither player had given any unnecessary information in the bidding so defending rated to be awkward. He played dummy's V10 on West's V2 open- ing lead and East won VA and switched to dummy's weakness, leading 47.
Declarer was now at the crossroads. The simple line was to play low on the return, hoping for East to hold *K. But East's 47 shift implied no honour, and it would have been risky for him to switch to a • if hold- ing •IC in case declarer held •AQ without • 10 and ran the lead to dummy's *J. So declarer adopted Plan B — which was far more artistic.
He rose with 4A, played 46 to 4Q, the finesse succeeding. He cashed 4A, dis- carding 45 and ran six rounds of trumps. On the last trump West had to discard from VQ53 and 4K, dummy holding VICJ7 and VI. In order to retain 4K, he discard- ed V3. Dummy's •J was discarded and declarer led 1,8 to 11.1, cashed VK and tri- umphantly tabled V7 — his 12th trick.
Can you spot how East can defeat the contract? He must return a • at trick two, breaking the communications for the squeeze.
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