Puzzle 7E79   Main

Major Fantasy

by Richard Pavlicek

As South, you reach slam quickly after a spirited auction:

6 South	K Q J 10 9 7 6 5 4 3 2 A K —			Both Vul	West ?1 Pass	North 6	East Pass	SOUTH 1 Pass
?  ?  ?  ?			?  ?  ?  ?
	7 6 5 4 3 2 A K Q J 10 9 — A				1. West bid something (hidden for now)

Alas, down one.

North is quick to criticize, “Why didn’t you open one spade? With two six-card suits, bidding the higher is routine; then we’d get to six spades.”

“You’re just playing results,” South argued. “Surely, suit quality counts for something, and opening one heart stands out a mile.”

“Down one stands out a mile too,” countered North.

“If it would make you feel any better,” quipped South, “Six spades would also be down one.”

Interesting! Assuming the dialog is correct:

What are the exact East-West hands?

Puzzle 7E79   Main

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Solution

It is easy to construct layouts where one of the slams fails. For example, 6 can be defeated if West holds A-8 and East holds the 8; but then 6  would be a simple make. Similarly, 6  can be defeated if West has the 8 and East has the 8; but then 6  would be ice-cold.

Only one layout allows both slams to be defeated:

6 South	K Q J 10 9 7 6 5 4 3 2 A K —			Both Vul	West 6 Pass	North 6	East Pass	SOUTH 1 Pass
8 — — K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2			A 8 Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 —
Lead: K	7 6 5 4 3 2 A K Q J 10 9 — A

Against either slam, West leads a club for East to ruff (or overruff dummy); then in spades, West scores the 8 on any return.

“Oh well,” lamented South. “It was a good save, as West was cold for six clubs.”

“Why save?” North nagged. “With a club stopper, all you had to do was bid six notrump and we’d be plus a bundle.”

“Good point,” said South. “And if I tied you up with a stopper in your mouth, I’d have a bigger bundle.”

Puzzle 7E79   Main

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© 1980 Richard Pavlicek