North picked up a splendid hand and was contemplating how to show it. When partner opened 2 , he almost fell out of his chair!
The impulsive reaction would be to launch into Blackwood, but they played the key-card variety, so a one-key answer would leave North guessing. Usually it makes no difference, but here it was crucial to know whether partner held the A or K. Therefore, North proceeded slowly, and a neat solution unfolded.
Three spades was forcing, and when South fortuitously raised, North was able to use key-card Blackwood for spades. When South showed one, it had to be an ace, so the heart slam was a good bet. If South instead held K-9-8-7-6-5, a hopeless slam would be avoided.
Getting there was one thing, but South still had to make it. West led the 9 to the king-ace, and East returned a diamond. Declarer did not need the Rabbi’s Rule to drop the K then won the A, crossed in trumps and ruffed the Q. Reading West’s lead as shortness, declarer cashed A-K (Vienna coup) then ran trumps to squeeze East. Note that if East ducked the first club, declarer could succeed on a strip squeeze.
If West had led any other suit, declarer probably would fail, as he would have no clue to the club lie after a club to the king wins (an expert East would duck in tempo).
Observe that if the above slam were played in notrump, it would be hopeless with any lead. Of course, only a lunatic would play in notrump with a 12-card fit. Whether that rules me out is arguable, but for this month it brings us to the puzzle:
Construct a deal with a 12-card heart fit where South can make 6 NT but not 6 .
Further, to eliminate trivial solutions, 6 must not be defeated by an opening-lead ruff, or ace and a ruff. Ties will be broken by the strongest N-S hands, judged first by total HCP then by total pip count (A=14 K=13 Q=12 J=11 …).
Clever solvers have submitted their entries. Before reading further, venture your best guesses:
1. What is the most HCP North-South can hold? 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
2. How many HCP does South hold in the winning solution? 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
3. How many hearts does South hold in the winning solution? 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
*Solvers had to construct a complete deal for their solution. Multiple choice was only added for this write-up.
The object was to construct a deal where North-South have a 12-card heart, and South can make 6 NT but not 6 , excluding trivial cases of an opening-lead ruff or ace and a ruff. Ties were broken by the strongest N-S hands, judged first by total HCP then by pip count (A=14 K=13 Q=12 J=11 T=10…) Ranked below are the solvers who achieved at least 32 HCP, with further ties broken by date-time of entry.
See the Puzzle Hall of Fame for overall stats of all contests.
I was amused by several attempts to circumvent my condition that 6 must not be defeated by an opening-lead ruff:
On a diamond lead against 6 , declarer could ruff with the A — not to be defeated by East ruffing the first trick — then exit with a heart, failing on a club return. Nice try, but I rejected the entry.* Six hearts is indeed defeated by an opening-lead ruff, whether by North or East.
*My web form rejected most trivial defeats, but its unsophisticated algorithm let some slip through. Nonetheless, the stated conditions prevail.
In all my construction attempts I never considered a 12-0 heart division, so this was a shocker:
Nicholas Greer: This is probably terrible on the tiebreaker [he got that right] but South makes 6 NT and not 6 . South also makes 6 or 6 , but I don’t think there’s a workable layout to make 6 as well for all the style points.
This solution and all others to follow embrace the theme of an opening lead to break communication:
Richard Stein: In 6 NT South just runs 12. In 6 West’s spade lead cuts off dummy; East will ruff the third spade, and declarer has to lose two diamonds. Note that if J and Q are switched, South can jettison the A on the second spade, then pitch two diamonds on K-Q.
Four solvers earned style points* for making seven notrump, yet still failing in 6 .
*Black Friday special: Five style points plus $5.00 buys you a cup of coffee!
Jim Munday: Basing my solution on 13 tricks in notrump being OK, since South can make 6 NT. Six hearts by South might be hard to reach, but if so it’s doomed.
Achieving the maximum possible HCP was grander yet:
Levi Katriel: Seven notrump makes easily. Six hearts is down on a diamond lead: You can’t get a spade pitch; West will ruff at trick two, else you won’t have a dummy entry. If you draw trumps, strip clubs and try to endplay West, East can win the 9 and return a spade to set you.
Increasing the pip count by one achieved the grandest of all:
Martin Vodicka: Making even 7 NT is trivial. In 6 the spade lead cuts communication. Since all important club cards (K-J-9) are badly placed, declarer will finish down one.
Samuel Pahk: I finally found this small optimization. Yippee! Yahoo!
Our solving queen kept her eyes on the goal and found the optimal solution, alas, with a story to boot:
Tina Denlee: To avoid two club losers, leading toward the queen suffices, and in 6 NT may be done anytime using North’s only entry. In 6 the 2 lead forces the ace prematurely, else a ruff. Now is too early to lead a club, and there is no entry to do it later. But wait! After North-South bid to 6 , West saves in 6 hoping for minus 1400 instead of 1430, but South pushes to 6 NT with the double stopper.
RP epilogue: And over 6 NT, East bids 7 to reclaim their minus 1400 and win an IMP.
Charles Blair: It seems the deals become less enjoyable as the HCP increases.
Have you ever reached a notrump grand? Most bridge players have, and in about 26 months most Americans will too. In fact the year 2029 could inspire a no Trump grand celebration. Unfortunately, we may not make it! Sixty-six years ago, eminent physicist Heinz von Foerster predicted that the world would end on November 13, 2026. Hey! That’s this month! Could he have foreseen the Trump administration? Who knows, but let this be an incentive to get your entries in early for Wrong-Sided Symmetry.
Somewhat less eloquent:
Charles Blair: “Well, I’m gettin’ close.” -Bullwinkle
The Donald: How dare you, Mr. RP Loser, publish a fake contest where no Trump wins! Everyone knows that Trump wins anywhere, anytime! I have just spoken to Brendan, and the FCC will terminate rpbridge.net, effective November 13.
Good timing, anyway.
© 2026 Richard Pavlicek
by Richard Pavlicek by Richard Pavlicek