Both vulnerable. South deals.

Both vulnerable. South deals.

NORTH

xQ 10 7

u10 6 4

vK Q 3

wA K 4 2

WEST EAST

x9 3 x6 4 2

u8 7 5 uK Q J 9 3 2

v10 9 7 5 4 2 vVoid

w6 3 wQ J 10 5

SOUTH

xA K J 8 5

uA

vA J 8 6

w9 8 7

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1x Pass 2w 2u

3v Pass 4x Pass

6x Pass Pass Dbl

Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: Five of v

If you are playing against sane opponents, to double a freely-bid slam for penalties is not highly profitable. More often than not, you can expect the slam to fail by only one trick. Almost 80 years ago Theodore Lightner suggested a better use for that action. Even if your side has bid a suit, the double calls for an unusual lead, most often a suit bid by dummy. Alternatively, if dummy has not bid a suit, declarer’s second suit is a likely candidate. Here’s a case in point.

It was obvious to West that East wanted a diamond lead, and East duly ruffed and returned the king of hearts. Sitting South was Bob Hamman of Dallas, for many years the top player on the World Bridge Federation ranking list. He won the ace of hearts perforce, drew four rounds of trumps, and cashed two more rounds of diamonds, ending in hand. This was the position:

NORTH

x--

u10 6

v--

wA K 4

WEST EAST

x-- x--

u8 7 uQ J

v10 v--

w6 3 wQ J 10

SOUTH

xJ

u--

vA

w9 8 7

Hamman cashed the ace of diamonds, discarding the four of clubs from the table, and East had no recourse. If he discarded a club, declarer would take the table’s ace-king of clubs and return to hand with a heart ruff to cash his good club. If East let go a heart, declarer would cross to dummy with a high club, ruff a heart to set up the ten, and dummy would take the last two tricks.

2008 Tribune Media Services