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When Dummy appeared, Junior knew he had right-sided their NT contract, but when he saw the all-important ♦8 across the table, he realized 6♦ from his side could not be beaten. After winning the ♥A and throwing a club from his hand, he faced the question of the day: should he play for the ♣K onside or maybe the ♠Q or ♠A onside? The correct guess (assuming there was one) would give him 8 diamonds, 2 hearts, and 2 black tricks.
Unfortunately for our declarer, it occurred to him that a losing club hook would mean there was no way to make the contract, whereas a losing spade play could give him a 2nd bite of the apple. Suppose he immediately played a spade to his King losing to the Ace (or the 10 losing to the Queen). If North didn’t hold both missing spade honors he might not return the suit. If North led a club, Declarer could claim; if instead he played a red card (most likely another heart), Declarer would be able to pitch his remaining spade on the high heart and try the club finesse. If it won, he would be home free.
As we can see, the spade play did not go well and down 1 was immediate. When Junior discovered that the ♣K was in fact onside, his temper was a whole lot less in check. This time he bellowed “What a revolting development this is!” Adding insult to injury, his wife pointed out that “if you would only agree to play control responses to 2♣ openers, dear, we could have been in 6♦ from your side.” Junior was not a big fan of that method (nor am I), but on this deal the bid showing an Ace and a King (usually 2♠) would have avoided the 2♦ response.
By contrast, when Alison Wonderland picked up this beautiful hand, she decided to take a few moments before bidding. In her youth she was the recipient of a treasure trove of bridge knowledge from her marvelous mentors, the Queen of Hearts and the Queen of Diamonds. The Queen of Hearts may be known for shouting “Off with his head!” or “Off with her head!” but for “Alice” - as she liked to be called - the Queen was best known for advising: “Plan Ahead, Alice! Plan Ahead!” which in bridge-speak included thinking about the rest of the auction before making your first call.
The Queen of Diamonds, not to be outdone, loved to warn Alice: “When you have a great hand that includes a long powerful diamond suit, especially if it includes ME, think long and hard about opening 1♦, rather than 2♣, if you want to be declarer!”
Heeding those words of wisdom, Alice did start with 1♦ and this bidding sequence followed:
Alice-----Partner
-----------------------------1♦---------.1♥
-----------------------------3♣---------3♦
-----------------------------3♠--------..3NT
-----------------------------4♣---------4♥
-----------------------------6♦---------.P
The 3♣ bid is game forcing, although one of my partners likes to call it a “fake jump shift.” Opener has no desire to play in clubs (if clubs are raised she will bid diamonds again), but this is a great way to force to game and learn more about responder’s hand. East could have bid 3NT over 3♣, as some did, but Alice’s partner was one of the Tweedle twins (she’s never certain if she’s playing with Dee or Dum), and whoever-he-was decided to go slow with a 3♦ preference. He believed he had a nice hand in support of diamonds but also knew it could also be suitable for NT. He was happy to let Alice determine the correct course.
Alice’s next bid (3♠) is especially interesting - and intentionally ambiguous. When a minor has been agreed but 3NT is still in play, the first priority is to land there if possible. Thus, 3♠ is presumably asking for help in that suit, with opener envisioning 9+ tricks if spades are stopped - but stay tuned.
Tweedle hoped his J763 spade holding was good enough for 3NT, so he bid it, and Alice’s 4♣ call followed. Attention, Attention, Gerber lovers: the 4♣ bid is NOT Gerber! When opener took further action over 3NT, she was sending a message to Tweedle: 3♠ was in fact a control bid (A,K, singleton or void), partner, and so is 4♣, which means “I am contemplating a diamond slam.” Tweedle cooperated with a 4♥ control bid and Alice took stock by peering through the looking-glass.
Alice knew her partner had the ♥A and/or the ♥K plus something in spades (hopefully the ♠A or Q). Then, too, Tweedle didn’t merely sign off in 5♦ (fast arrival) over her 4♣ bid, so he must like his hand somewhat. The big question: could she be certain of an entry to dummy or might the opening lead be helpful enough to ensure 12 tricks? If only RKC had been invented to locate the trump 8, she thought, as she felt confident that 6♦ would have good play if indeed Tweedle held that all-important card. It was high time for her to bid “Gambling 6♦,” played from the proper side.
The opening lead was the ♥9 and Alice jumped for joy (metaphorically) when dummy appeared. Her slam was a laydown and she knew exactly what to do. Just for fun she played the ♥J, hoping the Queen of Hearts would magically appear. When she did, Alice of course ruffed her with the Queen of Diamonds, honoring both mentors simultaneously. Next she cashed the King of Diamonds, since she knew him too, and led the “beer card” (the ♦7) to Tweedle-dummy’s 8. Now came another acquaintance, the King of Hearts, followed by the ♥A, while Alice pitched the King of Spades along with the ♠10.
The contract assured, she was able to play for an overtrick by finessing the Queen of Clubs. When that Queen held, she cashed the ♣A, ruffed her club loser in dummy and claimed all 13 tricks. Notice that 6 Diamonds played by West could not be beaten regardless of the lead because of the ♦8 entry in dummy. In fact, if the opponents don’t take their ♠A at trick one, 13 tricks are assured since the King of Clubs is onside. If the ♠A had been played at trick 1, Alice would have simply pitched 2 clubs on the ♥AK and claimed. On the other hand, 6♦ East is down immediately on a spade lead. At least Chester A. Riley, Jr., got that part right.
Postmortem: After the game several club members discussed how best to get to the diamond slam with West as declarer, and I think I liked Alice’s bidding plan as much as any. While you can’t bid the slam with total certainty, it is critical that it be played from the West-side. If you are unwilling to open “Gambling 6 Diamonds,” the Queen of Hearts - and Alice – would urge you to:
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