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THE STRANGEST GRAND OF ALL

What do you need for a grand slam? A good grand slam. An unbeatable grand slam.

You need first round control in every suit. You need good trumps, a running suit maybe, a source of tricks…..oh and occasionally it helps to have the right defender on lead.

 

 

This board came from Round 4 of the Swiss Pairs. In the Open Swiss Pairs, 18 out of 70 East- West Pairs found their way to 6 and all bar three were successful. However, one East-West pair did even better and bid to 7 and they were successful too.

It is trivial to say that the opening lead was not a heart. It should also be said that the defender on lead had more than one heart. I recall once hearing my partner make a lightener unusual lead request double to a small slam. We were behind screens and I showed dummy, my screenmate, what I should lead. Declarer had redoubled the contract too. The only problem was I was void in that suit! The slam duly made.

That was not the case here. However, North might as well have been void as they contemplated their opening salvo to 7. What do you think North’s heart holding was?

 

North led a diamond. Why not?! Declarer finessed and then ruffed the king, drew trumps and played J before ruffing another diamond and discarded three hearts and one diamond on the run of the spades. Five trumps, five spades, A and two diamond ruffs added up to 13.

So, this grand needed the A off lead, a 4-3 spade break and a heart holding in the North hand such that a heart could never be led.

It all happened. Great timing: great grand.

Richard Solomon

Oh, congratulations to the West player of the following partnerships,

Rod and Sandy Dravitzki

George Sun and William Liu

Rodrigo Garcia da Rosa  and Justin Howard

who all led the K at trick one to the contract of 6. They did not need any encouragement from their partner to continue

the suit on the next trick.

 

 

 

 

 

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