Surprise
Playing with Lance in the first session of the Raleigh Superbowl Sectional, we reach this pretty nice looking slam, with the following hands on the following auction.
♠ Q 6 ♥ A 8 7 3 2 ♦ A J 8 ♣ A 6 3 ♠ A 2 ♥ K Q T 9 6 5 ♦ K 7 6 ♣ K 2
East South West North 1♥ Pass 2NT Pass 3♥ Pass 4♣ Pass 4NT Pass 5♦ Pass 5NT Pass 6♥ Pass Pass Pass
When Lance showed three aces, the grand is easily in the picture. 5NT tells him we have all the keycards and technically asks for kings. Although what i’m hoping for is that he might have an excuse to bid 7 if he knows the keys are covered. When he signs off in 6♥, i am content.
The lead is the ♠J. There are 11 obvious tricks. The diamond finesse may provide the 12th trick, or if LHO has led away from the spade king, i can make it right now. He is a C player, and they don’t tend to lead away from kings. Plus it would be too much to hope he had made the only lead that will let the contract make.
I suppose i could play the queen just in case, but that would ruin the strip-and-endplay that will guarantee the contract if RHO has the spade king.
I play low and win the spade ace. Pull trumps in one round, then play three rounds of clubs, ruffing. Now, cash the diamond King, and all i have to do is throw RHO in with the spade King and she is endplayed into giving me a ruff sluff, or leading into the diamond tenace.
Unfortunately, i’m in for a nasty surprise. My carefully planned “guaranteed” way of making the contract goes awry when it turns out LHO has lead away from the spade king after all. So he wins and leads a diamond through and of course, RHO has the queen. Down one.
The slam is not makeable, except on that lead. If he had led something passive, like a club, i would have had no choice but to try the same play, hoping RHO had the spade King. So the spade lead gives me an additional choice. But i’m just never going to assume that any player has led away from KJT into a power auction.