Bridge | 10 September 2022

When was the last time you made a doubled slam – a slam that could and should have been defeated – and lost IMPs on it?

Today’s hand comes from the qualifying rounds of the Mixed Teams at the World Bridge Series in Wroclaw. The North hand was shared all over social media, but it’s not a play problem or a defence problem. It’s a judgment call and it’s probably happened to many of us, but as South said modestly at the end of the hand: ‘I know I’m a terrific player, pard, but even I can’t know you have an Ace in your hand when I doubled!’

Here it is – what would you (as North) have led?

North was on lead and South’s ‘Lightner’ double asks partner to find an unusual lead, most frequently dummy’s first bid suit. He can’t guarantee a second trick but it’s highly likely the defence will have one as the opps have checked for key cards and stayed out of the grand. Anyway, South quite reasonably thought he needed a Club ruff to have any chance of defeating the slam. North certainly gave it some thought but, thinking her A♥ was the ‘side’ trick, led it, planning to give South a ruff on the second round. Besides which she was looking at a natural trump trick, so what could go wrong? Alas everything went wrong and a mortified North wrote –1090 on her scorecard. ‘Don’t worry too much,’ said South sympathetically. ‘We’ve probably picked up eight IMPs.’ And they had! At the other table, teammates Ewa Wieczorek and Charlie Bucknell bid and made 7♣. Eight IMPs in, but not a mistake North will make again in a hurry.