I'll Never Understand

K
A Q 8
A K 8 4 2
A 7 4 2
J 7 5 9 8 6 2
7 6 5 J 4 3 2
10 9 5 Q 7 6
J 8 6 3 10 5
A Q 10 4 3
K 10 9
J 3 Vul: None
K Q 9 Contract: 7 NT

I've said it many times before, and I still don't understand it. Opening lead was the 7 of hearts, which ran to the king. Declarer now cashed his K and Q of clubs . . . and need I say more? I just don't understand . . not that players aren't careless once in awhile, but why so many rush to wipe out entries to a hand that's going to need them. And, uh, incidentally, this is no novice or intermediate. He tells us he's a Bronze Life Master and an advanced player. I just don't understand.
What should declarer do? Well, for those who like to play before thinking, I'd recommend taking the opening lead with the ace in dummy so as to have access to each hand by way of hearts after trick one rather than to have two to dummy and none to the closed hand. For those who are given to a bit of reflection before playing, you'll see that you have only 11 top tricks in a grand slam contract. An even split in clubs won't help because that only brings you to 12. You can't exploit diamonds. It'd take a stiff queen to get you a third winner, and that'd be the end of that suit. Well, how about 3-3 clubs and a stiff queen of diamonds. Yeah, right.
It should be evident that only a favorable break in spades can save the day. The jack falling on the third round does it. The jack falling on the second round only gives you four spades winners, but at least you're in the ballpark. An even split in clubs would do it for 13, and so would a black-suit squeeze if the person with the long clubs also holds the long spade. In any event, it should be clear that task one is to unblock the spade suit! At that point, you can start thinking about cashing out winners. Come to the closed hand -- one lead, not cashing out any other suit yet -- and test spades. Here declarer would find a pleasant surprise.
Suppose the jack of spades falls doubleton? Then you'll want to cash out hearts, cash out diamonds, come to the closed hand with a club, and cash out the last spade winner. It may be that clubs are 3-3, in which case there is no squeeze but you've got 13 winners. It may be that the person with four clubs does not have the 9 of spades, in which case you'll have to accept defeat. And it may be that the person with the long spades holds the long clubs, in which case, he will have been squeezed on the last red-suit winner. If you don't see the 9 of spades, you run clubs and it is now out of your hands.
Here are the scores, which you may find of some interest: Grand slam: 83.56, little slam with an overtrick: 56.16, little slam without an overtrick: 23.97. Surprised? Well, I am a little bit. So there's a greater gulf between little slam with and without an overtrick than between little slam with an overtrick and the grand. Sure you want to bid the grand if it's there. But if you don't bid it, it still behooves you to go for 13 tricks -- especially when they fall into your lap by simply cashing out five spade winners, which is to say you simply cash out 13 top winners. No squeeze, no finesses, no risk. Just cash 'em out.