Trump Slam vs. No Trump

	9 4
	J 10 6 3
	Q 7 6
	A K 9 4
Q 10 8 7		A 6 5 3 2
Q 2		9 8 4
J 10 9 8		2
J 6 2		8 7 5 3
	K J
	A K 7 5
	A K 5 4 3	Contract: 6 hearts, 6 NT
	Q 10	Opening lead: J of diamonds

Here a very modest 4-4 works better than a no trump slam and in no small part because of the value of trump. Of the three who were in a no trump slam, all went down. Of the six in a heart slam, five made. No, no, I don't say this proves anything. Not one hand. I don't write to prove. I write only to joggle the imagination and to invite close observation by those who want to improve. But if it doesn't prove anything, I don't think I'd be out of line to explore how the balanced fit works to the heart bidders' advantage.

When diamonds misbehave, there's only one way to make a no trump slam: that is four club winners, which you have at your disposal, four hearts, and a right guess on a lead to the K J of spades. Which is asking pretty much.

Well are hearts any better? You betcha. A number of people were dropping the doubleton queen of hearts. Now in a no trump contract, you have to go with the odds, primarily on the basis that you're going to disappoint your partner considerably more often going for the drop of a doubleton than in taking the finesse. But in a heart contract (without a spade lead), there's a lot to be said for cashing the A K and getting that pleasant surprise. Even if the queen doesn't drop, you're not dead yet.

You try clubs and see if you get a bit of luck there. Actually, all you need is for the jack to fall short -- though not too short if the trump queen is still out. You only need a 4-3 club break, on which you'll discard two spades from the closed hand, and the rest is history. You will ruff a spade, go to diamonds, and the person with the queen (i.e., if it doesn't fall) can ruff in at any time, but won't be able to draw trump and inhibit another spade ruff.

So in cashing the A K of hearts, you're far better off if you drop a doubleton queen on your left, obviously, and you're significantly better off vis-à-vis a finesse if the queen is twice guarded on your left, and are still in the ballgame if the queen is on your right. All this without a spade lead, of course. And with a spade lead? Now it's purely a matter of picking up the heart suit without loss, and yes, I would certainly be drawn toward the finesse. Too bad.

Yes, I'm aware that the hand might have worked out better in no trump on another shuffle. If diamonds are split 3-2 and you get a spade lead and clubs still behave, you won't even need the heart finesse, which if off might doom a heart contract. (Five diamonds, four clubs, a spade and two hearts). But that's a little too iffy for my blood. For one thing, if West has only 3 diamonds, he has one more card somewhere, and it might be in clubs, and now you're on a guess for four club winners, which this holding doesn't demand. And that's if you get a spade lead. Without that, you're going to have three choices for a 12th trick: take the heart hook, low to the jack of spades, low to the king (presuming East goes low).

So all-in-all, I would say strike another for a balanced fit, even this rather modest 4-4.