FOURTH BEST

by Aleksander Wagner

 Few days ago I was playing in this small tournament and after many frustrating months had this rare feeling that whatever I do I can't miss, I just felt high and invincible. Whenever I feel like this, I never hesitate and blindly follow my instincts. There were several good decisions and nice plays on my and my partner's side, but what was really missing was something else. And I could feel it coming.
 Then it was almost over, the last table, the first deal. It looked like now or never.
My hand (South): -, Jxx, AKQx, xxxxxx. And the bidding was kind of weird: 
                      W        N       E       S
                     ----------------------------
                      1S       p       2H      x
                      p        3D      3H      p
                      4H       5D      5H      6D
                      p        p       6H      x
 1S promised five spades, 2H 10 points and five hearts, my double promised both minors which I certainly had, 3D sounded nice but weak, but 5D was simply music in my ears. Why? Because if my partner wasn't suicidal - which I knew to be true - his distribution more than made up for his lack of points, and it must have looked like 6-5 at least. After 5H I felt blood surging through my veins faster and faster: it looked like they had at least 11 tricks in hearts, maybe even 12 or 13 if one of them had void in diamonds. But what if they did have a diamond loser? All of the sudden I saw it in my mind, and at this very moment I knew what I had to do - bid 6D which we either make or don't, then double 6H if they bid it. Why? Because I knew what to lead and how to beat the contract!
I bid 6D, they bid 6H which I promptly doubled. Then I led my fourth best in diamonds. 
                                Axxxxx
                                10
                                Jxxxx
                                10
                   QJ109x                     Kx
                   Kx             N           AQ9xxxx
                   10           W   E         xxx
                   AQJ9x          S           K

                                -
                                Jxx
                                AKQx
                                xxxxxx
 Then it was simple: my partner put the Jack, for a split second didn't realize that his Jack took the trick but quickly came to his senses, played the Ace and another spade - down two, 500 for us. Our opponents thought I was completely mad and didn't miss the opportunity of saying so - why risk everything on a chance that your partner had the diamond Jack when you had two certain tricks? What could I say - that he had to have the Jack if he bid his diamonds twice? The truth is that he didn't have to, but after a closer look I didn't seem mad to them any longer because of something else - after any other lead they just couldn't lose the contract!
And it would have been quite easy: let's say I led the diamond Ace, and another diamond. Ruff in the dummy, small club to the King, a heart back to the dummy, three high clubs discarding the last diamond and two spades, the last club ruffed by East, claiming the rest. And if I don't lead the second diamond, let's say I play a club? The King, diamond ruffed in the dummy, King of hearts, three high clubs discarding all the remaining losers, the last club ruffed in the hand claiming the rest. Want to try a trump lead? No problem, three diamond discards are enough and he can reach his hand in order to draw trumps losing only one spade. The toughest would be the diamond Ace and a heart. Then he must take it in the dummy, play a club to the King, ruff a diamond, draw three high clubs discarding the remaining diamond and both his spades, then ruff the last club and claim the rest.
 The last time I underled AKQ was quite a few years ago, it happened in the last hand of my last match in the First League in the middle of 3NT that everyone else made, and because of it my team stayed in the First League for another year. But that's an entirely different story...