This week’s hand is a beauty — full of lessons in the bidding, the defence and the declarer play.

After South opened one spade, North temporised with a two-club bid to set up a game forcing sequence — South bid three clubs and when North now bid three spades it was a clear slam try — fast arrival bad hand, slow arrival good hand.

South now charged towards slam by bidding Roman Key Card Blackwood and when North showed two Aces and the trump Queen with his five-spade bid, South could not resist asking for Kings with 5NT.

North confirmed holding the two missing Kings, but suddenly South heard me whispering in his ear “don’t bid a grand slam unless you can claim 13 tricks before you see dummy!”

With this in mind he settled for the small slam in spades, which was a good thing as the grand has zero chance of success.

The target now was 12 tricks. This was a high class game and West had also been listening to the bidding — South’s 5NT bid confirmed his side holding all four Aces so West was not tempted to lead his singleton club which might have given something away — so he led a safe Jack of hearts.

And now we come to the play, and South showed the same frailty that he showed in the bidding. The play was over in a flash — declarer won the heart, drew trumps ending in dummy and threw his ‘losing’ diamond on the King of hearts.

He now turned his attention to the clubs, but with the bad break he had to go one down. Unlucky? A bit yes, but not when the contract was stone cold!

After drawing trumps declarer must take the diamond finesse! If it wins the slam makes as one club can go on the heart, and if diamonds are 3-3 or the Queen is doubleton declarer makes an overtrick!

More importantly, even if the finesse loses declarer can claim the slam, as one club loser can go on the heart and the other on the Jack of diamonds — so the diamond play guaranteed the contract!

In a way South had too many high cards!

I’m going to take away his Ace of diamonds and replace it with the Queen.

Now even a beginner would make the hand as playing on diamonds first becomes obvious! An embarrassment of riches!

• David Ezekiel can be reached at davidezekiel999@gmail.com

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, September 11

North/South

1 Louise Rodger/Patricia Siddle

2 Richard Gray/Wendy Gray

East/West

1 Sancia Garrison/Elizabeth McKee

2 Lorna Anderson/Joyce Pearson

Monday, September 14

North/South

1 Richard Gray/Wendy Gray

2 Elizabeth McKee/Margaret Way

3= Louise Rodger/Molly Taussig

3= Shena Rayner/Magda Farag

East/West

1 Patricia Siddle/Diana Diel

2 Gertrude Barker/Caitlin Conyers

3 Martha Ferguson/Judy King

Tuesday, September 15

North/South

1 Tracey Pitt/David Leach

2 Ross Cooper/Desiree Woods

East/West

1 Sanja Thompson/Wilena White

2 Dorea Grant/Sharon Andrews

Wednesday, September 16

1 Gertude Barker/Desmond Nash

2 Wendy Gray/Richard Gray

3 Margaret Way/Louise Rodger

Thursday, September 17

1 Gertrude Barker/John F W Glynn

2 Miodrag Novakovic/Margaret Way

3 Caitlin Conyers/Delton Outerbridge