This week's author has, in the past, been accused to sending in articles that are not really all that poor. We would like to take it all back: This is an example of poor bridge of the, er, highest standard. Enjoy!

I picked up the following hand:

Partner opens 1, I bid 2, partner now rebids 3NT. I think a club slam may be there so I try 4. Partner bids 4, which I take as a cue, showing support for clubs and willing to cooperate in slam investigation. I'm a bit worried about my diamond void and two losing hearts but cannot think of many hands where an 18-19 balanced hand opposite cannot give play for a slam so I punt 6. [After a 2/1, it isn't clear that the 3NT bid is 18-19, balanced — Ed]

This gets doubled on my right and after two passes partner pulls to 6NT, which gets doubled again.

The full auction is thus:

Have a guess at the hand partner would have for his bidding. Is this the hand you would expect?

Partner, apparently, didn't feel like bidding out his hand and preferred to take a punt at 3NT. Missing two top hearts and the A, 6NT does not look like a great contract. It wouldn't appear to have a great deal of play. Loosing 300 points and a bucket load of IMPs would appear to be inevitable. However this is not how the story ends.

East leads a spade, which is won by declarer's ace. The K is won by the Ace in East's hand, who now plays a club round to the Queen! Partner runs all the diamonds, crosses to the K and when the clubs break 3-2 twelve tricks are there, +1230. As it was IMPs scoring this was a huge score.