JOHNNY SUPREMO'S MASTERCLASS.......... I am really that good...or is it that other players are really that poor? Why just the other day I brought home a slam expecting a 50% board when lo and behold it was a near top. Bridge scores never cease to amaze me. Partner and I bid to a comfortable 6 spades, and on the opening club queen lead, he displayed the following dummy hand: ...J10963....AJ109.....A74.....7 This was perfect opposite my 15 point and very pleasing: AKQ754......2......Q105......A53

• It seemed evident to me that most declarers had setted for 3 spades,1 club, 2 club ruffs, 1 Heart, and 3 heart ruffs, pinning all their hopes on making the right guess in diamonds to secure the 2 more tricks they required. The Ace of diamonds was played first in dummy, before the attempted finesse with the 10....which, in my view, deservedly lost to West's jack. East sat eagerly waiting the diamond return to his king. One off.
• Other declarers after drawing one round of trumps correctly eliminated both hearts and clubs before testing diamonds. But instead of playing the Ace of diamonds first, he confidently played across to the Q10, and when East played low, the 10 was called for. This could well have fetched the king, and if West held both diamond honours he was effectively end-played. No such luck. One off.
• As for me, I was looking at hearts as a potential source of tricks on which to ditch my diamonds. Given the fact that West had not led a heart, there was a strong inference he/she held one of the missing honours....but not both. Believing this, I drew the outstanding trump, played the heart Ace, followed by the jack. If East goes up with his heart honour, I ruff, and get back across to dummy with a club ruff. Now the 10 of hearts is played on which one diamond is discarded. It matters not if I lose this trick to the outstanding heart honour, the Ace of diamonds is still there to cope with the automatic diamond return.......leaving my 4th heart in dummy to provide a second diamond discard. Slam made. ( Even if East decides not to cover the jack of hearts, allowing West to win the trick, a diamond loser is immediately discarded, leaving a ruffing finesse position against East on the next two rounds of hearts.)

So 6 spades was made without ever being put to the test of guessing diamonds. My line of play even works if East holds both heart honours. Indeed, good declarer play is not about putting your faith in lady luck and inspired guesswork, it's much more to with finding better percentage lines of play that only back luck can defeat.