Douglas Horton was a Protestant minister and academic who said, "Good ideas are a dime a dozen; bad ones are free."

Let's see if you have a penny's worth in this six-no-trump contract. West leads the club 10. What should South do?

I am still an ardent supporter of old-fashioned responses to a two-club opening. By giving an immediate positive response (two no-trump to show a balanced hand with eight or more points), the opener knows it's a slam deal. If responder starts with two diamonds, opener will be worried that his partner has no useful cards.

North's four-club rebid is Gerber, asking for aces. (This convention should be employed only if partner's last bid was one no-trump or two no-trump.)

South has nine top tricks: two spades, three hearts and four clubs. Obviously, he must establish dummy's diamond suit. If the missing cards are splitting 2-2 or 3-1, that will be easy; but what if a defender has all four diamonds?

If it is East, declarer has no chance. But if it is West, South can survive if he is careful with his entries. He should take the first trick on the board and lead the diamond king. West might as well take the trick and play another club. Declarer runs that to his hand and leads a diamond, capturing West's nine with dummy's jack. South returns to his hand with a spade, takes a diamond finesse, and claims.

Note that if declarer wins the first trick in his hand and plays a diamond to the jack, he can no longer make the contract.

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