The Spokesman-Review – 3 Oct 1936
Seems Easy to Unblock. Bridge Lesson Today Shows Method That Wins by Sluff on Opponent. by SAM GORDON.
It is my policy to illustrate some method of play each Saturday. The current series is covering the methods I have listed in the unblocking principle. You will see today unblocking method No. 4, unblocking by sluff on opponent lead. You see the hand above. The method of play in this instance may seem farfetched. But it answers the purpose for illustrating the method involved.
South is declarer. Spades are the trumps. All 13 tricks must be taken.
Figure Out Grand Slam.
Go ahead and figure out the safest way of making this hand a Grand Slam in spades. You could plan to ruff the expected South club losers. But If you do, opponents are liable to take a trump trick or two in the end. You could draw out all the opponents trumps right away and establish hearts. But by the time you take four rounds of trumps, the south A K of hearts blocks North from getting back to use those glorious hearts for sluffing purposes.
It seems pertinent, therefore, to get rid of the South A K of hearts before the North entries are taken out. But to play the ace and king of hearts before trumps are drawn is dangerous. Opponents may trump them. In fact, they will.
Must Get Rid of Ace and King.
And if you wait to play the ace and king of hearts after the trumps are drawn, North is out of all entries. So the evident plan must be to get rid of the ace and king of hearts from the South hand while North retains the lead. And this is how.
West makes an opening lead of the diamond jack, which North takes with the king of diamonds. On this trick, South does not sluff a losing club, not on your tintype. He sluffs the South ace of hearts. It may give you a shivery feeling to do that. But that is what you must do here.
You then lead four rounds of trumps, taking the last trump with a highest trump in the North hand. Now lead the ace of diamonds and sluff the South ace of hearts on it. And there you are. The South hand has unblocked the heart suit for North, who is still in the lead.
North can now lead the five hearts uninterruptedly. They are as good as aces and kings. The North small diamond is ruffed by South last trump for the 13th trick. And that is all there is to it. It is: Unblocking by sluff on opponent lead. You said it.