Partnership hands are sometimes able to win 12 tricks in notrump against any distribution only if the distribution is known. In other words, double-dummy play is required to guarantee success. For example:
Six notrump looks like a cakewalk with three spades, two hearts, two diamonds, and five clubs after giving up a trick to the K; but then there’s Murphy’s Law. Suppose West leads a red card, you cross to the K to lead a club, and East shows out. Your best effort is a middle club, but West takes his king and exits safely in another suit. Now you can win only four club tricks, so you’ll be down unless spades are 3-3 or, however unlikely, West has 4+ spades (squeeze). So much for the warranty!
But if you knew West’s distribution, 12 tricks are indeed guaranteed. With the horrific club break, the double-dummy line is not to lead clubs but to cash tricks in West’s shortest suits first. If West ever pitches a club, you can establish the suit, so he must keep all to reach a six-card ending. Then you lead middle clubs until West takes his king, after which he is endplayed to give you the rest.
Of course, if you made the slam this way in actual play, the eye in the sky would go ballistic, and you’d be branded as an obvious cheat. But, hey! There’s a bright side too: Lifetime free entries in the Crooked Swiss!
The above layout gives North 7 HCP and North-South 30 HCP. Can you guess the ultimates?
If 6 NT by South is guaranteed against any distribution only with double-dummy play:
1. What is the most HCP North can hold? 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
2. What is the most HCP North-South can hold? 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
*Solvers had to construct N-S hands for their solution. Multiple choice was only added for this writeup.
The object was to construct North-South hands where 6 NT by South is guaranteed to make only with double dummy play. Goal was to create the strongest North, and the strongest South, in that priority. Strength was judged first by HCP, then by pip count (A=14 K=13 Q=12 J=11 T=10 …). Ranked below are the six best solutions, and one honorable mention for having the most total HCP. Ties are broken by date-time of entry.
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Despite being amiss in my goal priorities, I liked this solution for showing the most total HCP — all but one jack!
Charles Blair: A spade opening lead is forced. After winning the A and East showing out, declarer must guess whether East has the J or a singleton heart.
To clarify, if East has the J, lead low to the 10; if West has J-x-x-x-x, endplay him with the fifth spade. Alternately, declarer could simply finesse at trick one when West has 10-5-4-3-2, but the only guaranteed make is at double-dummy.
Note that 12 tricks are assured at single-dummy on a heart lead (duck it) or on a spade lead if East follows: Eliminate the opposing spades and cash A-K to reveal if anyone held J-9-x-x-x, then exit with a low heart to ensure the rest.
A key to almost every solution is the isolation of the N-S hands, so this construction allowing communication was intriguing:
Jim Munday: If West guards either major, the finesse is simply taken. If East guards both, he is strip-squeezed after cashing the minors. Certainly there are excellent chances single-dummy, but 12 tricks are assured only with double-dummy play.
Four solvers submitted identical layouts (except for suit identity) that were almost optimal:
David Wu: If the Q or 10 is tripleton or shorter, establish clubs directly; otherwise you will endplay someone. Cash one top club and all the outside winners, then exit with the J or 9. If one defender holds Q-10 it doesn’t matter; but if split (clubs 4-4) you must endplay East, so lead the J if East holds the queen, else the 9.
Nicholas Greer: Declarer wins a club at trick one if necessary. If the Q or 10 is short, establish a club directly; otherwise cash all non-clubs. In the ending, either someone has shortened clubs enough to drop something or an endplay exists… Without double-dummy play, declarer loses to (at least) clubs 4-4 with split honors one way or the other.
Foster Tom: Declarer cashes one club and all non-clubs, then can either establish a club trick or endplay an opponent. South can keep whichever winners are necessary.
Tina Denlee: In real life the ending of A-J-9 fails if the nine is led and East has Q-x-x, or if the jack is led and East has 10-x-x. But looking at the opponents’ cards it’s [a cinch].
Only one solver found the optimal solution, which increased North’s pip count to 165:
Martin Vodicka: Basic plan is to endplay whoever has the Q (keeping appropriate cards in dummy) which fails only if West has at least Q-x-x and precisely x-x-x-x, because he will have a club left when in with the Q. In that case I can endplay East with the J instead, so 12 tricks are guaranteed only at double-dummy.
Note that if South’s minors were instead 10-9-8 9-8 (increasing South’s pip count to 120) there is no solution if one defender has Q-x-x-x and the other J-x-x-x-x, so Martin nailed it!
Twelve entries in my 12-trick warranty may seem fitting, but it’s just another chapter in the decline and fall of bridge. Certainly, our organizations (ACBL USBF WBF) have made sure of it with increased costs and decreased bridge. On Memorial Day, I drove to the Palm Beach Gardens Regional, only to find the main pair event had very few tables and a 21-board session (24 boards with a sitout). Combine that with the high entry fee and the price gouging of the Marriott for a quick lunch, and it made one forgettable day. Geez! Never again. Five years ago in my October Octillions puzzle, I predicted in humor that bridge would end in 2.4 billion seconds, which clocks out in 2097. Strike the humor.
Oh well. If you take my rant out of ‘warranty’ all that remains is to be wary of these dudes:
Jim Munday: I’m good with double ‘dummy’ plays, but guaranteeing contracts is a bit out of my comfort zone.
Nicholas Greer: “These experts! Give them 38 points and they tell you how well they played to win 12 tricks!” -Walter the Walrus
Charles Blair: In the last chapter of “Bid Better, Play Better” Dorothy Hayden describes, after being barred by partner’s insufficient bid, becoming dummy in 6 NT with A-K-Q-J-x-x A-K-Q-x-x-x-x.
© 2026 Richard Pavlicek
by Richard Pavlicek by Richard Pavlicek