Goren Bridge: Can of corn

South won the opening spade lead with his ace and he regretted his timid bidding. 13 tricks seemed like a “can of corn”, needing only a 3-2 diamond split or for the jack of hearts to fall in one, two, or three rounds. He expected that quite a few of the other pairs in the game would bid a grand slam on this deal and that he was doomed to get a poor score. He cashed the ace of hearts, followed by a diamond to the ace. He discarded a spade and a club on the king and queen of hearts. When the jack did not fall, he led a diamond to his king. When the suit failed to split 3-2, he could no longer make his contract

Assuming that South was correct in thinking that he would get a poor score if 13 tricks were available, he should have played as if 13 tricks were not available. After cashing the ace of hearts, he should have played a low diamond from both hands! East would win and return a spade to South’s king. Now South can lead a diamond to dummy’s ace and take his two discards. A club to his ace would be followed by a claim, knowing that all his remaining diamonds were good.