Hand of the day #211
The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff This column aims to amuse, as well as to educa...
The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
In the Tollemache, the English inter-county championship, North opened one club and raised his partner’s pre-emptive three-spade response to game, based on his quick tricks and a spade filler.
Opening Lead: Diamond 10
West led the diamond 10, taken in dummy. Declarer ruffed a diamond to hand then sensibly played a spade to the king, the percentage play in the trump suit. After he won the second round of trumps, how do you think West should proceed?
West’s switch to hearts to set up tricks in that suit before the clubs were established looked reasonable - but look what happened here. Declarer puts up the heart jack, capturing East’s king, then returns a heart to set up dummy’s heart 10 for a club pitch.
West was right to keep control card of trumps lest the clubs be set up, but he switched to the wrong suit. The contract surely cannot be beaten unless East holds the club queen (declarer rates to have a top heart on the bidding).
If so, a club shift starts to set up a trick while giving declarer communication problems. If South takes the ace, he cannot set up clubs or hearts without losing his link to dummy. If instead declarer finesses the club 10, East can win and switch to hearts, with West able to ruff the third club and cash a heart.
Declarer should perhaps have run the heart jack at trick two. Now south can ruff the diamond return, cash the heart ace and lead a spade to the king to ruff out the heart king, and set up a discard on the heart 10.
Lead with the Aces
Answer: Pass
You do not have enough points to bid two spades, so unless you play negative free bids or pre-emptive jumps, you had better pass, intending to bid spades later, having limited your hand. Doubling then bidding spades would show a different hand, typically a flexible one with five spades and 8-10 points or so.