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
Opening Lead: You decide!
In choosing an opening lead against six no-trump I wavered before settling on a disastrous heart. Afterwards I was meditating on the futility of life, when a colleague pointed out that he had made the contract on a low club lead.
Declarer won dummy’s club ace and took a spade finesse. West won and continued with the club jack. This marked West with an original holding of at least four clubs, for had he started with J-10-x, he would have led the jack, and with jack-third he would not have risked playing a second club. Declarer now cashed his spades, noting that both opponents followed throughout. He then played three rounds of diamonds, discovering that West had begun with four.
Since West had four diamonds, four clubs and at least three spades he was known to have at most two hearts while East had at least four. It was therefore odds-on to tackle hearts by playing low to the 10, as East was more than twice as likely as West to hold the jack.
As an aside, do you know what the best play of the hearts is, in abstract? Cashing the top honors is best, while playing the king or queen first and then taking a finesse is next best. The first-round finesse, as recommended above, is a straightforward 50-50 chance. However, the percentages are so close that any knowledge about the opponents’ distribution in the side-suits (as here) may tip the balance.
Bid with the aces
Answer: 6NT
Partner’s sequence shows 18-19 or so. Despite your sterile distribution, you have enough to drive to slam. A simple call of six no-trump looks right. Note, incidentally, that had partner jumped to three no-trump, that would have suggested good long clubs, not a balanced hand. You might then have opted to play six clubs.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.