Hand of the day #280
The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff How do you plan to make four hearts after West...
The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
In this deal from the Mixed Pairs final in Philadelphia, Neil Rosen of England rejected the 5-3 spade fit and played three no-trump instead. He was off to a good start when West led the heart three to dummy’s jack. When a club to the queen saw West’s seven appear, declarer could infer that it might well be from club 10-7. A spade to dummy’s jack saw East win with the queen. Declarer ducked the heart return and took the next heart, discarding dummy’s diamond nine. He then ran the spade suit, and East came under unbearable pressure.
Opening Lead: ♥3
If he parted with a club, declarer would play the jack, pinning West’s 10, then cash another club winner and go back to dummy with a diamond to score the club eight.
So East discarded the diamond queen, but now declarer could run the club jack, then cash the diamond ace and cross to hand with the club ace for a magnificent plus 660.
Incidentally, once declarer has ducked a heart, East can break up the ending by switching to the diamond king. However, if declarer takes the heart ace at once and cashes his spades, East will have to part with his last heart and two diamonds. Now, if declarer reads the position, he can run the club jack, ducked by East. Then he plays the diamond ace and a diamond, scoring the last two tricks with the club ace and the diamond jack.
Bid with the aces
Answer: Pass
You have no real interest in game, facing a balanced hand that can’t raise spades, so the only issue is whether to play spades or no-trump. If you play, as I do, that your partner can raise with three spades in a semi-balanced hand, it looks clear to pass. Your partner might have a singleton spade and won’t often have three. Meanwhile, you have enough high cards for one no-trump to look safe.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.