Bookworm Bridge Conundrums #47
This conundrum was written by Mark Horton and was originally published...
You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the players in the article.
The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Here is a deal that saw the winners chalk up what seemed to be a normal if mildly fortunate result. But there is more to it than that.
Opening Lead: ♥2
North-South actually play a strong club, so I’ve simplified the auction to a standard sequence. The play in three no-trump saw declarer, Kit Woolsey, win the first heart and pass the diamond jack to East. Back came a heart, ducked, and a club shift. Woolsey won and drove out the diamond ace, and when both aces were onside, he had nine somewhat fortunate tricks — or was there more to it than that?
Contrast what happened when Justin Lall and Kevin Bathurst were West and East respectively. Since South had opened a 14-16 no-trump, North passed initially, Bathurst balanced with two hearts, and North reopened with two no-trump, a nonforcing call suggesting the minors, which South judged to pass.
The heart lead was won by South, who played the diamond jack. Lall hopped up with the diamond ace and cleared the hearts. Now declarer had to guess if East had the bare diamond queen or the spade ace, and he got it wrong by repeating the diamond finesse — down two!
Lall’s defense protected his partner’s entry and deserved the result it achieved.
Lead with the aces
Answer: A Club
here is no reason to look beyond your black suits on opening lead. Spades are an unbid suit — but either opponent might turn up with four. The advantage of a club is that your extra length and intermediates make it both more attacking and somewhat safer if partner produces any high card in the suit. As against that, East has bid the suit. I think a club feels right; five-card suits have so much more to offer.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.
You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the players in the article.
