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The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff

Opening Lead: Your choice!

Kit Woolsey reported that Fred Stewart found an amusing play in the following deal from the first final session of a Life Master Open Pairs.

But before we get to Fred, look at that West hand and plan the defense to four hearts.

It is highly unlikely that two rounds of diamonds will stand up. Since declarer’s clubs threaten to take care of his spade losers, it feels like you should take an active role in the defense and go after our tricks quickly.

If you think about it, surely the best way to beat four hearts has to be to put partner on lead to play spades through declarer’s presumed king —isn’t it? So our unnamed hero (or was it goat?) in the West seat led a low diamond. Imaginative and unlucky, you may say, but only if Stewart put up the diamond queen at the first trick — and he did! That was his 10th trick for a great score.

Of course the purists would point out that with hearts and clubs splitting, there were always 10 tricks except on the lead of the spade ace. Declarer could ruff out the clubs and end up in dummy after drawing trump in two rounds. He could have fallen back on the spades splitting if that line wasn’t going to work — but this was more fun, wasn’t it?

Bid with the aces

This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.

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