Hand of the day #729
You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the...
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
Opening Lead: ♣Q
Hands as strong as South's frequently pose a problem on the rebid. In my opinion it is the smallest lie to jump to two no-trump here, because you can still often find your way back to spades when that is appropriate, while you have simultaneously limited your hand and right-sided the play in no-trump. As you can see, three no-trump would have been a comfortable spot.
But at the table South did not see it that way. He invented a call in a nonexistent club suit, and after that his partnership did quite well to stay out of the hopeless diamond slam.
How should you plan the play for 11 tricks in diamonds after the lead of the club queen? The point is that should the heart ace be offside, the contract will almost certainly be defeated — unless West can somehow be thrown in on the third round of spades, with that suit breaking 3-3. But you can do better than that. In fact the game can always be made if either spades split or the heart ace is onside.
If spades break 3-3, a discard can be found for a losing heart by ducking the opening lead. Then declarer wins the club ace, draws trump, and discards a spade on the club king. He ruffs out the spades and can eventually re-enter dummy with a trump to cash the long spade. If spades do not break, declarer falls back on the heart ace being onside.
Bid with the aces
Answer: Pass
This column may sometimes err too far toward the modernist approach of arguing that every double is for takeout, not penalties. Today's deal will no doubt be a welcome exception to that approach. When your side has no fit and you have suggested clubs and values, partner's double indicates that the opponents have made a mistake. Pass, and let's see who's right!
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.
