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The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff

Opening Lead: ♣A

Today's deal comes from the Cavendish Teams of decades or so ago, and it features the use of suit preference on defense.

It is bad enough to stay low and miss a cold game, but when your opponents beat you in the safe partscore you have reached, it hurts even more. After Peter Weichsel’s natural but limited opening of two clubs, Paul Chemla did not have enough to overcall in diamonds, and when Christian Mari reopened with two hearts rather than a double, Chemla decided not to explore for three no-trump, but to take the safe positive … not so fast!

Weichsel led the club ace, an incisive shot, then carefully played the club seven for Alan Sontag to ruff. Sontag now found the fine move of underleading the diamond ace (Peter’s middle club clearly indicated that he had no preference between the pointed suits; hence he was likely to have the king of both suits). Weichsel won his king, then gave Sontag a ruff with a high club. At this point, Sontag led the spade two to ensure one down, setting up the defense’s spade trick before declarer could establish the diamonds for discards.

At the other table West’s opening bid of one club let North overcall one diamond and South could show hearts, then raise his partner’s call of one no-trump to game. Declarer found the club jack and had no problem in making nine tricks.

Bid with the aces

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

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