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The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Opening Lead: ♦4
This column has often emphasized what a bad idea it is to double a contract when all you have is trump tricks. Sometimes the opponents run, sometimes they pick up the trumps because of your double, and sometimes they redouble. Today's deal provides an example.
In today’s deal East had made a trap pass over two no-trump, hoping North-South would arrive in three no-trump. When South emphasized his 6-4 pattern, North raised spades confidently, and West made a greedy double, without much justification, given his moderate trump spots.
Declarer ruffed the diamond lead and led a trump to the ace, getting the expected news of the 5-0 break. Now a club from dummy was taken by East with the ace, and he exited with the diamond king. Declarer ruffed and saw West’s echo in diamonds; he could now see a way home if West really did have a doubleton together with three cards each in hearts and clubs.
At trick five South cashed his club king, then took all of his heart winners, reducing everyone to five cards. If West had started with three diamonds, it might have been right to take another diamond ruff now, but South believed the opening lead, and so he exited with a club. West had to win the trick and play a trump, giving declarer an extra trick in that suit. Worse still, he then had to ruff the club continuation and lead into declarer’s remaining trump tenace to concede the contract.
Bid with the aces
Answer: 2♣
A typical conundrum in standard bidding with a minimum hand and 6-4 pattern is whether you should repeat the long suit or introduce the second suit economically. Put me firmly in the camp of those who bid the second suit with anything but a dead minimum hand. While at pairs it may work to repeat the major, it is generally better to describe nine of your 13 cards than six of them.
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.
