The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Opening Lead: ♦J
The Yiddish word "chutzpah" has come into fairly common usage in the English language. It roughly translates as "cheek" — but that is does not quite do justice to its implications. The best illustration of chutzpah I know is that of a person who murders his father and his mother, then throws himself upon the mercy of the court as an orphan.
Today’s hand comes from the teams event at the Australian Gold Coast Congress, held in Surfers Paradise. In action was the Irish International pairing of Tom Hanlon and Hugh McGann.
After a bidding sequence in which South, Hanlon, bid hearts naturally, he came to rest in three no-trump. West led the diamond jack, which Hanlon won with dummy’s ace. If both minor suits broke 3-3, nine tricks would be there for the taking. But there is no more than a 15 percent chance of that happening. An alternative approach would be to try to build three spade tricks. But when in with the ace, surely West would find the heart switch.
Would you care to guess which card declarer called for from dummy at trick two? It was the heart king. East won, and not wishing to assist declarer in establishing heart tricks as it appeared he was angling to do — after all, South had bid the suit — shifted to a club. South won, then played on spades. On taking the ace, West continued with clubs — and Hanlon had his nine tricks.
Bid with the aces
Answer: Double
The simple answer is to make a take-out double rather than bidding two diamonds. Yes, your diamond suit is strong, but your hand is really worth only one call, with the heart king not pulling its weight. Best is to double and let partner describe his hand. If you bid two diamonds and the opponents raise hearts, you may feel obligated to bid again. That would be a lot of bidding here.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.
