The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Opening Lead: ♠Q
In today's deal, East, with a balanced hand, weak trumps, and a defensively oriented hand, took no action facing his partner's overcall. There is a time and place for aggression in the form of a pre-emptive raise; this is not it. And a pre-emptive raise to three spades on the East cards would likely see that contract doubled for -1100! (The adage "Be wary of sacrificing with a balanced hand" is apt here.)
After the lead of the spade queen, declarer needs to decide what is the best route to nine tricks in his contract of three no-trump. He knows that the defenders will clear his remaining spade stopper at their next opportunity, and he has to develop tricks from not one but two of the side-suits to get his trick total to nine.
The answer comes in the form of an avoidance play: at trick one, declarer takes the spade lead in hand. At trick two he leads out the heart three. If West takes his ace, declarer has nine tricks in the form of two spades, three hearts and the four minor-suit top winners. When the heart queen wins trick two, declarer plays on diamonds, starting with the king to protect against West’s having a singleton honor. That sees him establish two additional tricks in that suit, which is now all he needs.
In effect, declarer steals his seventh trick, then goes about establishing the two extra tricks he needs without the loss of a tempo.
Bid with the aces
Answer: 2NT or 3♥
With significant extra values, you can raise hearts directly or can bid either two no-trump or three clubs, planning to raise hearts later. In a perfect world the second strategy might be better, but you may not get the chance to support hearts at a convenient level if you do not raise at once. I would guess to bid two no-trump now, but do not feel strongly about the option of bidding three hearts.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.
