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The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff

Opening Lead: ♣K

Today's deal comes from an internet game where South did not take full advantage of his extra chance.

After South’s one-no-trump rebid, a jump to three diamonds by North would have been merely invitational, so North jumped in the fourth suit to hear more about South’s hand. When all he could do was reiterate his heart strength, North was happy to settle for three no-trump.

The defense was accurate. West started with three rounds of clubs, East pitching a small heart, then switched to a spade. Declarer won and cleared diamonds, giving West a chance to discard a small heart to deny interest there too. On winning his diamond jack, East astutely played back a spade rather than a heart, hoping his partner would have a spade stopper. And so it proved: Locked in dummy, declarer had to concede the fifth trick to West.

It looks as if declarer needed either spades or diamonds to break, and with neither suit cooperating, he is destined to fail. However, there was an extra chance. When declarer finds that diamonds don’t break, he should cash a second top spade before giving East his diamond trick. Now, when East wins this trick, he has no more spades to play. He must therefore lead a heart, allowing declarer access to the winners in his own hand as well as to those in dummy, since South still has a spade left to reach all of dummy’s winners.

Bid with the aces

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

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