You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the players in the article.
The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Opening Lead: ♠3
When today's deal from the Dyspeptics Club was over, South grumbled that West's single high card had been enough to defeat his game. North, not usually a diplomat, answered that there was no way South could have made the contract, while East winked at him, understanding that this comment was more a reflection on South than the lie of the cards.
Against three no-trump West led the spade three, to the two, 10 and king. Had South ducked the first trick, the defenders would in turn have ducked the next spade and would have been poised to cash out.
South now took the simple approach by leading out the ace, king and another club, hoping that East would win the third round. But West could score his club jack and shoot back a second spade. That meant one down, when East cashed out his suit.
See the difference if declarer leads clubs twice from dummy. He has ample entries in hearts, so he crosses to dummy in that suit for the first club lead. If East plays low, South plays a club honor, then goes back to dummy in hearts for another club play. When the queen appears from East, declarer should allow this to hold — he has to lose a club trick anyway. East cannot advantageously attack spades from his side of the table, so the game comes home.
Note: If South plays the club ace at trick two, East must unblock his queen at once to prevent South’s avoidance play.
Bid with the aces
Answer: Double
There is a place for subtlety, and a place for bidding what you think you can make. You could argue that a simple jump to three no-trump announces your hand's strength at once. Equally, there may be a case for doubling to show cards, then bidding no-trump at your next turn. The logic here would be to express less certainty about playing no-trump.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.
If you’re a BBO+ member, you can now play the Hand of the Day directly on BBO as part of your membership benefits.
Go to the BBO+ section, select BBO+ Games and Events, then click Play Today’s Deal to give it a try and compare your result with the players featured in the article.
