The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Opening Lead: ♣10
Against today's slam, with little to go on, West did not find the killing spade lead, but declarer failed to exploit his good fortune.
Declarer won the lead of the club 10 in hand and decided to play on diamonds. He cashed the ace and followed with the two to dummy’s queen, which was allowed to hold. West had intelligently followed with the nine, then the four, to try to create the impression of a bad break in the suit, while East had contributed the five then the 10.
Now South had to decide whether to play for an even break in diamonds or to rely on the spade finesse. Eventually he came to hand and finessed in spades. This line would have succeeded had the diamonds been 4-2 with West having the length, since East would not have had a diamond to lead. Even as it was, East had to play a diamond on winning the spade king. But he did so, and the defense took their two tricks.
Undoubtedly, though, the best line is to lead a low diamond from hand at trick two, not the ace. If West wins with the king, there is no need for a spade finesse. If East wins with the king, he cannot put you to an immediate guess, and there is time to test the diamonds for an even break before falling back on the spades. Finally, if the diamond queen is allowed to win, playing on spades guarantees 12 tricks.
Bid with the aces
Answer: 3♦
The likely final contract rates to be three no-trump or four spades. (Slam is almost out of the picture once partner cannot do more at his second turn.) But there is no need to rush — cue-bid three diamonds, planning to bid no-trump at your next turn and let partner have a say in the final contract.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.
