The Aces on Bridge: Friday, January 2nd, 2015
by Bobby Wolff on
January 16th, 2015
We must change (our ideas) when they have served their purpose, as we change a blunt lancet that we have used long enough.
Claude Bernard
| West | North |
|---|---|
| Both | ♠ 6 2 ♥ Q 9 2 ♦ 9 5 4 3 ♣ A K J 10 |
| West | East |
|---|---|
| ♠ A 4 ♥ A K J 7 4 3 ♦ Q 7 6 ♣ Q 5 |
♠ 9 7 5 3 ♥ 8 ♦ 10 8 2 ♣ 9 8 7 3 2 |
| South |
|---|
| ♠ K Q J 10 8 ♥ 10 6 5 ♦ A K J ♣ 6 4 |
| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♥ | Pass | Pass | |
| Dbl. | 2♥ | Pass | Pass |
| 2♠ | Pass | 3♠ | All pass |
♥K
The pessimistic options would be to pass two hearts, or give preference to two spades. This hand feels a little too good for those cautious actions. With three working cards for my partner, I would guess to raise to three hearts, as an invitation. Yes, I am a trump short, but I've done worse.
BID WITH THE ACES
| ♠ 6 2 ♥ Q 9 2 ♦ 9 5 4 3 ♣ A K J 10 |
| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♠ | Pass | ||
| 1 NT | 2♦ | 2♥ | Pass |
| ? |
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Bridge-related
Defense is a partnership effort, and suit preference is a way for the players to cooperate, by suggesting a line of play to your partner.
Here, for example, as West you lead out the heart king and ace, partner playing the eight followed by the club two (discouraging and suggesting a five-card suit if he is signaling count). It is up to you to plan the defense from this point on when giving your partner the ruff.
A diamond play can never really help your side, can it, since declarer is marked from the auction with all the missing high cards? When South balanced with two spades he showed that he surely has both high diamonds and relatively solid spades. So if you signal for a diamond and partner obediently plays one (which would be right if you had the diamond and spade kings instead of your actual hand) declarer would win in hand and drive out the spade ace, then take the club finesse for his contract. There is nothing that you can do to prevent him from bringing clubs in for the discards he needs.
The correct thing to do is to play the heart three, asking partner to return a club. Then if you continue a club when in with the spade ace, declarer can never make more than two club tricks and you will score any diamond tricks to which your side is entitled. An alternative might be to shift to a club yourself at trick three…unless declarer started with a singleton!