The Aces on Bridge: Friday, August 4th, 2017
by Bobby Wolff on
August 18th, 2017
As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.
Josh Billings
| S | North |
|---|---|
| Both | ♠ 9 7 5 ♥ A J 9 8 7 5 ♦ A K ♣ 7 3 |
| West | East |
|---|---|
| ♠ K Q 8 4 ♥ 10 3 ♦ 8 5 4 ♣ K 10 5 4 |
♠ 6 3 2 ♥ Q ♦ 10 9 6 3 2 ♣ Q 9 8 6 |
| South |
|---|
| ♠ A J 10 ♥ K 6 4 2 ♦ Q J 7 ♣ A J 2 |
| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 NT | Pass | 2 ♦ * | Pass |
| 3 ♥ | Pass | 4 ♦ | Pass |
| 4 ♠ | Pass | 5 ♦ | Pass |
| 6 ♥ | All pass |
*hearts
♥3
The redouble on this sequence suggests playing in two clubs redoubled. Even though you have great controls, are you prepared to play a 4-2 (or possibly 3-2) fit? Since your partner might have opened one club with four and a decent suit – given that we know his diamonds are clearly weak. I’d just bid two hearts, I think, which is natural and forcing after using fourth suit.
BID WITH THE ACES
| ♠ 9 7 5 ♥ A J 9 8 7 5 ♦ A K ♣ 7 3 |
| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ♦ | Pass | ||
| 1 ♥ | Pass | 1 ♠ | Pass |
| 2 ♣ | Dbl. | Rdbl. | Pass |
| ? |
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Bridge-related
In the auction in today’s deal as South you break North’s transfer to hearts, to show four trumps and a non-minimum. Then over the four diamond cuebid you show your spade control, and jump to slam when his partner denies a club control. Rustic perhaps, but the final contract is a good one.
Against six hearts the defenders lead a trump. When dummy comes down it would be easy to relax, and to try to rely on taking the double finesse in spades – which give you at least a 75 percent chance of coming home with 12 tricks. But you can do better. While there may be more than one line that succeeds here, the neatest play involves an elimination, which brings you in at close to a 100 percent chance of success.
You carefully rise with the ace, unblock the diamond honors, come to the heart king (preserving dummy’s five) then cash the diamond queen to pitch a club, and play ace and another club, ruffing high in dummy.
Now you lead the heart five to the six, ruff the last club in dummy, and have reduced to an ending where both the North and South hands have three spades and a trump. When you lead a spade to the 10 and queen, West must surrender. He can either lead a spade into the tenace or give you a ruff-sluff if he has a minor suit to exit with. Whatever he does, you have the rest.