Aces on Bridge — Daily Columns

The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, October 24th, 2019

We’re all leading lives that are different and yet the same.

Anne Frank


N North
E-W ♠ K
 J 6 5 4 2
 10 9 5 3
♣ A 9 2
West East
♠ Q J 9 7
 K 3
 Q 8 6
♣ K 6 5 4
♠ 6 4 3
 9 8
 A K J 4 2
♣ J 10 8
South
♠ A 10 8 5 2
 A Q 10 7
 7
♣ Q 7 3
South West North East
    Pass Pass
1 ♠ Pass 1 NT Pass
2 Pass 4 All pass
       

6

On today’s deal from the 2014 European Team Championships in Croatia, the final contract was the same in each room, but the outcomes were very different.

Both Norths drove their partners to game in hearts, and each West led a low diamond. Easts Gabor Winkler for Hungary and Vladimir Mihov for Bulgaria both won with the king and switched to a club honor.

Mihov led the club 10 to the queen, king and ace. Declarer cashed the spade king, ruffed a diamond and threw a club loser on the spade ace. Next, he ruffed a spade, before conceding a club to Mihov’s jack. South ruffed the diamond return, ruffed a club and led a heart to the queen. When Julian Stefanov (West) won with the king and returned a heart to the ace, declarer was left with a diamond loser and was one down for minus 50.

In the other room, Winkler switched to the club jack, and declarer Georgi Mihailov withheld his queen. He won with the ace, cashed the spade king, ruffed a diamond, and cashed the spade ace, pitching a club from dummy. Next came a spade ruff, a diamond ruff, and another spade. When West produced the 13th spade, Mihailov discarded dummy’s last club rather than risking an over-ruff.

East also threw a club, and West led the club king, which declarer ruffed. When Mihailov took the losing heart finesse, he could ruff the club return with the jack and cross to the heart ace. The 2-2 trump split meant that he could cash the spade 10 for his game-going trick, and a big swing to Bulgaria.



You had too little to bid two hearts on the previous round, and now with such a bad suit and little chance of a fit, you seem to have too much to pass but nowhere to go. Giving false preference to two spades on a singleton would be too rich for me, though admittedly it does give partner a chance to go on with the perfect hand. I’d pass two clubs and proffer my apologies along with the dummy.

BID WITH THE ACES

♠ K
 J 6 5 4 2
 10 9 5 3
♣ A 9 2
South West North East
    1 ♠ Pass
1 NT Pass 2 ♣ Pass
?      

For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019

Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life.

Johann von Goethe


E North
N-S ♠ A J 9 8
 Q 8 7 5
 J 9
♣ K 10 3
West East
♠ 7 6 5 3
 9 4
 8 7 5 4 3
♣ 7 5
♠ 4
 A K J 10 3
 K Q 10 6
♣ Q J 8
South
♠ K Q 10 2
 6 2
 A 2
♣ A 9 6 4 2
South West North East
      1
Dbl. Pass 2 Pass
2 ♠ Pass 3 ♠ Pass
4 ♠ All pass    

9

All the deals this week come from the 2014 European Team Championships in Croatia. This one comes from the match between Bulgaria and Israel, the eventual winners of the event.

After East’s natural opening bid, Bulgaria’s Rossen Gunev (South) elected to double — despite his flawed holding in a minor — as his safest way into the auction. This isn’t gilt-edged, but it kept his side from being frozen out of the auction.

The North-South spade fit was thus located at once, and the Bulgarians even reached game, each of the players stretching just a little to get there. West duly led the heart nine to the queen and king.

Had East immediately continued with the diamond king, we would not have a story. Even cashing a second top heart and shifting to diamonds would have set the contract, since declarer would not have had the communication for an effective endplay against East. But when East played a third round of hearts instead, hoping no doubt to promote a trump for his partner, declarer seized his chance.

South ruffed high, crossed to dummy in trumps, ruffed the last heart high and drew West’s remaining trump, squeezing East out of his 13th heart in the process. After that, Gunev simply conceded a club to East and claimed his contract, since the diamond loser could be discarded on the clubs.

That was worth 12 IMPs to Bulgaria when their East-West pair bought the contract in two diamonds in the other room after a strong club opening, making nine tricks.



With marginal values, your singleton in partner’s suit should swing you away from inviting game at pairs. A two-no-trump advance would land you in the wrong spot too often. Playing teams, the lure of a vulnerable game might be too much to bear, though, in which case the two-no-trump call describes your general shape and values reasonably well.

BID WITH THE ACES

♠ 4
 A K J 10 3
 K Q 10 6
♣ Q J 8
South West North East
1 Pass 1 ♠ Pass
2 Pass 2 Pass
?      

For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019

The best liar is he who makes the smallest amount of lying go the longest way.

Samuel Butler


W North
Both ♠ A 7 6 5 4
 J 9 6 5
 9
♣ 10 9 8
West East
♠ Q 3
 4 3 2
 7 6 5
♣ K Q J 7 2
♠ 8
 A K Q 10 8 7
 A Q 8 4 2
♣ 4
South
♠ K J 10 9 2
 —
 K J 10 3
♣ A 6 5 3
South West North East
  Pass Pass 1
1 ♠ 2 4 ♠ 4 NT
5 ♠ Dbl. All pass  

♣K

France made a good start at the 2014 European Team Championships, but then lost heavily to Monaco, the eventual silver medalists, in the third round.

Having agreed hearts as the trump suit, East, Tor Helness, tried for a slam, but was happy to defend against five spades doubled. Geir Helgemo led the club king, which was won in hand by declarer Michel Bessis, who drew trumps in two rounds ending in dummy. Now came the critical point. The diamond nine hit the baize, and Helness showed his class by ducking in tempo. Now Bessis had a decision to make. When he rose with the king, he no longer had a way to make his contract.

Had he run the nine, he would have been home free — he could come to hand by ruffing a heart, then establish a diamond with a double loser-on-loser play in that suit, thus making 11 tricks.

Of course, had the diamond nine lost to the queen, South would almost certainly have been two off, but Helness’s strong bidding perhaps indicated the diamond position. You could certainly argue that gambling plus 850 against minus 500 is better odds than a guaranteed minus 200.

In the other room, again the five-level was reached, and the first three tricks were identical; but this time when the diamond nine was played from dummy, East hopped up with the ace. That was a pardonable error, but one that made life easy for declarer. France had not doubled the contract, but it was still 13 IMPs to Monaco.



Your hand has improved considerably now that you know of a heart fit. Your singleton diamond will prove useful opposite partner’s likely 1=4=3=5 shape, as will the spade ace and the club intermediates. (Picture partner with king-jack-fifth, for example.) What is more, partner has shown extras with his reverse, so jump to four hearts to suggest no slam interest.

BID WITH THE ACES

♠ A 7 6 5 4
 J 9 6 5
 9
♣ 10 9 8
South West North East
    1 ♣ Pass
1 ♠ Pass 2 Pass
?      

For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

The Aces on Bridge: Monday, October 21st, 2019

There is always a well-known solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and wrong.

H.L. Mencken


S North
Both ♠ J 10 4
 K 7 5 3
 K 10 2
♣ A 10 4
West East
♠ 9 6
 Q 9 4 2
 J 9 5 4 3
♣ 8 6
♠ K Q 5 3 2
 A J 10
 A Q 6
♣ J 7
South
♠ A 8 7
 8 6
 8 7
♣ K Q 9 5 3 2
South West North East
Pass Pass 1 ♣ Dbl.
3 NT All pass    

4

The 2014 European Team Championships were held in Opatija, Croatia, to determine the six teams who would go on to vie for the Bermuda Bowl, which was held in Chennai, India, while the women’s and seniors’ events decided the European representatives at the Venice Cup and d’Orsi Bowl, respectively.

Our first deal of the week was played in round one, between France and Iceland. It is rarely a good sign when the same team declares the hand in the same strain at both tables, but the French proved one should never say never. In one room, the French East opened a strong no-trump and played there, drifting two down.

In the other room (shown), when Thomas Bessis opened his patchy 11-count in third chair. East chose to double, treating his hand as too strong for an immediate one-spade overcall and South, Michel Bessis, had a crack at the no-trump game, gambling on finding two quick tricks opposite to go with the club suit.

West led an attitude diamond four to East’s queen. The spade shift gave declarer no problems. He ran it to dummy, crossed to his hand in clubs and played a diamond to the 10, establishing his ninth trick.

East should shift to a heart at trick two. If declarer ducks, East drives out the spade ace and has five tricks, but if declarer wins and finesses in diamonds, the defenders now have the communication to take two diamonds and three heart tricks.

The French gained nine IMPs for their enterprise.



It is rarely right to lead from ace-fourth against no-trump, since it often costs a trick and you will frequently have time to switch to that suit if you need to. Because a club lead from our doubleton would be against the odds, we must choose between the red suits. There is an argument for leading a major suit, as West did not use Stayman, but whether you lead a small heart or the diamond five is up to you.

LEAD WITH THE ACES

♠ A 6 4 3
 J 8 2
 7 5 4 3
♣ 9 2
South West North East
      1 NT
Pass 3 NT All pass  

For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, October 20th, 2019

What is the right way to signal from length when your partner leads a king (presumably from ace-king) and dummy has the guarded queen in that suit?

Rawhide Rick, Salina, Kan.

In a suit contract, if you might hold a doubleton, you echo with two; that way you never lose your ruff. I suggest play lowest from three, and second-lowest from four. This minimizes ambiguity, though nothing will cover every base. If you cannot have as few as two cards, give count, with a high card suggesting an even number, a low card suggesting an odd number. In no-trump, simply give count — your attitude is implicitly defined by the sight of dummy.

What would you do with ♠ K-10-5-2,  A-Q-8-6-2,  10-4, ♣ Q-9 when your partner opens one club and rebids one no-trump over your one-heart response? Would you drive to game, settle for part-score or issue an invitation?

Straitjacket, Vancouver, British Columbia

Your hand does not look strong enough to drive to game, when you have at best an eight-card fit in either major and no more than 24 high-card points between you. I’d start with two diamonds, the new minor, looking for a heart fit, and be prepared to give up if I do not find one. If partner bids two spades, showing 4=3=3=3 precisely, I’ll raise to three.

Can you comment on the meaning of jump rebids by opener after a suit opening, when his partner makes a negative double of an overcall by the left-hand opponent? Are jumps forcing in the original suit or in a new suit — and if not, what about a double jump?

Head for Heights, Grenada, Miss.

Let’s consider a onespade overcall of a minor-suit opening, and a negative double from your partner. Now your two-heart call suggests four and a minimum balanced or semibalanced hand. A jump to three hearts suggests four trumps and 14-15 points, potentially unbalanced. A jump in any other new suit or your first-bid suit shows extras but is not forcing. Use the cue-bid to set up a game force.

In fourth seat, how should I have developed the following hand: ♠ A-Q-3,  Q-7-6-4,  K-9, ♣ K-9-4-2, when my left-hand opponent opened two spades and my partner doubled? This was a pairs event with both sides vulnerable.

Nosy Rosie, Orlando, Fla.

The choice is between bidding game in hearts or three no-trump, and passing for penalties. You rate to set two spades 500 or more — but declarer can surely take four spade tricks and may scramble a couple more out of dummy’s collection. With these spade honors taking tricks on offense, I would try three no-trump. Four hearts could easily run into ruffs or trump troubles.

Is there any real advantage to playing the version of Key-card Blackwood currently recommended by Eddie Kantar, where a five club response shows one or four key-cards (counting the trump king as a key-card) and five diamonds shows none or three? What do you usually play?

20th Century Blues, Selma, Ala.

Any system accident more than outweighs the benefits of playing the best possible methods. “The perfect is the enemy of the good,” they say. If I use Roman Key-card Blackwood, I play 30/41 responses, though I do see a shift toward the methods you outline. When in Rome …


For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, October 19th, 2019

Man in portions can foresee His own funeral destiny.

Lord Byron


N North
Both ♠ K J 9 2
 K 8 5 4
 A
♣ K 9 8 6
West East
♠ 10 8 6 4
 Q 3
 K 9 7 6 5 3
♣ 2
♠ 7
 J 10 7 6 2
 Q J 10 8
♣ Q J 10
South
♠ A Q 5 3
 A 9
 4 2
♣ A 7 5 4 3
South West North East
    1 ♣ Pass
1 ♠ Pass 3 ♠ Pass
4 ♣ Pass 4 Pass
4 NT Pass 5 Pass
5 NT Pass 6 ♣ Pass
6 ♠ All pass    

♣2

At his second turn, North correctly judged his hand to be worth a double raise of spades. After some cue-bids and the application of Roman Key-card Blackwood, South invited a grand slam with five no-trump, but when North could not do more than respond at the six-level, South ended in six spades.

West led his club singleton. Declarer saw that there would be 12 easy tricks if trumps were 3-2: He could draw trumps, concede a club to East and then take a ruff in a red suit for his 12th trick (he would make nine tricks in the black suits and the three additional red-suit winners).

So, declarer turned his mind to what could be done if West had four trumps. After realizing that it would be best to ruff a heart in hand if that were so, declarer began by carefully calling for the club eight from dummy at trick one.

After winning the club ace and drawing two rounds of trumps with the ace and jack, discovering that West did indeed have four trumps, declarer cashed the heart king and ace before leading a low club toward dummy. West discarded a diamond; declarer won with the club king and continued with the club nine to East’s queen. East exited with the heart jack, but declarer could ruff this with the trump queen.

Next, he led a low trump and covered West’s eight with dummy’s nine. After drawing West’s last trump, declarer led dummy’s carefully preserved club six to his seven to cash the club five. The diamond ace was declarer’s 12th trick.



This is a common problem. If we respond in our weak spade suit and partner rebids two clubs, we will not be able to get our diamonds into the game. (Two diamonds would then be fourth suit forcing.) Best is to lie with one no-trump, enabling us to bid a natural and non-forcing two diamonds if partner finds the likely rebid of two clubs.

BID WITH THE ACES

♠ 10 8 6 4
 Q 3
 K 9 7 6 5 3
♣ 2
South West North East
    1 Pass
?      

For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

The Aces on Bridge: Friday, October 18th, 2019

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

William James


S North
None ♠ J 10 9 6
 10 8 2
 Q 9 8
♣ 10 9 6
West East
♠ 8 7
 7 5 4
 J 10 5 2
♣ Q J 8 7
♠ A K Q 5 4 2
 3
 6 4 3
♣ 5 4 3
South
♠ 3
 A K Q J 9 6
 A K 7
♣ A K 2
South West North East
2 ♣ Pass 2 2 ♠
3 Pass 4 Pass
6 All pass    

♠8

After South’s strong opening and North’s nebulous response, East’s two-spade intervention was meek at best. With so much offense, East should have aimed to take up space with a jump to three spades. As it was, South was able to name his suit at the three-level. When North raised to game, promising nothing, South took a punt at slam. Might North have considered temporizing with three spades? If so, I’m not sure whether South could have done more than bid four hearts.

Against the slam, West led the spade eight. On the sight of dummy, declarer could count only 11 tricks. Fortunately, dummy’s major-suit spots gave declarer a slim chance of maneuvering into an additional trick.

The opening lead was headed by the nine and king (East’s best attempt at a false card). Declarer won the club return in hand, cashed the heart ace and reached dummy with the heart eight to take the first of his ruffing spade finesses, leading the spade nine to try to pin the seven-doubleton or -tripleton in West’s hand.

Declarer ruffed East’s spade ace high, delighted to see the seven fall, returned to the heart 10 and called for another spade, ruffing out East’s queen. All that remained was to reach dummy with the diamond queen, to park the losing club on dummy’s established spade six.

Yes, South needed help on lead as well as some luck in the spot-cards, but he took advantage of his best chance to make the slam.



We are forced to bid and could either settle for two spades or attempt to find a minor suit fit via a scrambling two no-trump. Given that East has not raised hearts, partner is likely to have a doubleton heart and could easily be 5=2=3=3. In that case, we would prefer to play in spades at a cheaper level. So try two spades.

BID WITH THE ACES

♠ 8 6
 7 5 4
 J 10 5 2
♣ Q J 7 6
South West North East
    1 ♠ Pass
Pass 2 Dbl. Pass
?      

For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, October 17th, 2019

What makes a problem a problem is not that a large amount of search is required for its solution, but that a large amount would be required if a requisite level of intelligence were not applied.— Allen Newell and Herbert


W North
Both ♠ K Q J 5
 Q 9 8 6 5
 9 6
♣ 10 4
West East
♠ 10 9 7 3
 4 3 2
 10
♣ Q 9 8 7 5
♠ A 4 2
 A J 10
 J 8 7 4 2
♣ 3 2
South
♠ 8 6
 K 7
 A K Q 5 3
♣ A K J 6
South West North East
  Pass Pass Pass
2 NT Pass 3 ♣ Pass
3 Pass 3 ♠ * Pass
3 NT All pass    

*Four spades and longer hearts

♣7

South’s inelegant (if practical) two no-trump opening saw North show four spades and longer hearts, but South insisted on no-trump, which led to a challenging declarer-play problem for him.

Declarer won the club lead in dummy with the 10 and called for dummy’s spade king. When East let it hold, declarer started on diamonds, and the 5-1 break came as a huge blow.

Declarer now needed a third trick from the majors. He led the heart king from hand, but East was wide awake and, after winning the heart ace, returned the heart jack to kill the dummy. He won the next spade, cashed the heart 10, West throwing a spade, and exited in diamonds. West let go of his last spade, and the defense had to come to two more tricks.

Once West had showed out on the second diamond, South should have dislodged the spade ace before touching hearts. East would win the second spade and would probably return a diamond, but declarer would be in the driver’s seat. He would win and lay down the heart king, which East would have to duck, in order to prevent South from accessing dummy’s winning spade.

However, declarer could now counter by cashing the club aceking (East pitching a spade) and throwing East on lead with a diamond. After taking his diamond winners, East would have to lead around to a major-suit winner at trick 13. Note that in this line declarer would have to guess whether to pitch a spade winner or unguard hearts on the last diamond!



If you play forcing no-trump and constructive raises, you are allowed to make a simple raise to two hearts with a 10-count. But this hand feels too strong for that. It isn’t just the good trump and aces, it is also the side five-card suit and useful small doubleton. So treat this as a limit raise; bid a forcing no-trump, then jump to three hearts. If you don’t play forcing no-trump, maybe make a limit raise to three hearts.

BID WITH THE ACES

♠ A 4 2
 A J 10
 J 8 7 4 2
♣ 3 2
South West North East
    1 Pass
?      

For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, October 16th, 2019

Politics is the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.

Robert Louis Stevenson


E North
E-W ♠ A K 7 4 2
 2
 A 10 8
♣ Q 10 9 7
West East
♠ J 10 8 5
 8 5
 J 7 2
♣ K 8 5 4
♠ Q
 9 7 6 4
 K 9 6 5 4
♣ J 6 3
South
♠ 9 6 3
 A K Q J 10 3
 Q 3
♣ A 2
South West North East
      Pass
1 Pass 1 ♠ Pass
3 NT Pass 4 Dbl.
4 Pass 4 ♠ Pass
5 ♣ Pass 5 NT Pass
6 All pass    

2

West led a diamond against today’s heart slam from Britain’s Gold Cup, and East won his diamond king as declarer followed low.

Declarer was planning to squeeze West in the black suits after running all the diamond and heart winners plus the club ace. Alas for him, East smartly switched to the spade queen at trick two, attacking declarer’s entries. This maneuver could hardly lose, as declarer would not have played small from dummy if he were missing the club ace and could run the spades.

This defense cut declarer off from the diamond ace. If he wanted to cash it to tighten the end position, he would have to unblock the diamond queen and use up his final spade entry to dummy, killing the squeeze. Declarer tossed and turned, but could not find a way to counter this fine defense.

At trick one south might have unblocked the diamond queen under the king. He could then finesse the diamond 10 and cash the ace while the spade entry was intact. Now West would come under the desired pressure.

But if declarer had simply won the spade shift and run all six of his trumps, West would have had to bare his diamond jack in the six-card ending to keep the black suits guarded. That lets declarer overtake the diamond queen and cash the .

He reduces to a top spade and club queen-doubleton in dummy opposite the club ace and two spades in hand. West would be unable to keep two clubs and two spades, and declarer would come home if he read the position.



With a four-card major and longer diamonds in response to a club opening, the normal procedure is to bypass the diamonds with a weak hand, preferring to get the major in at a low level. However, your hearts are so poor that you can afford to ignore them for now and respond in your fair five-card diamond suit, maximizing your chances of finding a fit.

BID WITH THE ACES

♠ Q
 9 7 6 4
 K 9 6 5 4
♣ J 6 3
South West North East
    1 ♣ Pass
?      

For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, October 15th, 2019

Mathematics is the science which draws necessary conclusions.

Benjamin Peirce


E North
E-W ♠ A Q 6 3
 —
 K 10 7 5 4 2
♣ 10 7 5
West East
♠ 10 8 7 2
 8 7 6 5 3 2
 8
♣ A 4
♠ K 9 5
 A K J 10 9
 3
♣ J 9 8 6
South
♠ J 4
 Q 4
 A Q J 9 6
♣ K Q 3 2
South West North East
      1
2 4 5 All pass
       

8

Even without a sixth diamond, South’s two-level overcall seems normal on today’s deal. North contented himself with a simple raise to five diamonds after West bid pre-emptively to four hearts. If four no-trump had been available to show a slam try in diamonds, he might have considered that.

When West led a heart, declarer saw that East and West had just 16 points between them, but he failed to follow through with this thought. He ruffed the opening lead in dummy, then crossed to hand with a trump to ruff his second heart. Declarer then continued with a low club from dummy, expecting East to hold the ace.

However, West captured the king with his ace and unkindly sent back a second club. East covered dummy’s 10 with the jack, and South won his queen. Declarer knew that East held the spade king for his opening bid but still desperately tried the finesse. As expected, it lost, and the club nine was the setting trick.

South played the black suits in the wrong order. For East to have an opening bid, he needed to hold at least one of the spade king or the club ace. After eliminating hearts and drawing trumps, declarer does best to lead a low spade from dummy. If East rises with the king, declarer has three spade tricks as home for two of his losing clubs.

If East plays low, South has no spade losers and can afford to concede two clubs. If West takes the spade jack with the king, then the club ace must be onside with East.



The textbooks would recommend opening one diamond and rebidding two clubs. Modernists would open one no-trump as often as possible. Here, with honors in your short suits, one no-trump is your best tactical option, serving to rightside most contracts facing a balanced hand. It also pre-empts the opponents while getting your strength across to partner. Do I recommend it? Maybe.

BID WITH THE ACES

♠ J 4
 Q 4
 A Q J 9 6
♣ K Q 3 2
South West North East
?      
       

For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog.
Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2019. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].