ACES ON BRIDGE

“This is not the end; it is not the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning.”

— William Churchill

One of my regular correspondents published this deal from his first-round loss in the 2017 Vanderbilt Knockout Teams in Kansas City, Missouri. Both tables received the same lead against four spades. However, one team made the wrong play but recovered to take home the bacon, while the other team started well but ended up sleeping with the fishes.

After the heart king lead against four spades, both declarers won the heart ace, though ducking might be right. Both now played the spade queen-jack, ducked, to get the goodbad news. What next?

At one table, declarer played the club queen, and when West won to play the heart queen, the defense was now over. What would have been better? West must play the diamond queen instead of the heart queen. Declarer can win the diamond king to lead a heart, but West takes this and plays the diamond jack, allowing East to pitch his last heart. Curtains for declarer!

In the other room, South correctly played the heart nine after discovering the 4-1 trump split. West won and shifted to the diamond queen. How should declarer have played?

To avoid the killing defense seen in the other room, South should win the diamond king, lead a spade to the nine, ruff his last heart in dummy and lead a low club to the king. If this holds, declarer will draw trumps, so West takes his ace and forces South with a heart. Declarer ruffs, crosses to a club and leads a diamond toward his hand. East can score only his trump trick.

ANSWER: Facing a balancing double, the cue-bid does not normally promise a second call facing any minimum action by the doubler. So here, a call of two spades by you would not be forcing, and since you do not have anything more than a minimum opener, there is no reason to drive to game. With an extra queen you might cue-bid to set up a game force.