ACES ON BRIDGE

“Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.”

— Laurence J. Peter

Today’s deal comes from last year’s Gold Coast pairs tournament in Brisbane, Australia. It is not easy for North-South to bid to their best spot, the 4-4 fit in diamonds, where declarer can use the hearts to discard spade losers.

With all the suits breaking in friendly fashion, nine tricks appear to be relatively straightforward. Should North have bid at all at his third turn? I’m not sure.

Raising hearts with two doesn’t feel right, while bidding diamonds on such a weak suit also seems too committal.

Hearts looked like a tougher place to play than diamonds, particularly if hearts were going to break 4-2. After the lead of the spade queen, declarer could see that he was going to be exposed to the risk of a force on repeated black suit leads. He had only seven top tricks and needed to develop diamonds to make his contract.

Declarer David Lilley neatly avoided this problem with the help of an intra-finesse in diamonds. He ducked the spade lead and, at trick three, after winning his spade ace, he led the diamond nine from hand.

When West went up with the diamond queen and cashed a spade winner, then played the club jack and another club, Lilley ruffed, crossed to the heart queen and advanced the diamond jack, pinning West’s now-bare diamond 10 and making no fewer than nine tricks.

Had the diamond 10 not dropped, declarer would have given up a diamond and ruffed the next club, playing for hearts to be 3-3.

ANSWER: Those controls make the hand almost worth forcing to game with a jump to three diamonds, but you do have only a 16-count, no matter how you upgrade it. I think a simple call of two diamonds should suffice, planning to raise spades at your next turn if partner corrects to two hearts. Over any other continuation but a pass, a spade call at your third turn will be natural and game-forcing.