AceS On briDge

“Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve,

And hope without an object cannot live.”

— Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In today’s deal, South’s response of two no-trump to an opening minor was forcing, so North simply raised to three no-trump.

West led a low spade to east’s king, and South carefully counted his winners before choosing his card. He had four tricks in the majors, and there would be either four or five diamonds, depending on the finesse in that suit.

Additionally, there would be one or two club tricks, also depending on whether or not that finesse were successful.

That looks like at least nine tricks, but say South had taken the first spade trick and lost a finesse to the diamond king, East would have been able to return a spade. Now the defenders would take four spades and the diamond king, defeating the contract.

So South had to duck the first spade trick, playing low from both hands. The idea of the holdup was to exhaust East of his spades. If East won the diamond king, South hoped he would be unable to return a spade.

When East continued with a low spade at trick two, South put in the jack and let West win his queen. Declarer took his ace on the third round of spades and discarded a low club from dummy. He next led the diamond jack and let it ride. As expected, when East won the diamond king, he had no spade to lead.

When East returned a club at trick five, South rejected the finesse, rising with the ace and running nine tricks without taking any unnecessary risk — a wise precaution today.