ACES ON BRIDGE

“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do . ... Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”

— Mark Twain

Today’s deal comes from last July’s consolation teams event at the Yeh Bros Cup in Tokyo. Chen Yeh sponsors the tournament, and it is great news for bridge that this is back to being an annual event, so that spectators can watch the world’s best bridge players competing for the largest cash prizes in the game, both online and in person.

As the daily bulletin sardonically remarked, it can be hard to console a team that is playing the secondary Swiss with a metaphorical big fat ‘L’ branded on its forehead. But David Beauchamp of Australia cheered his team up when he found a successful way home playing game in one of the opponents’ suits.

The defense against four hearts doubled would have generated only 300, so it was right for him to bid on; but to what contract? Note that while four no-trump can be made, five clubs might be set on the spade ruff.

Fu Zhong, as West, led a heart against four spades, ducked the first trump and won the next to return a heart. Beauchamp now knew not to lead a trump again, since the suit was marked as 4-2. He discarded a club on the heart ace, won the diamond king and led a club to the ace, a diamond to the queen and a diamond toward dummy. When East discarded, West was marked with a 4-4-4-1 shape, so declarer could confidently run the club jack, losing just three trump tricks in all. Had both defenders followed to the third diamond, declarer would probably have played West as holding 4-4-32 shape.