ACES ON BRIDGE

“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is the lightning that does the work.” — Mark Twain

Take the West cards for today's junior tournament deal.

After your one-diamond opening is brushed aside, you elect to lead clubs, the unbid suit. A diamond seems too likely to surrender a trick for no return, with partner holding very little and the hand on your right known to hold a diamond stopper.

Declarer wins the opening lead in dummy as partner encourages and South follows small. Declarer then runs dummy's spade jack to you. What is your plan of campaign?

At the table, West took the trick and returned a club. Declarer, Andor van Munnen, won the second club in dummy, overtook the spade king with the ace, and cashed out the spades as West threw diamonds. Dummy discarded two hearts and a diamond. Now declarer led a heart up to dummy.

West won his heart ace and returned the suit, but declarer took the king and played his last top club before exiting with the fourth club. West was endplayed to lead diamonds into declarer at the end, for his ninth trick.

West can do better by ducking the spade jack but will need to defend well even after that. Declarer can cash the spade king and the top clubs and then exit from table with the fourth club, pitching a spade and diamond from hand. In turn, West must exit with the heart ace and another heart to keep declarer out of his hand. After winning in dummy, declarer plays a diamond, but West wins and carefully exits with his losing spade, endplaying declarer to lead another diamond into his tenace.

ANSWER: Open one heart. Offshape no-trump openings are all the rage, but you must be sensible. This hand, with its 5-4-2-2 shape, hard values and decent long suits, seems far better suited to play in a trump contract. One heart might uncover a fit that one no-trump would not, and it might right-side no-trump if partner has a vulnerable diamond holding. There will be time for no-trump later, you hope.