ACES ON BRIDGE

“If thou must choose Between the chances, choose the odd; Read The New Yorker, trust in God; And take short views.”

-- W.H. Auden

Even the experts sometimes lose their way. In today’s deal, declarer had two chances to make a doubled partscore, but missed both.

In one room, West had made eight tricks in clubs, but in the other room, South was playing for bigger stakes. Against two hearts doubled, Ricco van Prooijen led his singleton heart to the three, two and king. Now declarer misguessed by playing a spade to dummy’s jack at trick two. East, Marion Michielsen, took the spade queen and played the diamond five. Declarer went up with the ace and cashed three more spades, fatally discarding one of dummy’s clubs instead of the lone diamond. Michielsen ruffed the 13th spade and continued with the diamond queen, then switched to clubs. Van Prooijen could win the second club and play a killing third round of diamonds. Declarer ruffed this diamond low, but Michielsen overruffed and still had a trump trick. The defenders took one trick in each side-suit, plus three trump tricks.

If declarer discards dummy’s diamond on the fourth spade, Michielsen could ruff the fourth spade and play her diamond, but dummy then ruffs and plays a club. East can duck to allow West to win, but declarer discards dummy’s remaining club on the diamond continuation. A further diamond can then be ruffed with the heart jack. If East overruffs, that is the last trick for the defense. If she discards her last nontrump, declarer leads a low heart from dummy, endplaying East in trumps.

ANSWER: There are not many positions where I turn into a coward, but this is one of them. With limited values, I am facing a passed partner, and I have the sort of suit I don’t really want to command my partner to lead. So the prospect of making an overcall that takes up no space is not an inviting one. I will pass, and let my partner lead what he likes, if necessary.