ACES ON BRIDGE

“I’m forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air.” — Kendis, Brockman and Vincent

In baseball, a hitter is regarded as a huge success if he only fails seven times in 10. I occasionally have had to wonder if my own success rate hovers around the same average.

This hand comes from the Macallan tournament two decades ago. At one table, Alfredo Versace declared an apparently awkward six-heart slam on the auction shown. After the lead of a top spade, Versace ruffed three diamonds in dummy, using a trump, club and spade ruff to re-enter his hand. When he laid down the top trumps, he ended up with all 13 tricks.

By contrast, I declared six clubs, which looks easier to make, but I had received an enterprising pre-emptive jump overcall in spades from Lars Blakset with the West hand.

After a top spade lead, I set about the same cross-ruff, ruffing three diamonds in dummy, using a top heart and a spade ruff as re-entries to hand. When the heart 10 fell, I now thought I knew East, Jens Auken, had begun with precisely a 2-4-4-3 pattern. So I led dummy’s high trump and overtook it (setting up East’s 10), and played two more rounds of trump to leave East on lead.

If he had three hearts left, as did both dummy and declarer, he would be endplayed to lead a heart to the jack, and I could finesse the heart nine on the way back, for a very elegant 12 tricks.

But when Auken produced an impossible spade, down went the contract, and my chance of a brilliancy prize went up in smoke.

ANSWER:

Your partner’s two-diamond call suggests real extras, but is consistent with something like a 17-19 count with no diamond stopper and only three spades. Regardless, you have a straightforward jump to four spades, suggesting five spades and extras. If your partner actually has a game-forcing hand with a rounded suit, he will bid it next — and you will probably raise to slam.