ACES on bridge

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”

— Christopher Reeve

great britain’s last victory in the european championships was in 1991, in killarney, ireland. these days, britain counts as four separate constituent countries, meaning it no longer competes as a single entity. this hand is from that 1991 event, reported by one of the spanish players on the losing end of the swing.

north’s exuberant jump to slam saw the spanish west select not the killing diamond, but the spade three, which ran to the eight. declarer was not yet out of the woods, of course. assuming the diamond finesse would lose, he needed three discards for his diamond losers, and the spades would only provide two.

if east held both heart honors, the contract would be hopeless. since east likely held the ace rather than the queen, south decided to play on the assumption that this was a singleton.

the winning line is to ruff the club loser in dummy at trick two and follow up with the spade jack to the king before taking the trump finesse. when east scores his ace, he has no exit card — he will be forced to open up diamonds or concede a ruff-sluff.

at the table, declarer eliminated three rounds of spades before taking the heart finesse. east missed his chance, though. he had to ruff in with his bare ace and exit with a club to give a ruff-and-discard. declarer must ruff in dummy, since one discard from the board is not enough. but now he has no way to return to hand to take the trump finesse!

Answer: It May Not Be Very Scientific, But I’d Jump To Three Notrump At Once, Expecting My Rho Not To Have Full Values For His Opening Bid. Your Partner’s Redouble Suggests Club Tolerance And Maximum Values, So Your Chances Of Having Nine Tricks To Run Are Pretty Good.