ACES ON BRIDGE

“If you would keep your secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend.”

— Benjamin Franklin

Today’s deal demonstrates the principle of not giving unnecessary information to declarer, which would allow him to count out your hand.

It seems sensible to lead passively against no-trump slams, so you choose the diamond three. Now, witness how the hand develops, and see how you would defend as West.

Declarer cashes the spade acequeen, then runs the diamonds, shedding two clubs, a heart, and a spade, while East discards enthusiastically in clubs. West, a former world champion, throws three clubs, and declarer plays a heart to the queen and king. Do you agree with West’s play to date?

West returns a low spade, and declarer puts up the king, East throwing a heart and South a club. Now the club ace forces a heart out of West, so declarer knows that both defenders only have one heart left since East is guarding clubs and West spades. Declarer can next confidently play a heart to his ace, dropping the jack, and chalking up his slam.

Can you see the defensive slip? West should have seen that she was going to have to discard a heart eventually, so she should have pitched one on the diamonds. Then, when she follows to the club ace, declarer does not get the complete count on the clubs. He will have to guess the hearts in the two-card ending. Even though he may correctly place the club king on his right after East’s discards, it might be tough for declarer to imagine West un-guarding her hearts so early in the game.

ANSWER: You can ignore your meager clubs in favor of the solid hearts with a practical three-heart rebid. This shows your values and makes the auction easier. Failing to make a strong call at your second turn does not mean you cannot compensate for it if the auction progresses. If you do not make a strong call at your second turn, you may not be able to make up for it as the auction progresses (if it progresses at all!).