ACES ON BRIDGE

“Everything, in the end, comes down to timing. One second, one minute, one hour could make all the difference.”

— Sarah Dessen

In today's deal, an enemy preempt pushed North-south to a game they would not otherwise have bid. This was because North had no invitational call available facing his partner's two-no-trump overcall, so he took a shot at game. West thought he had the majority of his side's strength and could not imagine both setting up and cashing the spade suit, so he untrustingly tabled the club jack.

Declarer won the lead in hand to cash the heart ace-king. When the 10 rather than the queen put in an appearance, he tried a diamond to the queen, followed by a heart off dummy. West won and shifted to a spade. Declarer was forced to duck as East overtook, whereupon a club return from East allowed West to set up and cash a club trick after gaining the lead twice in diamonds.

There was no need for declarer to release control of the hearts. He was always going to have to try to set up the diamonds, so he should have played a diamond to the queen at trick two, followed by a second diamond. West can try the same defense of a spade shift followed by a reversion to clubs by East, but the difference is that declarer has a throw-in position in hearts now. He wins the second club in hand, cashes the spade ace and gives up a diamond. West can win and play a third club, but declarer takes that in dummy and endplays West with a club to broach the hearts. Declarer can, and probably should, play the heart jack on West's forced return, for the ninth trick.

ANSWER: Give false preference to two spades, keeping game in the picture if partner can act again. You do not quite have enough for an invitational two no-trump, which you would expect partner to accept with any sort of extras — real or imagined. Give yourself the heart 10, and you might follow the more optimistic route.