If one road is out, find an open way

Noam Bardin, the CEO of Waze Mobile Limited, said, “Maps are living, breathing organisms that change on a daily basis: You see it in new roads, bridge closures and demolitions.”

Are bridge deals living, breathing organisms that change every seven or eight minutes?

How should South be breathing happily at the end of this deal? He is in five hearts, and West leads the diamond ace.

West’s two-no-trump overcall showed at least 5-5 in the minors. East had a more balanced hand than usual for a leap to game, but he was hoping to drive South out of the auction. However, here, South was not going to hit the brakes.

South has three potential losers: one spade and two clubs. He has only 10 top tricks: two spades and eight hearts. South needs either East to hold the club ace, or the spades splitting 3-2 and the trumps 2-1. Which of those roads should he take first?

Usually, a line that requires a specific card to be in a particular opponent’s hand should be tried last. So, initially, declarer should hope for good majorsuit splits. But if East can win a spade trick, he might — and here will — shift with effect to a club.

Instead, South, at trick one, must not ruff, but discard a spade. Suppose West plays another diamond. South ruffs, crosses to the heart 10 (lucky!), plays a spade to the ace, a spade to the king and ruffs a spade. Then he leads a heart to the ace and discards his two clubs on the long spades to score up an overtrick.

If hearts are 3-0 or spades 4-1, then South plays East for the club ace.