ACES ON BRIDGE

“No one gets an ironclad guarantee of success. Certainly, factors like opportunity, luck and timing are important. But the backbone of success is usually found in old-fashioned, basic concepts like hard work, determination, good planning and perseverance.” — Mia Hamm

North has a hand slightly too strong for a direct raise of one heart. If not playing two-over-one, it looks better to bid diamonds, then raise hearts to invite game. If you play two-over-one, you can use the forcing no-trump, planning to jump to three hearts next. Either way, you should reach four hearts, though North might briefly consider making a slam try en route to game. If a call of four diamonds shows a source of tricks, the hand is certainly worth it — consider that South might have the same hand with the diamond queen instead of the heart jack.

In four hearts on a spade lead, South can see the danger of four top losers (three in clubs and one in spades). One possibility would be to take a diamond finesse — not a success as the cards lie, and not the right play in theory, either. The correct line requires careful manipulation of the entries.

First, win the spade lead and play one top trump from hand. Then play the diamond ace and king, and ruff a diamond high. Lead a heart to the eight for another diamond ruff, then cross back to dummy to draw the last trump. Now the last diamond allows you to throw away a loser, and you can take the club finesse for the overtrick. I hope you are pleased when it loses — that means that if you had mishandled the play, you would be down.

ANSWER: Your partner took no part in the auction, so he surely does not have a decent red suit and values. If he did, he would have bid. Maybe the best chance to beat the game is to lead a club and hope declarer has only three? In pairs, this hand is even harder, since a club lead is quite likely to cost a trick. I might lead the heart seven and hope to hit my partner’s length.