ACES ON BRIDGE

“The use of force alone is but temporary. It may subdue for a moment, but it does not remove the necessity of subduing again.”

— Edmund Burke

Say you make a bid that sets up a force on your side. When the opponents interfere below the bid to which your side forced, it is best to play that reverting to your suit is weak; pass is forcing, showing something extra.

Here North’s inverted raise is a one-round force. East comes in with two spades, and South can pass, suggesting values but no clear bid. When West raises, the forcing pass is off , but South reopens with a double, hoping to reach three no-trump facing a spade stopper. North makes a natural game-try of four clubs, prompting South to try five diamonds. The defenders cash their spades, then East shifts to a low heart. Winning the heart ace, declarer pulls trumps, then he must establish clubs. He could simply play the ace-king and ruff the third, hoping to find an even split or queen-doubleton, but that would not be good enough today. Is there any reason why declarer would finesse on the second club (other than having good peripheral vision)?

West has one diamond and only three spades. While East could be underleading honor-doubleton in hearts, a three-card suit is more likely, leaving West with at least four clubs. West is therefore a 2-to-1 favorite to hold the club queen, so South should lead to the club jack on the second round. He ruffs a club and returns to dummy with a spade ruff to discard his hearts on the clubs.

ANSWER: Bid one spade and take advantage of being in third chair. Open light to get the spades in and possibly direct the lead. Some might pre-empt to two spades, but that would feel like over-egging the cake. You have defense and do not mind partner competing, playing you to have values.