ACES ON BRIDGE

“Necessity never made a good bargain.”

— Benjamin Franklin

In today’s deal from the 2019 European Open Teams, North’s raise to three spades was partly justified by the vulnerability and partly by the table result.

In four spades, Beren van den Bos took the heart lead with the ace to play a diamond. The defenders erred by rising with the king and playing three more rounds of the suit.

Declarer overruffed the fourth diamond and cross-ruffed his way home to plus 620. Two spades made 140 in the other room; this swing prevented his opponents from qualifying.

Both Souths declared four spades in Toledano-zimmermann. Toledano won the top club lead and cashed the heart winners to pitch a diamond, then tried for a cross-ruff. Now the defenders could play trumps at every turn to hold him to nine tricks.

In the other room, the trump lead went to the 10 and ace. Lorenzo Lauria cashed the club ace and ruffed a club. Then came the heart ace-king and a heart ruff, a club ruff (West pitching his last heart) and a heart, ruffed with the spade seven. West overruffed and played back a trump, for two down! That extra undertrick was just enough to push Zimmermann out of qualifying.

Was Lauria unlucky? Maybe, but in following this line, he could have succeeded against this lie of the cards by taking the spade king at trick one. Then he could have ruffed a heart low with the seven, and the fourth round of hearts with the nine. With the spade 10 onside, the cross-ruff would now work.

ANSWER: You should double again, primarily for takeout. You cannot sell out to three hearts, holding so much in the way of values and good support for partner’s suit. You could easily be making game. If partner passes with trump tricks, your two aces will (you hope) be enough to allow you to beat the opponents’ contract.