ACES ON BRIDGE

“Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . —Joseph Addison

In this deal from the USA mixed trials of 2023, West leads the spade five to the jack and queen against three no-trump. How should you play from here?

It seems natural to cash the club ace, lead a club to the king, and then clear clubs if necessary. The trouble is that East might win and return a spade while West retains the heart ace. You would then be reliant on the diamond finesse. Even if you were to lose the club trick to West, a diamond shift would put you in a tough spot. If you finessed, East might win and return a spade, cutting the link to your diamond winners in hand. If instead you were to grab the diamond ace and run clubs, you would be stuck for a discard on the sixth club. You would surely pitch a heart, potentially allowing the defenders to take three heart tricks.

The optimal line is counterintuitive. Cross to the diamond ace and then run the club jack. West can win the queen and return a passive club, but now you play a diamond to drive out the king.

The best defense is for East to take the diamond king and switch to the heart queen. (You would play small on a lowcard shift.) This gives you a guess as to whether to play East for the ace-queen, queen-jack or just the queen. The raw percentages suggest covering with the king and then putting up the 10 on the return, playing West for the other minor honor as per the Principle of Restricted Choice, but in an ordinary club game, I’d play East for the queen-jack.

ANSWER: Raise to three no-trump, hoping to bring your long clubs in. Do not bother probing for partner’s club holding, since three small cards or queen-doubleton could easily be enough. With a sure entry on the side, this is not much of a gamble.