ACES ON BRIDGE

Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody but unbowed.

— W.E. Henley

The specialty of Jeff Meckstroth is reaching impossible contracts — and making them. Here he is at the 1995 Cavendish Pairs, weaving a web of deception around his opponents.

The contract of three no-trump has some decent practical chances here, but four spades seems a long way from making. At the table, Meckstroth as South received the lead of the diamond five against four spades and won with the ace. Next came three top spades from hand, as East threw a club, and then declarer advanced an innocent heart six. After long thought, West ducked, so the heart jack won the trick. Meckstroth was not yet out of the woods, however. He ducked a club to East’s jack, and when East played a low club to West’s king, Meckstroth took the ace. Then he played a third club, pitching a heart as East won his queen. East played a fourth club, and Meckstroth threw hearts from both hands, leaving East to play a diamond into the king-jack.

Can you see the defense? East could have foiled this ending in straightforward fashion by discarding a diamond on the third trump, retaining his fifth club as an exit card.

Also, even after that error, he had one more chance: He must put up a club honor on the first round of the suit, then play his other honor to allow his partner the chance of winning the third club. If South discards on that trick, West has the heart ace to cash for down one. South 1 ? ANSWER: A simple raise here shows 1214 and three or four trumps (with a guarantee of four trumps if a support double is available to show a three-card raise). Yes, you do have a decent hand, but with the heart king devalued because of the overcall to your left, a raise to two spades is quite sufficient, and a call of three spades would be a pronounced overbid.