ACES ON BRIDGE
Today’s deal is from the Bridge with Larry Cohen Newsletter, which Cohen mails out free, three times a month. It contains articles, lessons and quizzes.
Today’s deal was played at an IMP game in Boca Raton, Florida. North opened with an off-shape no-trump, but recovered by cue-bidding for diamonds to steer South to the diamond slam.
West led a club, and declarer rose with dummy’s ace, then led a low diamond and captured East’s jack with the ace. South knew that East had started either with the jack alone, or king-jack bare. So, with a sure trump loser, he set about disposing of his club loser by playing three rounds of spades. West ruffed and had the diamond king for down one.
Cohen advocates playing on hearts rather than spades, which should succeed as long as hearts aren’t 5-1 or 6-0. West seems to have begun with either
7-2 or K-7-2 of diamonds. When a heart to the queen and another one back to the ace both pass off peacefully, you can safely play the heart king. If West follows, dummy’s club loser departs — and even if East trumps, it will be with the king. But if East is out of trumps, what can West do? He can trump with the king when you pitch dummy’s club loser, or he can ruff low. Then declarer plays on spades to throw his club loser from hand. The diamond king will be the only trick for the defense.
You can find details at larryco.com.
ANSWER: You may think you know what contract you wish to end up in, but blasting three no-trump achieves nothing except making sure you are declarer (possibly in the wrong contract). You can always get to three notrump later, and it is much better to explore with a call of two diamonds, the fourth suit, setting up a game force. Why tell partner what he has when you can ask him?
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, email him at bobbywolff@mindspring.com
My mind was always very cluttered, so I took great pains to simplify my environment, because if my environment were half as cluttered as my mind, I wouldn’t be able to make it from room to room. — Leonard Cohen