ACES ON BRIDGE
Thus happiness depends, as Nature shows, Less on exterior things than most suppose. — William Cowper
Deals from the Common Game are played virtually simultaneously across North America and provide a splendid opportunity to compare results from city to city or club to club. Today’s deal was a problem I was given from one of these tournaments, and it required some thought for me to come up with the winning line. See if you can find the optimum strategy to make six hearts when West meanly leads a trump.
It looks relatively clear to win the heart queen at the first trick, preserving dummy’s small hearts to ruff losers. Next, you cash the three top spades, pitching a diamond loser at every turn.Yes, if a defender ruffs in, your chances go up in smoke, but you are going to need some good news somewhere along the way, and spades will break in friendly fashion two times in three.
When the three top spades stand up, you play the club ace and ruff a club, lead a diamond to the ace and ruff a club, then ruff a diamond in hand and draw trumps, losing the last club trick to one defender or the other.
As you can see from the full layout, the real danger is a trump promotion for the defense in either clubs or diamonds. Specifically, the fourth round of spades or the third round of diamonds from East may promote a trump for West unless you are very careful in your choice of early discards.
For more information about the Common Game, visit thecommongame.com.
BID WITH THE ACES
ANSWER: Your side does not appear to have an eight-card fit, and your partner surely rates to have a minimum opener, or he would have found a call at his second turn. While defending two clubs undoubled may not be your best possible score, it may well be the best result possible that you can achieve. So I would pass now.