ACES ON BRIDGE
How did I respect you when you dared to speak the truth to me! Men don’t know women or they would be harder to them. — Anthony Trollope
On this deal from the 2017 European Open Championships, the bulletin remarked that just because the double-dummy analysis (a computer program called Deep Finesse) tells you something, that doesn’t mean it is “true.” The program tells you what should happen on best play; but how often do you encounter that?
For example, Jovanka Smederevac declared four spades doubled on this deal, where the analysts had indicated that nine tricks were the limit — but no one told declarer!
Smederevac, playing with Matilda Poplilov, received a diamond lead; East won and cashed her heart king, then continued with the heart jack. Smederevac ruffed, led a club to the king, which was ducked, and led a club back. East took her ace but shifted to a low diamond, which turned out to be fatal. Smederevac won her queen, took the spade king, ruffed a diamond to dummy, and cashed the third club to pitch a diamond.
She had reached a four-card ending where dummy had the spade ace, a losing heart and two club winners, while East had three spades and the diamond ace, and South the Q-J-6 of spades and a losing diamond.
When declarer led a club from dummy, East could ruff in with the seven, but declarer could overruff, ruff a diamond to dummy, and be in position for the trump coup.
East had needed to notice that declarer has only nine tricks: five spades and four clubs. If you play a trump at every turn, declarer can take diamond ruffs, but in turn you can kill her club tricks by ruffing in.
ANSWER: hand, typically You doubled with the to unbid show suits, a good and your partner reverted to two spades. This doesn’t guarantee a sixth spade, but does suggest a minimum hand with no clear fit for clubs or hearts.You are certainly close to a pass, and I might do that at pairs; but at teams and vulnerable, I’d stretch to raise to three. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, email him at bobbywolff@mindspring.com