ACES ON BRIDGE

Barbarism is the natural state of mankind. Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must always ultimately triumph.

— Robert E. Howard

West has no reason not to lead the heart jack against three no-trump. South wins the first trick with the king and leads the diamond jack, losing the finesse to East. What should East play next? It looks natural to return a heart, but if partner has one more entry, the lead of a low club will eventually ensure three tricks in the suit; and if partner cannot gain the lead, the game will surely not be defeated. So at the third trick, East returns a low club, knowing that if he can subsequently manage to put his partner on lead to play back a club from his side, it will suffice to set the contract, always assuming that he has two or more clubs. It would be a mistake to shift to the club queen, since that would be fatal if South had four to the 10. After the return of the low club, South is helpless; he can do nothing but drive out the diamond ace, and West holds off until the third round, to see East’s discard. When East pitches the spade two on the diamond ace, it should be clear that he wants a club return, and that will suffice for the defenders to take two diamonds and three clubs. The fact that declarer took a firstround finesse in diamonds is somewhat indicative of the fact that he may be missing the ace. If declarer were missing a different ace (say, the heart ace), declarer would be more likely to win the heart queen at the first trick and finesse in diamonds against East. ANSWER: Your hand has great spade support, and the fact that you may be offering partner heart ruffs suggests that playing spades must be right. While you could cue-bid here, that would only muddy the waters. To me, it feels best to make the simple jump to four spades to suggest trump support, but no slam suitability. Three spades would suggest a better hand, I believe.