ACES ON BRIDGE
What is merit? The opinion one man entertains of another. — Lord Palmerston
The Yeh Bros tournament consists of generously sponsored teams and pairs events. There are consolation events in each category, and today’s deal sees a coup by the two pairs who finished third in the main pairs, Fu Zhong and Ji Lie, and third in the consolation pairs, Paul Hackett and Tom Hanlon. Both Hanlon and Fu were faced with the same declarer play problem; see if you can match wits with them.
Declaring four spades as South, you receive a friendly heart lead (the two, suggesting three or five cards), which goes to the king and your ace. Can you see anything better than hoping either diamonds or trumps will behave?
Both declarers passed a club honor around to East, who won the queen and returned a heart. The declarers won and played the club jack, covered by
West. They cashed two top trumps and found the bad news, then ruffed a club to hand, hoping to see the nine appear.
Finally, each took the heart ruff. When West produced the jack and East followed suit, it was crunch time. The opening leader appeared to have jack-third or jack-fifth of hearts and three spades, and three or four clubs, the nine not having appeared. Should you finesse diamonds, or is there anything better?
Both declarers backed their judgment by ruffing a club to hand as West followed with the nine, then exiting in trumps. When West won his queen and had nothing but diamonds left to lead, they were home, no matter who had the diamond ace.
ANSWER: Having found a heart fit, are you going to play in two hearts, drive to game or invite game? Of the three positions, the invitation seems like the middle-of-theroad action. It looks logical because one of your minor-suit queens will surely be wasted. Partner will be short in one suit or the other. Give me an ace in a minor instead of the queens, and I’d bid game.