ACES ON BRIDGE

No one could be more enthusiastic than I about the merits of reading bridge hands in books and especially newspapers (a fact that may not entirely surprise you). However, when you do so, you will often be consciously or subconsciously aware that there is a critical play or killpoint in the deal. At the table, of course, the players may not hear the bell ring to tell them to focus their attention. By the time the bell does ring, it may be for their own funeral.

Consider the contract of four spades here. When West leads the heart king, East gives count by starting an echo, so West continues by leading his high hearts. Would this seem like a critical moment in the deal to you? It should, since if declarer ruffs the third heart with dummy’s solitary trump, East will overruff, and a diamond return means that declarer cannot escape a diamond loser.

As declarer can afford to lose three tricks, it is sensible to retain dummy’s lone trump as an entry to the South hand to allow him to draw trumps. The discard of a minor-suit card from dummy at trick three solves the problem. A further heart lead by West can be ruffed in hand. Trumps will be drawn, and South’s losing diamond vanishes on a club.

Similarly, of course, the defenders cannot profit by shifting to a minor at trick four. After winning the trick in dummy, declarer can draw trumps, after which, once again, the losing diamond can be disposed of on a club.

ANSWER: Yes, your partner may have been dealt two trump tricks and not much else. But it is far more practical to play this double as a decent hand, asking you to decide whether you want to play offense or defense. If so, you must bid on now. A call of four no-trump to suggest the minors and a hand like this will let partner determine the best trump suit and what to bid over further competition.

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