ACES ON BRIDGE
We never understand how little we need in this world until we know the loss of it.
— J.M. Barrie
This deal from the German Bridge Trophy features some fine card-reading. When West led the spade queen against four hearts, declarer ducked. If a red suit did not behave, he wanted to prevent a club shift through his king.
South won the next spade and drew trumps, West shedding a spade, before testing the diamonds with the ace and queen. When East showed out, it looked as though the contract would hinge on the location of the club ace.
However, declarer wondered why West had not switched to a club at trick two, the natural thing to do with three small in the dummy. He must surely have the club ace. Declarer called for another trump, throwing a diamond from hand. West could not part with a diamond, while a club discard would have enabled declarer to duck two clubs and drop the ace. So West chose to release another spade, giving South a chance to read the ending.
Had West begun with a 5=2=4=2 shape, in which case declarer needed to duck a club, or did he have 4=2=4=3 distribution? West’s failure to act over one no-trump suggested that his hand was balanced, so declarer endplayed West in diamonds to concede a trick to the club king.
Curiously, if East had overtaken the spade queen with the king at trick one, West would not have come under pressure. East could subsequently have gained the lead with the spade 10 to play the club jack through. Maybe East should have worked this out, since he surely knew he wanted to find a way to obtain the lead.
ANSWER: Open one heart. This is the perfect kind of hand for a light third-seat opening. You have a good primary suit and two and a half quick tricks, so partner will not be disappointed if he competes in hearts (or his own suit) or if he doubles the final contract.