ACES ON BRIDGE

Tell the boys I’ve got the Luck with me now.

— Bret Harte

Declarer was unlucky to fail in this deal from an online match, but there was a way to improve on the line he chose.

Unwilling to open up either unbid suit, West tried a trump lead. Declarer won with the spade nine and called for a heart. East played low, allowing West to win and shift to a diamond. That was a far-sighted defense. Had East risen with the ace and returned a trump, declarer would have ruffed a heart in dummy. He would then have crossed to the club ace, drawing trumps, and conceded a club trick.

As it was, declarer played the diamond ace and ran the club queen. West won and gave East a ruff, after which the diamond king was the setting trick.

Perhaps South should have won the first trick in his hand, but the decision to lead the first heart from dummy was a sensible tactical move and was not the fatal error. The real mistake was winning the diamond shift. Declarer should have played low from dummy, leaving the ace as an entry. West was highly unlikely to have a singleton diamond, having failed to lead it at trick one.

East could win the diamond jack and play a club (after which declarer would win the ace, and cross-ruff the red suits), or he could play back a trump. In that case, South would cross to the diamond ace and run the diamond queen. The spade queen would be the late entry to dummy, declarer ending with six spades, three diamonds and a club. ANSWER: Preempt to the limit with four hearts. There is a good chance it will come home. Meanwhile, you stand to make it hard for East-West to get together in spades. Obviously, you do not have enough high cards to underwrite the contract, but this is an excellent twoway shot.