ACES ON BRIDGE

Here comes my husband from his whist. — Robert Browning

The Spring Nationals in Cincinnati a few years ago saw an excellent showing by Kerri Sanborn — recognized as one of the top players in the U.S. — partnering her husband, Steve. Steve is also a fine player, though he does not play much anymore. He produced an exemplary piece of imaginative thinking here, which was appropriately rewarded.

Say you reach a heart contract as South (actually, it does not matter whether it is four hearts or six hearts). To get a good score on a spade opening lead, your sole problem in making 12 tricks is to hold your heart losers to one. West had overcalled with a Michaels cuebid over Sanborn’s opening one-heart bid, so, given that he had 10 cards in spades and a minor, the chances were good that the hearts were 3-1. How should you play the trumps?

If you l ead a l ow heart from dummy and East follows small, the normal percentage move seems to be to play West for the singleton king or queen, not the 10. It is a 2-to-1 shot, after all. However, Sanborn improved his odds by leading the heart nine from dummy. When East followed imperturbably with the eight, Sanborn decided that East did not have the 10 — he probably would have covered the nine if he did. So, if East had three hearts, as expected, they had to be the king-queen-eight. Backing his judgment, Sanborn put in the heart jack to make 12 tricks, for a fine score. ?

ANSWER: Make sure to get your spades into the action by bidding one spade now, before raising partner. Four spades could easily be your side’s best spot, and it may be important to find a fit in the boss suit, so as to bid it economically over the opponents’ hearts. You intend to support diamonds in a big way later on, but there is no hurry.