ACES ON BRIDGE
One of the pairs who started well in the 2000 Cavendish pairs was David Berkowitz and Larry Cohen, certainly one of the pre-tournament favorites. However, Michael Seamon found a way to get one over on them.
Seamon was at the helm in three notrump and found an ingenious play. After an informative auction, Berkowitz led the heart eight, and Seamon thought for a long while before putting up the 10 and ducking the king. Seamon won the next heart and advanced the diamond eight. When Berkowitz ducked, Seamon ran it and later finessed again in diamonds to bring home nine tricks. Seamon had assumed East would hold 10 major-suit cards, making that hand likely to hold a singleton diamond. It might have been better to play on clubs first, to find out East’s exact shape, but that would have given West time to prepare himself.
Should West have worked out to block the diamond suit by covering the diamond eight?
If East had the singleton nine, this would not have been a success, but the pause at trick one might have persuaded Berkowitz that this was precisely what declarer was planning to do, and that might have directed him toward the correct defense.
When Bocchi-Duboin defended against three no-trump, Bocchi led a club. Declarer had to duck this, and the defense shifted to the heart jack. Declarer covered and then dislodged the club ace himself. Back came a second heart, then the diamond eight, covered by Bocchi. Now the game had to go down.
ANSWER: Bid four hearts, despite your minimum in high cards. You have excellent distribution and a potential source of tricks. When you have a side singleton, take a rosy view — here, even nine tricks in hearts might be in danger facing the wrong holding. Coming to a halt at three hearts would be attempting to stop on a dime.
“Small habits, well pursued betimes, Can reach the dignity of crimes.”
— Hannah More