ACES ON BRIDGE

This deal is the last in this week’s series based around blocking plays.

South balances over one spade with a wide-ranging one-no-trump call. North has enough to invite game via a Stayman inquiry, and West leads his fourth-highest spade against three no-trump.

Since West would lead an honor if he had the king, queen and jack, East must have a spade honor, so West has the diamond ace and rounded-suit queens to make up his opening bid.

Declarer must knock out the diamond ace, then generate an extra club trick. The simple club finesse is likely to fail, so South should seek to endplay West with a spade. His first task, however, is to block the enemy suit. To play low from dummy would enable East to win and clear the suit while West still held the diamond ace for entry. Once the spade ace is put up and the diamond ace knocked out, the spades cannot be run. West leads a low spade to his partner’s queen, and back comes a club.

South rises with the club ace to cash the rest of the diamonds. A heart discard by West will merely postpone the agony, while if West pitches a club, declarer can cash two hearts and then know to drop the club queen.

So West pitches a spade on the fourth diamond, and now declarer has to guess the ending. Since West is more likely to have three clubs than three hearts (given that there are more clubs than hearts missing), South takes two hearts, ending in hand, then throws West in with a spade to broach the clubs.

ANSWER: There is nothing special about this hand. You would not invite game opposite a weak no-trump opening, so there is little justification in advancing here. If partner had opened one diamond, you might bid on by trying for game with a call of three diamonds, citing the double fit. But not here. Many more points are lost by making game tries on 10-counts than are won by successfully shooting the moon.