ACES ON BRIDGE

“IMAGINATION, n. A warehouse of facts, with poet and liar in joint ownership.” — Ambrose Bierce

South’s one-spade advance showed five, but North’s hand was not worth more than a simple raise at his first turn. However, he could subsequently accept South’s game try at his next turn.

The heart lead went to the jack, queen and ace. Declarer lacked the entries to ruff three clubs in dummy, so he decided to try to set up the diamonds. A diamond to the queen was followed by the diamond ace and a third round. When East followed, declarer deduced his 1=5=3=4 shape. He might not have bothered raising clubs with a balanced hand and only three-card support, and West might have done more if he had seven clubs.

Declarer ruffed high, and then, rather than trying to draw trumps ending in dummy, he led to the spade jack and ran diamonds, pitching clubs from his hand.

West could ruff and force the dummy, but declarer’s final club went on the fifth diamond, and West could not tap the dummy again.

South ruffed the next club in hand and drew trumps with the king, dummy’s sixth diamond representing his 10th trick.

Had declarer drawn two rounds of trumps ending on table, the club return would have set the game, forcing dummy’s last trump while West still held the troublesome spade 10.

Another option would have been to ruff the third diamond with the spade eight. If West overruffed and played a club, declarer could succeed by way of a crossruff. He would need to ruff and lead a winning diamond — though the play becomes highly complex.

ANSWER: You would not open three clubs in first or second position, owing to the playability in spades and your fair defense outside. In third seat, anything goes, and you should try to hamper your opponents’ bidding with a preempt when not vulnerable. If vulnerable, I might still open, I admit. Much depends on my opponents.