ACES ON BRIDGE

Today’s deal sees you, as South, invite game on your second turn with a call of two no-trump, assuming the spades will take care of themselves. That gets you to three no-trump on a top heart lead. Plan the play.

I’m sure you saw the need to win trick one with the heart ace, to avoid the spade shift. Now it looks logical to go after diamonds.

There is a safety play in diamonds to ensure you do not lose a trick to jack-fourth of diamonds in either hand. By starting with a high honor from hand, you can finesse against whichever opponent has the length. Well spotted, but is it the right play today? No, indeed, because of the potential blockage in the suit. If you lead the ace, then low to the king, then try to run the diamond nine or 10, East will see he must cover, leaving you in the wrong hand to cash the fifth diamond.

Given the auction, East cannot have both a void in diamonds and short hearts; would he not have acted over one club with such a hand? So you should ignore the safety play; instead, lead a low diamond to the king. When the 4-0 break comes to light, you can advance the diamond 10 and finesse against East’s diamond jack. Nothing can keep you from taking five diamond tricks for your contract.

Incidentally, if both opponents had followed to the diamond king, would you have remembered to unblock the diamond 10 and nine under the diamond ace and queen?

ANSWER: Dummy will have a strong notrump or so, preferring hearts to spades, and declarer will have both majors, probably with longer spades than hearts. This may be my only chance to lead through a tenace in dummy, so I’m going to lead the club queen. Without the club nine, it is a much harder decision.