ACES ON BRIDGE

No disorders have employed so many quacks, as those that have no cure; and no sciences have exercised so many quills, as those that have no certainty.

— Charles Colton

When West overcalls two hearts over one spade, North has just enough for a negative double. South is close between an invitational jump to three spades and bidding game, and his 100 honors in spades persuade him to go high.

West has a natural lead of the heart king, and South wins with the ace, since he can see no reason to duck. Declarer will need to find a way to bring the diamonds into play, but it may be best to disguise his intentions initially by playing the spade queen. When West ducks, the queen scores, and declarer craftily continues with the 10. This time, West decides to win and cash the heart queen. When everyone follows, West knows that to have any chance to defeat the contract, East must hold precisely the diamond ace — since if declarer has both top diamond honors and has played sensibly, the contract will be cold.

Furthermore, East needs a minor club honor, and now desperate measures are called for because declarer is threatening to take five spades, three diamonds and two aces. The desperate measures in question are to shift to the club king at trick four. If declarer ducks, the diamond ace will be the defenders’ fourth trick. If dummy wins the club ace, East can simply duck the first diamond, and the defenders will eventually come to a trick in each minor.

For the record, if South plays on diamonds at trick two, he should still be defeated with accurate defense.

ANSWER: You don’t need to bid more than three spades now; the three-club call creates a game force. This auction suggests three spades, so it also implies six decent hearts; with three decent spades and six uninspiring hearts, it would have been reasonable to raise spades on the previous round. You can let your partner decide which suit to play in, but I would not leave him in three no-trump, as diamonds sound like the danger suit.