ACES ON BRIDGE

Today’s deal offers an interesting declarer-play problem both for North and South. Let’s look at four hearts on the bidding shown, with South in the hot seat.

Game is easy to reach and appears to be a good contract. It gets worse, though, when West leads the club queen and the defense takes three tricks in that suit. As declarer, you should refrain from contributing the club king on either the first or second round of the suit from dummy since East (unless West is a very calculating customer) has the ace — but it might be singleton or doubleton. When East wins the third club, he will probably play the diamond king, taken by the ace.

One chance is that the spades will split 3-3, but there is also a squeeze chance. The only trick you are worrying about is the last, so lead out all the trumps, pitching dummy’s diamond. Lo and behold, East cannot keep the diamond queen and his spades!

This is the simplest of squeezes, but now imagine you are declaring four hearts from North on a top diamond lead, perhaps after an optimistic two-no-trump opener and a transfer sequence. Instead of relying on a squeeze here, you simply draw trumps and play four rounds of spades. If the suit breaks, you pitch your diamond from dummy. If it does not, you ruff the fourth spade and exit with the diamond jack to East, who must break clubs for you or give you a ruff-sluff. Either way, you are home safe with 10 tricks.

BID WITH THE ACES

South holds:

; Q 7 5

k K Q 10 5 2

l J 4

' 876

South West North East

Pass Pass 1 ' 1l

1k Pass Pass Dbl.

?

ANSWER: Your partner has suggested limited values and heart tolerance. Your fifth heart strongly suggests competing to two hearts to make it harder for the opponents to get together. The Law of Total Tricks makes it clear you have an eight-card fit, so you must contract for at least eight tricks rather than sell out.