ACES ON BRIDGE

On this hand from the 1995 Venice Cup final between Germany and USA, the Germans picked up a handy gain. USA had a serious accident in one room when they reached six no-trump. Six diamonds would have been a reasonable spot. In abstract, you might make it even when the club king is wrong if you can arrange to play it from the South seat. Of course, as the cards lay, even five diamonds had no chance, and six no-trump was quietly three down.

It looked as if there might be a chance for USA to escape again — three no-trump is by no means cold — but West led a heart rather than a spade, fooled by East’s initial response to the ambiguous two-suited call into thinking her partner had heart tolerance. After South’s strong club opening, the overcall showed majors or minors, so East was expected to pass one spade with more spades than hearts.

Declarer Daniela von Arnim won and cashed the diamond ace-king, on which West threw a club, which, as it turned out, was not best. Now a low heart, and West committed the double inaccuracy of winning the heart eight and returning the club jack. (Either a spade or a low club would have done.)

Von Arnim gave the defense no second chance. She led a spade to the 10 and jack, won the spade return and cashed her spade winners ending in dummy.Then she took her diamond winner before throwing East in with a diamond for a club play into her tenace, her ninth trick.

ANSWER: Open two no-trump. This hand does not warrant an upgrade to the 22-24 range. The five-card suit is a good feature, but the lone spade honor and inflexible diamond holding do not bode well, nor does the lack of intermediates. Possession of the heart 10 might tempt me to consider the upgrade. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, email him at