ACES ON BRIDGE

All pass Opening Lead: Diamond two Genius is only a greater aptitude for patience. — Comte de Buffon

Today’s award candidate sees Boye Brogeland ( Bermuda Bowl winner in 2007, alongside plenty of other achievements) displaying great awareness to counter the threat of a trump promotion in four spades doubled.

East won the opening lead of the diamond two with the 10 and continued with the ace, which declarer ruffed. Seven spade tricks, two in clubs and a club ruff yields 10 tricks, but how can you get to them without promoting West’s spade jack in the process?

At trick three, Brogeland played a club to the queen and ace, and East played another top diamond, again ruffed by South. Now declarer could ruff a club with the spade 10, but what then?

If he cashed the spade king and played a heart or a diamond, hoping for a 2-2 spade split or three spades in the

East hand, the contract would fail. When East got the lead in hearts, he would be able to promote his partner’s trump jack by playing another diamond.

The gifted Brogeland found a neat solution: He cashed the club king and ruffed a club with the spade 10. Then he played the diamond jack and discarded his heart loser!

If East returned a diamond, South would ruff with his spade six, and if West overruffed with the jack, dummy’s king would take the trick. Then a heart ruff to hand would allow South to claim the balance. If West discarded a heart on the fourth diamond, a spade to the king and a heart ruff would see South home.

This was a nice example of the loser-on-loser technique.

ANSWER: You can do little more than bid four clubs and hope partner has the sense to let it go. Do this confidently, or East may decide to double you. Passing and hoping for miracles may work, but it could also spell disaster.