ACES ON BRIDGE

“When people walk hand in hand, there’s neither overtaking nor meeting.”

— William Congreve

For the rest of the week, our unusual third-hand plays will be focused on entry considerations, specifically overtaking moves.

When North stretches to overcall, South can drive to game. While four hearts might be the right game, to cuebid two diamonds and then offer no-trump would traditionally show three-card support. So, South bids a practical three notrump.

On West’s top diamond lead, South needs only four heart tricks for his contract, but he has just one side entry to dummy. However, he can invest a trick in a worthy cause by winning the lead in hand and advancing the heart queen, then the king.

When the heart nine appears from West, South makes his sacrifice by overtaking with the ace and leading the heart 10 to drive out the jack. With the diamond ace as an entry to dummy’s hearts, he has nine tricks. The defenders can take no more than three spade tricks, no matter how the suit is distributed.

This line gives up on an overtrick if hearts are 3-3, but at teams you must make your contract and forget about overtricks. Declarer could not make the same play if West had followed with a smaller spot card on the second heart. Overtaking would allow for nine-doubleton on his right, but he would go down in a cold contract with clubs 3-3 if one of the defenders had jack-nine-fourth in hearts. Declarer also could not afford to test clubs before playing on hearts, as that might establish a fifth trick for the defense.

ANSWER: Overcalling two diamonds might lose the spades since you do not have the values to make another bid. Passing would be timid; so perhaps a takeout double is best. You would hate to see a twoclub advance, but if partner bids either of the other suits, you will have done well. The double is clear if you play equal-level conversion (where two diamonds over a two-club response does not promise extras); I do not.