Daily Bridge Club

More from Birmingham

Here’s another deal from my monthly Birmingham game with old partners and teammates.

I played at six spades as South. North’s bid of five diamonds was “Exclusion Keycard Blackwood.” My 5NT response showed two of the “key cards” (the aces — but excluding the ace of diamonds — and the king of trumps) plus the queen of trumps.

West led a low club. I won and led a trump to my king, winning, and a second trump. West took the ace and led a third trump. East threw two diamonds. Next, I took more high clubs in dummy and ruffed the last club: East had held J-x-x-x.

LOW HEARTS

When I took the A-K of hearts and led the jack from dummy, only low hearts appeared. I had to guess whether East’s shape had been 1-4-4-4 or 1-3-5-4. I saw no indication. East would have pitched two diamonds on the trumps no matter what. (Actually, he could have pitched a club safely.)

Some problems are intractable. I misguessed, and I spent the 90-minute drive home wondering how I could have guessed right.

DAILY QUESTION

Youhold: J864 KJ1083 None A K Q 5. You open one heart, your partner responds one spade, you raise to three spades and he then bids four diamonds. What do you say?

ANSWER: Partner’s four diamonds is an ace-showing try for slam, but you cannot cooperate. Your trump support is not great, and you can’t cue-bid an ace of your own cheaply. If partner has strength in diamonds, your void is a “duplicated value.” Sign off at four spades. South dealer N-S vulnerable