Why be faced with the problem?

Hannah More, an English poet, playwright and philanthropist who died in 1833, said, “Goals help you overcome short-term problems.”

In bridge, one deal is a shortterm problem lasting 13 tricks. You also know your goal — making or breaking the contract. Occasionally, though, you have a goal you never should have faced. For example, in today’s deal, what do you think of the auction? How does South get on in four hearts after West leads the club queen? What would have happened in four spades by West?

South was very light to overcall three hearts. Still, that should have made West feel happy about his heart king. He should have jumped to four spades.

Against four hearts, I would have led the spade ace to see the dummy, hoping a vital shift would not then be coming too late. After the dangerous-looking club-queen lead, declarer covered with dummy’s king, of course. Here, East would have done best to encourage with the eight. Then, if declarer took the heart finesse, West could have won, played a club to his partner’s ace, received a club ruff and cashed the spade ace to defeat the contract. But, of course, declarer, anticipating the ruff, probably would have played a heart to the ace and another heart to get home.

In reality, though, East understandably took the first trick and tried to give his partner an immediate ruff. South played two rounds of trumps to achieve his goal.

At double-dummy, there was no defense to four hearts. Four spades ought to go down one, West losing one heart, two diamonds and one club — an excellent sacrifice.