aces on bridge

“The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.”

-- Joshua Harris

Frank Stewart regularly donates the profits from his books to local causes. His most recent project “Play Bridge With Me,” is available from online retailers and many bridge websites.

In today’s deal, Stewart overcalls two hearts in fear and trembling, but it turns out well when his partner raises to four hearts. Everyone passes, and East (wrongly, it transpires) encourages on West’s lead of the spade king. West leads another spade to East’s ace for a third spade, and Stewart decides to ruff with the jack, since East probably has the heart queen for his opening bid.

Because East’s opening bid also marks him with the diamond ace and club king, Stewart leads a trump to the king, dropping East’s queen. Now when declarer leads the diamond seven from dummy, East is caught. If he takes the ace, Stewart can discard a club from dummy on the diamond king later; so he must play low, and declarer’s king wins.

Stewart then draws West’s last trump with dummy’s 10, discards a diamond from hand on the spade queen and leads the diamond queen. East takes the ace but is endplayed. He must lead from the club king or give declarer a ruff-sluff, and so the contract comes home.

The key in the play was not to take an immediate discard on the spade queen. If Stewart throws a diamond prematurely, East can grab the diamond ace and exit safely with a diamond, leaving declarer with a club to lose.

ANSWER: As a passed hand, you have two sensible choices (pass not being one of them). I don’t like raising clubs, and bidding no-trump feels premature, so I have to choose between a two- diamond cue-bid, which will get us to a major-suit fit but may suggest more club tolerance than this, and two hearts, which overemphasizes the major at the expense of the spades. I prefer the former as slightly more flexible.