ACES ON BRIDGE

“Wit will shine Through the harsh cadence of a rugged line.” — John Dryden

Most of us are familiar with the idea that unnecessary jumps in an uncontested auction can be used for splinter bids. The definition of a splinter — devised by Dave Cliff and Dorothy Hayden Truscott in the 1960s — is a forcing raise in partner’s suit, showing a singleton or void in the named suit.

The logic of the application of a splinter extends to the contested auction.

On the sequence presented in today’s auction, where South was playing four-card majors, West promised both minors, and the jump to four clubs was a splinter raise, showing game-going values with short clubs. It also set up a forcing pass if the opponents had bid on.

After West’s revealing lead of the spade two against four hearts, South saw that he surely had two losers in that suit. To set up an endplay, South won his ace, took the club ace and ruffed a club, crossed to hand with a top trump to ruff a club, then drew the remaining trumps and led a diamond toward the king.

Whether West flew up with the ace or ducked, declarer could no longer be defeated. Say West ducks: Declarer wins the king and plays a second diamond. East can win, but if he does, he will be endplayed out of a spade trick, and that will still be 10 tricks for declarer. If West instead wins the second diamond and cashes the third, then he will have to give a ruff-sluff, and one of the spade losers goes away.

ANSWER: You may not have much in the way of high cards, but you have a lot of playing strength and must compete to two spades. The secret of responding to takeout doubles is for your hand — the advancer — to take up the slack, while the doubler assumes his partner knows what he has (opening values with suitable shape) and tends only to bid again with extra shape or high cards.