AceS On briDge

“To be totally understanding makes one very indulgent.”

— Madame de Stael

Today’s deal is a relatively simple one from a recent Australian national event. Both tables bid the hand to five clubs by South, and at each table, the lead was the heart jack. However, one declarer looked further into the hand than did his counterpart, and he was suitably rewarded.

Where the unsuccessful declarer was at the helm, he won the opening lead in dummy and made haste to pitch his spade loser on the top heart. Then he played on trumps and could not avoid losing three tricks in the minors when clubs failed to behave.

David Beauchamp was South in the other room, and he also received the lead of the heart jack. However, after taking his two heart winners to pitch the spade loser, he tried a diamond to the jack and king.

If anything but a trump came back, declarer’s plan was to ruff a diamond in dummy, then lead trumps from the top, with something like a 2 in 3 chance of playing clubs for one loser. West continued hearts, so declarer duly put that plan into effect. If, however, West had shifted to trumps, Beauchamp would have brought the whole club suit in with no loser, so he would have come to 11 tricks in a different fashion.

This deal exemplifies the adage that there is no suit you are better off leading yourself than forcing the opponents to play it for you. Let them do the heavy lifting, and you will be pleased by the results.