ACES ON BRIDGE

“Be careful what you wish for; you may receive it.”

-- W.W. Jacobs

Bidding is all about exchanging information with partner, but in bridge, all this information is also available to the opponents. So, a good bidder is selective, telling partner what he needs to know, but keeping quiet when the information is more likely to be of use to the opponents.

East’s double of two diamonds was really foolish. If his partner couldn’t lead the fourth suit without the double, then it would probably not be right anyway. Look at what actually happened.

West’s natural choice of lead against four spades, with such a good holding in declarer’s first suit, might well have been a trump, but East’s double deflected him. Instead, he chose the diamond 10, which ran to declarer’s ace. Declarer played the heart queen, won by East, who switched to a trump rather than cash the diamond king and set up dummy’s queen. Declarer won the trump shift in dummy, played a heart to his jack, a spade to dummy, cashed the heart king while discarding a diamond, ruffed a heart, and ruffed a club.

Declarer now played the winning heart from dummy. East had to ruff this, and declarer discarded a club. East then played the club ace, and declarer found a very nice maneuver when he discarded a diamond from dummy rather than ruff and endplay himself. East now had no option but to play a diamond, which declarer ran to dummy’s queen. That let him crossruff the last two tricks.

ANSWER: Be careful! You would like to cuebid to set up a game-force here, but many people would play a bid of two hearts as natural. A cuebid of two diamonds is unambiguously forcing and should get partner to bid a fourcard spade suit if he has one. If he doesn’t, you can head for three notrump.