ACES ON BRIDGE

It is often overlooked in the heat of battle that when you have to make a discard you should part with a card that cannot possibly be of any use, rather than one that might conceivably take an active part. This deal is a good example of the theme, though the mistake is one that many players might have made.

Defending against four spades, East overtook his partner’s lead of the club jack with his queen. When this was allowed to hold, he attacked hearts by leading out the king, the ace, then a low one. Declarer ruffed high, and West, who was sure his hand could play no further part in the deal, parted with a low diamond.

In view of East’s takeout double and West’s discard, the diamond finesse seemed a poor bet, so declarer cashed the club ace and ruffed a club, then played off four rounds of trumps, discarding two diamonds from dummy. East had to retain the heart king and so parted with a diamond. Now the diamond ace and king left South with the winning five.

In retrospect, maybe West should have seen that if he had held on to all of his diamonds, he would have made the setting trick with his six at the end.

In summary, when discarding, the weak hand should make life easy for the strong hand. But beware of telling partner information he already knows, and of helping declarer more than your partner. Additionally, keeping winners rather than losers never goes out of style.

ANSWER: My views here may seem somewhat sacrilegious among the “majors first at all costs” crowd, but I would raise to two diamonds rather than bid one heart. The former pre- empts a level of the auction and tells partner where you live. Bear in mind that, in third seat, a partner with limited values will tend to bid suits he wants led. So you shouldn’t worry about facing three small diamonds here.

“In small proportions we just beauties see; And in short measures life may perfect be.”

-- Ben Johnson