ACES ON BRIDGE

“Better the day, better the deed.”

-- Thomas Middleton

The European open championships in San Remo saw a couple of British teams collect medals. Today’s deal comes from the de Botton team’s successful quarterfinal encounter against a strong Dutch squad.

The Dutch North-South had failed to reach slam here, but in the other room, Artur Malinowski and Janet de Botton played six spades on the auction shown.

Janet de Botton found a successful line of play. She won the club lead and cashed dummy’s diamond and heart aces, then played a heart back toward her king. It would not have done East any good to ruff thin air, so he threw a club, and declarer won her king and exited with a heart. When West won and continued the suit, declarer ruffed high in the dummy, then cashed the spade king and ran the spade 10, finessing East for the jack. When the spade 10 held, she crossed to hand with a club, drew the last trump, and claimed the remainder.

An alternative, and perhaps safer, approach would have been a dummy reversal. Declarer wins the opening lead, cashes the diamond ace and ruffs a diamond, plays a spade to the ace and ruffs a diamond. Then he cashes the spade queen, and plays a heart to dummy. Now he ruffs a diamond, leads another club to dummy and draws the last trump, pitching a heart from hand. He can cash one further heart and club winner, simply conceding a heart at the end.

ANSWER: It is very tempting to raise partner; after all, one is always told to support with support. Here I’m dubious as to whether this is right, as your whole hand is defense to diamonds, and your partner may picture a more offensively oriented hand than this. Nonetheless I will raise, with misgivings. With the spade 10 instead of the jack, I pass.