ACES ON BRIDGE

“Be always sure you are right — then go ahead!” — Davy Crockett

All this week’s deals come from the Cavendish Invitational Tournament, an event that was played annually, first in Las Vegas, then in Henderson, Nevada, over a 15-year stretch at the start of this century.

In today’s deal, Kit Woolsey came up with a variation on a theme to produce an elegant sure trick line in his contract of three no-trump. As South, you are favored with a heart lead, dummy’s jack holding the trick. What now?

You do not know the location of the heart queen, so finessing in clubs is not completely safe. West might win and return a spade to his partner’s high honor. After that, a heart shift might leave you with four major-suit losers. Accordingly, Woolsey crossed to the club ace at trick two and led the heart king from his hand, knowing that this would lose to the ace on his left.

If West now set up one more majorsuit winner for him by playing on either major, declarer would be able to overtake the diamond queen with the king and finesse in clubs. He would only take two diamond tricks, but would have five clubs, plus two tricks from the majors.

So West won his heart ace and found the best defense of shifting to diamonds, but Woolsey could simply win the ace in hand and drive out the heart queen. Then he would again have had the option, if necessary, of overtaking the diamond king as his entry to dummy for the club finesse and his ninth trick.