BRIDGE with Bob Jones

In Great Britain, the “Premier League” is a league of soccer teams, featuring some of the finest players in the world. The “Swedish Premier League” is a competition between bridge teams, including many top players, not necessarily from Sweden. Today’s deal is from one of their recent matches.

North’s well-judged leap to four spades kept East-West from finding their sacrifice in five diamonds. That won’t mean anything if they are able to defeat four spades. 10 tricks in spades would be child’s play on a diamond lead. How would you play it on a heart lead?

Many declarers won the heart lead in hand, cashed the ace of spades (no luck there), and crossed to dummy with the ace of diamonds to lead a club. Sadly for them, the clubs were not guessable. West won the first club appropriately and continued hearts, knocking out declarer’s remaining stopper in that suit, then cashed the setting trick in hearts when they won their other club honor.

Tom Gards, coach of the Swedish junior team, tried a different line. He reasoned that hearts were not likely to be splitting 5-2 after West’s takeout double, so he made the unusual play of ducking the opening heart lead! He won the heart continuation in hand with the king, led a diamond to the ace and ruffed a diamond, then crossed back to dummy with a heart to the ace. Holding no red cards in either hand, he now led the queen of spades and ran it when East played low. On this lie of the cards, he picked up the king of spades right there and could afford two club losers. Had he lost to the singleton king with West, West would have been end-played and forced to lead a club or yield a ruff-sluff. Well played!