ACES ON BRIDGE

“Give the lady what she wants!”

— Marshall Field

The decline in the number of entries in women’s events has me wondering how the women of today would match up against the American teams from 50 years ago. After all, it was only in the ‘70s that the Venice Cup — the most prestigious of women’s events — came into being.

As a small piece of evidence that the women back then could really play, I adduce into evidence this deal from a Spingold knockout match from that period.

Mary-Jane Farrell was playing with Marylin Johnson, and she declared six hearts on the lead of a low trump. Farrell decided to play the diamond ace and take a diamond ruff, then the spade ace and a spade ruff followed by top trumps. If hearts had broken, she would have had 12 tricks, but she needed some more luck when trumps failed to behave.

She played her remaining top heart and exited with a heart, throwing two spades and a club from table. Nancy Gruver as West now made a nice play when she produced the club king to prevent declarer from taking three easy club tricks. Farrell won the club ace and simultaneously unblocked the club queen from hand to leave a four-card ending where dummy had two spades and two clubs, while she retained a trump, a club and two diamonds.

When she ruffed a spade to hand, she would have been home if the king had fallen, but even as it was, since East had sole control of diamonds and clubs, the spade ruff squeezed her into conceding the 12th trick.

ANSWER: My answer here depends on vulnerability and partnership style. I would almost never open this hand two diamonds, but at favorable vulnerability (or with both sides non-vulnerable and a partnership agreement), I don’t mind a threediamond call. There are, after all, two opponents and only one partner. I’d be equally aggressive in third seat, but not second.