ACES ON BRIDGE

“Politics is the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.”

— Robert Louis Stevenson

Declarer was planning to squeeze West in the black suits after running all the diamond and heart winners plus the club ace. Alas for him, East smartly switched to the spade queen at trick two, attacking declarer’s entries. This maneuver could hardly lose, as declarer would not have played small from dummy if he were missing the club ace and could run the spades.

This defense cut declarer off from the diamond ace. If he wanted to cash it to tighten the end position, he would have to unblock the diamond queen and use up his final spade entry to dummy, killing his own squeeze. Declarer tossed and turned, but could not find a way to counter this fine defense.

At trick one, South might have unblocked the diamond queen under the king. He could then finesse the diamond 10 and cash the ace while the spade entry was intact. Now West would come under the desired pressure.

But if declarer had simply won the spade shift and run all six of his trumps, West would have had to bare his diamond jack in the six-card ending to keep the black suits guarded. That lets declarer overtake with the diamond queen and cash the 10.

He reduces to a top spade and club queen-doubleton in dummy opposite the club ace and two spades in hand. West would be unable to keep two clubs and two spades, and declarer would come home if he read the position.

ANSWER: With a four-card major and longer diamonds in response to a club opening, the normal procedure is to bypass the diamonds with a weak hand, preferring to get the major in at a low level. However, your hearts are so poor that you can afford to ignore them for now and respond in your fair five-card diamond suit, maximizing your chances of finding a fit.