ACES ON BRIDGE

“It is through science that we prove, but through intuition that we discover.” — Henri Poincare

West might have considered a more aggressive opening than three clubs, but four clubs would have precluded three no-trump. South’s balancing effort of three spades ended the auction.

Since West normally would have led the king from ace-king, he started with the club ace and then shifted to his side-suit singleton. When declarer called for the diamond queen, East made the counterintuitive move of covering. Declarer won with the ace but then could do no better than play the top spades from his hand. When that gathered only small cards, South exited with a club.

Most Wests would instinctively insert the club jack here, but this

West was sure declarer would not have played this way with an original queen-third of clubs. It was likely that East, who had all the defensive assets in the other suits, could be endplayed if he won this trick. West therefore opened the jaws of the crocodile with the club king and then tabled the heart five. Now East could score two tricks to go with the spade queen, defeating the contract. East did well to cover the diamond queen. Had he not done so, declarer would have finessed the spade jack, drawn trumps and given up a club. West could win and play a heart through as before, but East would be endplayed after taking his heart tricks.

Even as the play went, though, if West had let his partner win the second club, East would have been compelled to surrender a red-suit trick at once. Then the run of the trumps would have squeezed him for the ninth trick.

ANSWER: Facing a passed partner, you can forget about bidding a making game. The emphasis turns to preemption, and you should put maximum pressure on the opposition with a four-club opening when non-vulnerable. Vulnerable, you probably ought to settle for three clubs.