Contact Bridge

‘TIS BETTER TO RECEIVE THAN TO GIVE

Assume you’re declarer at four spades and West leads the queen and another heart. East wins the second heart with the king and continues with the ace. This presents you with a thorny problem of sorts, since it is virtually certain from the bidding and play that West started with a doubleton heart.

If you ruff the third heart with the ten, you say to yourself, and West is able to overruff with the jack, you are sure to go down. If you decide to ruff with the king instead, you run the risk that West might have started with three trumps to the jack, in which case you will also go down.

But if your thoughts have been running in only these two channels — which card to ruff with — you are not giving yourself a fair shake. The fact is that you should not ruff at all! Instead, you should discard your eight of diamonds.

This discard changes the complexion of the situation completely. In the actual case, you have no trouble taking the rest of the tricks, whatever East plays next.

It is true that East could have defeated the contract had he been smart enough to cash the ace of diamonds before he played the ace of hearts. In that case, you would have to go down one as the cards lie regardless of which card you elected to ruff with.

The moral that emerges is clear. If you are given a chance to make a contract that could have been defeated by better defensive play, you should try to take full advantage of your opportunity. You’re not expected to reciprocate in kind.