When overtricks count, get lucky

Dorothy Dix, the pseudonym of journalist Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer, who died in 1951, said, “There isn’t a single human being who hasn’t plenty to cry over, and the trick is to make the laughs outweigh the tears.” At the bridge table, if one side is laughing, the other is usually crying. Today’s deal occurred during a pairs event, where overtricks were important because each score was compared with the other pairs holding the same cards. How should South try for the maximum in this deal? He is in four spades, and West leads the heart queen. North used a transfer bid to show five-plus spades and at least zero points. South, with a maximum, four-card spade support and a doubleton, jumped to three spades — this is known as a super accept. North, who had been undecided between inviting and insisting on game, now had no qualms in bidding four spades .South saw four losers: one spade and three clubs. If he had immediately led a trump, the defenders surely would have taken those tricks. Instead, declarer had to try to jettison those club losers. He won the first trick, cashed dummy’s diamond queen (the honour from the shorter hand first), played a diamond to his ace, discarded a club on the diamond king, and, because it could not cost, pitched another club on the diamond jack. If it had been ruffed with a low spade, South would have broken even. Here, though, East had to ruff with his spade ace, so the contract made with an overtrick for a tied top.