ACES ON BRIDGE

“I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience.”

— Patrick Henry .....................

In today’s deal from England’s Crockfords finals, West’s weak jump overcall saw North produce a slight overbid with a game-forcing three diamonds. After that, South dredged up some club support from his partner and drove to slam.

When West leads the diamond eight, a likely singleton, how should you play as South? You could play small from dummy, to try to establish a second diamond trick, but you would still have to find a 12th trick from somewhere. You would need the spade king as a late entry to enjoy the diamonds, so a spade ruff would not be possible. You would wind up relying on the spade finesse. Also, you would have to contend with a diamond return at trick two, potentially giving you a trump problem.

It is better to take two spade ruffs in dummy. Rise with the diamond ace, sacrificing a potential diamond trick, then cash the spade king-ace and ruff a spade low. When everyone follows small, cross to the heart ace and ruff another spade with the jack. Now you must find a way off dummy, but you need not risk a diamond ruff just yet. Play a heart first. If West holds the king and queen, he will be unable to give you a losing option. Indeed, as the cards lie, West must win and return a heart, allowing you to ruff low and draw trumps painlessly.

If instead you were to try to ruff a diamond to hand as the original South did, your club nine would be overruffed by the 10 and you would be left with an inescapable heart loser.

ANSWER: There is no gap between a one-level opening and a weak two when you have a decent suit, as you do here. This 10-point hand with scattered values falls into the category of being too good to preempt and too weak to open, but you must make up your mind one way or the other. I’d open one diamond in first seat non-vulnerable, two diamonds if vulnerable or in second seat at any vulnerability.