ACES ON BRIDGE

Last year, Tim Bourke of Australia teamed up with Jason Corfield to construct a fascinating book, The Art of Declarer Play. This consists of tough problems, together with a primer on how to think like an expert.

Here is a deal from the book. Against four spades, West leads the diamond king and continues with a low diamond to the ace, for a switch to a heart. You rise with the heart ace; your move.

If West has two clubs and one spade, you can unblock your club honors before leading a spade to the ace. Then, after discarding your heart losers on the club acejack, you go back to spades.

However, if West has two spades and one club, West would ruff the second round of clubs, then cash the heart king and give East a heart ruff. (In this case, you should simply draw trumps, since you only need to take three club tricks.)

Which line should you play? Neither — the best (if surprising) line of play is to immediately run the spade nine or 10 from hand! If West follows small, you duck the trick into the safe hand. Now you can win the return, cash the spade king and then play the club king-queen. This play also succeeds when West is void in trumps.

If West covers the spade 10 with an honor, you take dummy’s ace and finesse East for the remaining trump honor. You lose to West’s holding of Q-J doubleton of spades, but make the rest of the time.

ANSWER: With these values, you have enough to invite game or defend a doubled partscore, but you do not have enough to drive to game. I would double, meaning it as cards, with the emphasis on takeout, planning to rebid two no-trump over a redsuit to suggest a single spade stopper. But if partner bid clubs, I will simply raise that suit.