ACES ON BRIDGE

As a teenager, you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you. — Fran Lebowitz

With the average age of bridge players rising every year, it is always refreshing to hear news of youthful success. Today’s deal from England was originally reported by Sally Brock.

At the time, declarer was 16-year-old schoolboy Tommy Brass, who found himself at the helm after reaching a very respectable grand slam. While the spades are more solid, a grand slam in spades is really no better a contract than seven clubs, since when played by North, a diamond lead comes through the ace-queen and restricts your options.

Against seven clubs, West helped declarer’s cause by leading the diamond jack, which declarer could win cheaply to ruff his small diamond in dummy. He then cashed two top clubs. Had they broken, the hand would have been over, while if West had had the trump length, there would have been no chance to bring home the bacon.

As it was, though, when West discarded on the second round, declarer needed to play for a trump coup to reduce his trumps to the same length as East. So he led a heart to the ace and ruffed a heart, then played a spade to the king and ruffed another heart. He then cashed the spade ace and overtook the spade jack with the queen, needing East to follow suit (though had the heart king put in an appearance earlier, he would not have needed even that).

Once East followed, South played a winning spade from the dummy, planning to discard his diamond ace, and East’s trump trick disappeared no matter what he chose to do.

ANSWER: I know inflation is striking at every part of our lives, but I’m here to tell you that this is a perfectly respectable one-spade opener. Thrice-blessed is he who gets his blow in first, and with your values focused in your long suits, it is far better to get your suits in quickly, making the opponents’ lives harder, than to pass and regret it later.