ACES ON BRIDGE

I do not know which makes a man more conservative — to know nothing but the present, or nothing but the past. — John Maynard Keynes

When South opens one heart, West does his best to disrupt his opponents by pre-empting to the three-level. It now looks natural for East to sacrifice in four spades over four hearts, but had he passed, might it have ended the auction?

As it is, South seems to have enough to compete over four spades to the five level, and maybe even to look for slam. The five-club call lets North show some suitability and a diamond control, with a return cue-bid of five diamonds, and that should be just enough for South to bite the bullet and bid slam.

In six hearts, after a top spade lead, you simply need to avoid losing a club, so you must avoid playing the suit as long as possible. Win the spade lead, draw trumps by cashing the ace and leading the eight to the king, then play a diamond toward your queen. When East ducks, you win your queen and duck a diamond. East wins and returns a spade.You ruff high, lead the heart seven to the jack and ruff a diamond high, as West follows suit again.

At this point, you should count out West’s hand. He apparently started with seven spades, three or more diamonds, and two hearts, so he does not have room for more than one club.

So the winning play is clear: Lead a club to the king, then follow up with a club to the nine. Next, cross back to dummy with your trump three to the four, to lead a club to the jack.

ANSWER: Regardless of your agreement in a noncompetitive auction about how to continue after your partner reverses (showing real extras with both minors), competitive auctions present a different problem. A reversion to three clubs or three diamonds should not be forcing now. It is better to start with a cue-bid of two spades, to set up a forcing sequence.