ACES ON BRIDGE

Life is an incurable disease.

— Abraham Cowley

One of the main advantages of using Lebensohl when the enemy has bid over a one-no-trump opening is that you have more space to investigate slams.

Take today’s deal, in which North opens an off-shape one no-trump, buoyed by his short-suit honors and awkward rebid prospects. South bids a natural and game-forcing three hearts over East’s two-spade interference, and North, who could hardly want to bid past the no-trump game without heart support, cue-bids four clubs. That is all South needs to hear to jump to the heart slam.

West leads his partner’s suit, and declarer, placing the spade king and most of the missing high cards to his right, wisely withholds dummy’s queen. He wins, cashes the trump ace and starts clubs from the top. He cannot afford to finesse, since if that is wrong, the jig is up. And he can see that even if cashing the top clubs is wrong, he may still survive.

South ruffs the third club, disappointed to find the queen guarded and onside, then returns to the heart jack to ruff out the clubs. He crosses back to the heart king to cash all of dummy’s rounded-suit winners, forcing East down to one spade and two diamonds in the three-card ending.

Having reduced to the guarded diamond queen opposite ace-doubleton, declarer reads East as having an original six-card spade suit, likely a 6=1=4=2 distribution. Since East has been forced to pitch four spades, declarer throws him in with a spade to yield the slam-going trick in diamonds.

ANSWER: It looks right to double now. This hand is worth about two bids, but a direct call of two clubs usually shows six, or five with a shapelier hand. That is not what you have. Also, if you bid clubs and hear your left-hand opponent raise pre-emptively in spades, you cannot be sure that you would like your partner to raise you. It is best to double to get hearts into the game.

If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, email him at bobbywolff@mindspring.com