ACES ON BRIDGE

Assisting partner is a key aspect of defense, but it is rare that both partners have a chance to help each other on the same deal. However, when Wales defeated England in their Home International series, each defender seized their chance.

Both tables reached three no-trump, but at one table, Wales, with Jim Luck at the helm, was doubled. The English West led a low heart to the nine, jack and queen. Luck ran the diamond jack, and East let this hold so that he could see his partner’s discard on the next diamond.

That was a good move; indeed, West threw a small heart, suggesting East shift. East found the club switch, but he chose the eight, and when West won the queen, he could not tell who had the king. Deciding that East had the king of spades rather than clubs, West switched back to hearts. This gave Luck 11 tricks for 750 to Wales.

I think West was wrong to play spades — if East had been looking at the king of spades, he probably would have continued hearts rather than shift to clubs.

In the open room, the defense began exactly the same way, with a heart 10 to the queen and a winning diamond finesse. But here, Tony Ratcliffe as West made his first discard the spectacular heart king! This told his partner, Patrick Jourdain, that on the normal heart return, South would have nine winners. So Jourdain also switched to a club, but he chose the more helpful king.The defense duly cashed out for one down and a big gain for Wales.

ANSWER: You would normally like to have either a good suit or a good hand for a two-level overcall. With this hand, you might overcall two hearts if the heart 10 were the ace. But even then, you might be a little uncomfortable. If this were passed around to your right-hand opponent, who then doubles for takeout, you might sense that the axe was about to fall. So pass here; don’t undermine partnership confidence in your overcalls.