ACES ON BRIDGE
“Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.” — Karl von Clausewitz
South opens one no-trump, and North optimistically raises to game, trusting that his long suit will provide a source of tricks.
Declarer wins the diamond queen lead in hand and works on clubs, leading the queen to dummy’s king and continuing with the jack. West knows he does not need to hold off a second time, as declarer is out of clubs, but since there is an outside entry on table, there is nothing to be lost by holding up again to get a signal. Declarer cannot run any side suit, so ducking will not let South cash out more than seven or eight tricks.
On the third round of clubs, East pitches the heart four, discouraging that suit. East can have at most 7 points, and if they are split, with an ace in one major and a king in the other, the defense is doomed. Clearing diamonds would see declarer run the clubs and lead up to his major-suit king. Shifting to the suit of partner’s king would set up at most two tricks. East can hardly hold five diamonds, having followed with the five at trick one, and South would not have opened one no-trump with nine major-suit cards.
West needs his partner to hold aceking-fourth in a major. That suit can only be spades, and West should therefore play one, choosing the queen. Leading the spade three could present East with a guess when he has the desired holding; he might cash the king and ace, playing South for queen-doubleton. By leading the queen, West takes away this losing option.
ANSWER: You would have signed off in game if you had not found a fit, but now your hand has slam potential. By agreement, advanced players may be able to bid three spades to show a balanced hand agreeing hearts, to set the scene for cue-bidding. With five spades, you would have started with a transfer, so this bid will never be needed as natural. Other jumps here should be splinters. Look for “Setting the trump suit after Stayman” at bridgewinners.com.