ACES ON BRIDGE

As West, you wisely pass at your first turn. North transfers to diamonds before raising clubs, prompting South to try three no-trump. When partner doubles, what do you lead?

Partner could be doubling because he thinks everything is lying badly for declarer, or he may be making a Lightner double to ask for the lead of dummy’s first-shown suit. Those definitions are one and the same, really, since partner will have strong diamonds either way. You should lead dummy’s suit, and the 10 is the best card to try to retain the lead.

Declarer covers the diamond 10 with dummy’s king, discarding a heart as East wins with his ace. Looking at all four hands, East needs to play a spade at this or the next trick, to establish the setting trick while he still controls clubs, but it is more natural to shift to a heart around to the weakness in dummy, as East did at the table.

Now declarer had nine tricks

East should have cashed a second diamond before committing himself. West could then drop the eight to suggest the higher suit, spades. (The diamond four would also do.) East would then shift to a spade at trick three to set the hand.

Had West initially led a lower diamond, declarer would cover cheaply in dummy, and East would not have the opportunity to cash a second diamond; so maybe West’s lead of the diamond 10 was beneficial in an unusual way.

One last thing: South ought to remove to five clubs after East’s double, knowing he could reasonably hope for little diamond wastage in dummy.

ANSWER: This could go very wrong, but I would try three no-trump. This is our most likely game, and I have no reason to expect the opponents’ spades are running. I would need a lot from partner to make 11 tricks in diamonds. If the defenders cannot set up or run spades against me, I have decent chances to develop nine tricks, I believe.

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