ACES ON BRIDGE

Some contracts may appear to be so straightforward that declarer takes his eye off the ball. Today’s hand was one such, and quite a few folks who should have known better ended up with egg on their faces. When South opened a strong no-trump at matchpoint pairs, North might simply have shot out three no-trump. Instead, he bid two spades as a transfer to clubs. If South had simply bid two no-trump, rejecting the invitation, North would have settled in three clubs. But when South bid three clubs, suggesting he would accept an invitation, North was happy to convert to three no-trump. For the record, a new suit by North would have shown a singleton now. When West led the spade king, declarer was so delighted with his side’s combined assets that he took his eye off the ball. He called for the spade ace, then led a low club. When East pitched a diamond, the club suit was suddenly blocked, and nine tricks had morphed into seven; there were not enough entries for more than one red-suit finesse. Even though this was matchpointed pairs, taking a red-suit finesse for a possible overtrick was far too risky. So there was no hurry to rush in with the spade ace. The cautious players ducked twice, then discarded a club on the spade ace, and had nine winners without a finesse. It doesn’t help the defensive cause if West switches to a red suit at trick three; that leads to an overtrick, since dummy still has an entry for the clubs.