ACES ON BRIDGE

When a lovely flame dies, Smoke gets in your eyes.

— Otto Harbach

When this deal arose in one of the pairs tournaments at the Summer Nationals in Las Vegas last summer, the reporter did not specify the name of the guilty party, here designated “Mr. Magoo.”

As he said, interesting and amusing things happen when you take on Mr. Magoo. To start with, has he made the call he intended to? Has he sorted his hand properly? One never knows. This was a typical problem he posed his opponents.

Sitting South, you seem to have a very good hand in fourth seat considering the bidding, but you trust partner, not the opponents, and bid what you think you can make. On a low diamond lead, you have your first challenge. Surely West would not underlead the diamond ace-king, would he? You play low, and East plays the king. Back comes a diamond to the ace, and a third diamond establishes West’s jack.

Now you know the full story — you think. You cash the spade king and spade queen, then play a club to your ace and another to dummy’s king. If the clubs are not good, you play the heart king. West’s best play is to duck, so you lead a heart to the queen, and if West ducks again, throw him in with a diamond to his jack to give yourself a heart trick at the end.

Nine tricks duly materialize, and Mr. Magoo apologizes shamefacedly to his partner for opening his nine-point hand. “Sorry,” he says, “I thought I had three aces, not two!”

ANSWER: No matter what the form of scoring or vulnerability, I am against pre-empting here. I can understand at favorable vulnerability the idea that you should roll the dice and open two spades. I can understand it, but I wouldn’t do it. Personally, I’d rather open a chunky five-card suit with some side-shape than a bad six-carder with defense on the side. Pass, so your partner can trust you the next time. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, email him at

bobbywolff@mindspring.com

BOBBY WOLFF