ACES ON BRIDGE

North’s double-jump raise here usually describes a strong balanced hand. South has the values for slam but cannot commit to one without a spade control. He cue-bids five clubs, and the partnership finds the slam.

There is no need to gamble everything on the spade finesse at trick one, so declarer calls for the ace on West’s lead of the spade nine, East dropping the seven. The first task should be to draw trumps. Playing on the side-suits has nothing to gain here, but it could run into a ruff. Still, declarer has to decide which honor to cash on the first round.

There is very little to guide declarer in the bidding or play so far. In such situations, declarer should project how the rest of the play might go if he misguesses. Cashing the heart king first would leave South to rely on the spade finesse if East showed out. However, if

West were to discard on the heart ace, declarer would still be in the game.

South can combine his chances more effectively by playing West for queen-third of trump initially.

When West shows out on the heart ace, declarer proceeds along elimination lines. He plays to the heart king before taking his top clubs and ruffing a club. He then cashes the top diamonds and ruffs dummy’s third to eliminate East’s exit cards. Now, with the minor suits eliminated, declarer throws East in with a trump to make a fatal return. Whatever East leads, the slam will succeed.

ANSWER: You could gamble on Stayman, hoping your partner has a major. If he bids two diamonds, continue with two hearts to show a weak hand with the majors. This works fine if you play that partner corrects to spades with three spades and two hearts, which is the right way to play this sequence. Partner will have a four-card major half the time, and even if he does not, a 4-3 fit will usually play just fine.