ACES ON BRIDGE

Honest bread is very well — it’s the butter that makes the temptation.

— Douglas Jerrold

In today’s deal from the 2022 Bermuda Bowl, South soon arrived in three notrump on the lead of the heart six. Some declarers took East’s heart 10 with the ace before starting on clubs and finding the bad news. Now East could see that a heart return would do little good, even if West had underled the heart queen-jack, as South could hold up and kill the suit. East shifted to a spade instead, which needed only to find his partner with a high honor there.

Granted, declarer might have been able to block the suit by rising with the king, but he would have no reason to find that play. Moreover, South would have opened one club, not one diamond, with 4=2=3=4 shape.

The spade 10 was covered by the jack and queen, and the defenders cleared the suit. Upon taking the second club,

East could cash out the spades.

Other declarers won the first heart with the queen, keeping open the possibility that West had led from ace-fifth. If

West pitched a spade or diamond at trick two, East could then reasonably return a heart, expecting West to duck his ace and then be able to run the suit. That would concede the contract here, with declarer able to establish the clubs and lead up to the spade king as the only chance for his contract.

West should resolve East’s problem by pitching a heart at trick two. East would know there is no future in hearts because West would not have discarded a potential winner. East would therefore find the killing spade shift.

ANSWER: This hand is worth a drive to slam, but it is unlikely that you are making a grand slam, and it is tough to imagine that playing in clubs would be any better with no singleton in hand. I would simply raise to six no-trump to protect all my tenaces. Who knows? There might be a slow club loser in clubs but not in no-trump.