THE ACES By Bobby Wolff

Say you pick up ♠ A-10-7-6,

♥ 9, ♦ 10-9-8-4-3, ♣ 9-3-2 and hear partner open one club. You respond one spade, over which partner rebids one no-trump. What now?

I agree with responding one spade. I’d rarely pass partner’s opening with an ace. Now, I must decide whether to pass or escape into two diamonds. The trouble is that the opponents are likely to get together in hearts over that. However, two diamonds might have a chance, so I would either bid two diamonds to play, or two clubs as a puppet to two diamonds, depending on system. If playing New Minor Forcing, where two diamonds is artificial and two clubs natural, I’d have to pass.

What is the best way to handle the suit combination of 10-9-8-5-2 facing K-7-4?

Take a combination finesse by running the 10 and then running the nine. This will pick the suit up for three tricks when your right-hand opponent has at least one of the queen or jack (unless it is ace-jackfourth or ace-queen-fourth), or acedoubleton. The alternative of leading to the king on the first round loses to ace-doubleton, ace-queen-low, ace-jack-low, a small singleton or a singleton ace offside. You could also run the 10 and later lead up to the king, but the Principle of Restricted Choice asserts that your left-hand opponent is less likely to hold both the queen and jack than the ace at this point; otherwise, he could have won the first round with the other honor just as well.

How much should I have to open a suit and then jump to three of my suit facing a silent partner, in competition?

You should have a better hand than you would for a jump-rebid if partner had responded, since you would just bid two with that now. Something like king-queen-jack-sixth and three tricks outside would suffice — a hand where you need little from partner to make game.

Would you bid with A-J9-7-3, A-7-3, K, Q-6-3-2 facing partner’s second-in-hand unfavorable three-diamond preempt?

I expect partner to have seven good diamonds at this position and vulnerability — at least ace-jack-10seventh. Facing that sort of hand, I could take a swing at three no-trump, but the trouble is that I would surely need to overtake my diamond king. If the suit does not run, I am in trouble, going down 100 at a time. I doubt I should look for a spade fit, as it would prove difficult to keep trump control and run the diamonds at the same time. So I suppose I would pass.