NEA Bridge: Another catch-22 of our pastime

If you know you will be outbid, you do best not to enter the auction, because you give the opposing declarer a road map of the distribution. However, it isn't until you act that you find out that you will be outbid.

Let's look at the downside of bidding. South reached four spades after West opened one heart. West led the heart king. East overtook with the ace and returned the suit, West taking two more tricks in the suit and East discarding a low club. West shifted to the diamond two. How should South have continued? What do you think about West's defense?

North's two-heart cue-bid showed at least 10 support points with three or more spades. South made a game-try with three clubs, which North was happy to accept. Both overbid slightly, but aggression often pays when you know the opposition's strength is concentrated in one hand. Frequently you can make a game with fewer high-card points than are customarily required.

Once East, who couldn't respond, turned up with the heart ace, West was marked with the spade queen and diamond king.

South won the fourth trick with dummy's diamond queen, played a spade to his ace and cashed the spade king. When the queen dropped, declarer removed East's final trump and claimed.

West defended poorly. With his honor cards uncovered when East produced the heart ace, he should have led another heart at trick four, hoping his partner had 10-x-x in spades. Then if declarer discarded from the board, East's spade 10 would have executed an uppercut on declarer. Or, if South ruffed with dummy's spade jack, East's 10 would have been promoted.