ACES ON BRIDGE

“The Beautiful arises from the perceived harmony of an object, whether sight or sound, with the inborn constitutive rules of the judgment and imagination: and it is always intuitive.”

-- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

While three no-trump has nine top tricks on today’s deal, it was hard for South to reach that contract when missing a club stopper, but with unbiddable extra values. One can see the argument for temporizing with three hearts over the three-club cue-bid. But that might get you to no-trump the wrong way up, with a spade lead coming through the exposed king.

Anyway, South faced the prospect of making five diamonds after West led the club king. There was nothing to be gained by ducking this trick -- West could have been endplayed later on in the hand, but that would not gain declarer a trick. Instead, the lead had to be taken with dummy’s ace.

Trumps were drawn by cashing the diamond ace, and dummy’s heart king won the third trick. Coming to hand with a trump, South discarded a club from dummy on the heart ace. Now, after ruffing the last heart in dummy, declarer crossed his fingers (hoping the club jack was to his left) and led a club.

West had to take this trick, of course, or else declarer would avoid losing a club altogether. But now he found himself endplayed, forced either to lead away from the spade ace or to concede a ruff-and-discard. Either way, declarer would hold his spade losers to one.

Discarding from club length in dummy on the heart ace, rather than pitching a spade, may appear somewhat counterintuitive. North’s club is not a loser, since it can be ruffed, but getting rid of that card completes the endplay.

ANSWER: It looks obvious to bid three no-trump, but I prefer temporizing with three hearts, suggesting a single stopper. You can maneuver to make partner declarer if he has a stopper such as the queen, while avoiding playing notrump if he has heart shortage. Your hand is very suitable for play in both spades and diamonds, after all.