ACES ON BRIDGE

queen and the club king, he must have the heart king. So declarer ran the heart queen, which was allowed to hold the trick.

A diamond to the ace, then the heart ace and another heart now endplayed the defenders. At that point, the defenders had two tricks in, and when West played a spade, declarer should have ducked in dummy.

Now if East takes his spade king, the only other trick the defenders can score is the club ace. If East ducks his spade king, declarer wins, cashes the diamond king and exits with the diamond jack. That forces West to win the diamond queen. He has a diamond winner to cash, but then must provide a stepping stone to the ninth trick in dummy in the form of the heart jack at trick 13.

The journalist who analyzed today’s deal remarked that his side had taken a cruel beating in the second round of the Spingold Knockout Teams from Las Vegas last summer. This deal, however, was a near miss that felt especially painful.

Put yourself in declarer’s shoes. After a friendly diamond lead — the 10 holding in dummy — you play a club to the jack and king. The spade nine goes to the jack and ace.You now lead a second club: 8, 9, 10, low. So where are the missing high cards?

At the table, declarer correctly decided that East had the club ace, and since West had bid with only the diamond

ANSWER: It feels right to compete on a hand like this, where your values lie outside diamonds and your trump spots are so good. While clubs look to be your best fit, I’d simply compete to two hearts, knowing partner is guaranteed to have at least three hearts.You may well be able to cope with a force by ruffing in partner’s hand.