Arkansas Online

ACES ON BRIDGE

BOBBY WOLFF If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, email him at bobbywolff@mindspring.com

In the last of our set on ruffing finesses, what should be the fate of six spades?

When declarer plays dummy’s king on West’s heart two (third and lowest leads), the spotlight turns to East. West must have five hearts not three, so South is void of hearts and covering the heart does not appear to matter. But it may harm the defensive cause in a subtle way.

If Easts put up his ace, declarer can ruff, draw trumps and lead a diamond toward the king. If West takes his ace, declarer obtains a discard for dummy’s third club, so he plays low. Declarer takes the king, throws a diamond on the heart queen, ruffs a heart, cashes one top club and exits with a diamond, endplaying West.

But if East ducks trick one, declarer’s crucial discard comes prematurely. If South parts with a diamond, West will grab the first diamond and exit in that suit, eventually collecting a club trick. If

South discards a club at trick one, West will withhold his diamond ace and have a safe diamond exit on winning his ace.

Should the defense always prevail, then? No, declarer should assume West has not underled an ace. He must play low from dummy at the first trick. Then he leads a diamond from hand before taking the ruffing heart finesse. Now he arranges his discard after West has committed to his defense, not before.

While the play is not a true ruffing finesse, the principles are the same. East cannot predict why it is right to duck, but it cannot be wrong to duck if declarer is known to have a heart void.

ANSWER: Bid one heart. You lack the traditional values for a one-level overcall, but it is important to seize this opportunity to get hearts into the game and suggest a lead to partner. If you catch a big fit, you may be able to make life hard for your opponents. I would take this action only if non-vulnerable — and with a sympathetic partner.

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2021-05-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-05-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

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