Bridge

How would you play today’s spade game when West leads the heart king?

You should duck, even though there is a small risk of a defensive ruff, since it is more important to ensure that East cannot gain the lead when hearts break 6-2 or 5-3. After you win the next heart, East having followed with the 10 and then the nine, what next?

There is little point in playing king, ace and another diamond, because even if the suit splits 3-3, there is a fair chance that East will win the third round and lead a club through the king.

One option is to draw two rounds of trump ending in dummy, then play a third round of hearts and discard a diamond from hand! West has to win this and return a diamond, allowing you to ruff the diamonds good if the suit breaks 3-3. Unfortunately this line fails when, as here, diamonds do not split and the club ace is offside.

After drawing trump, better is to cash the king and ace of diamonds before playing a third round of hearts, discarding your last diamond from hand. You now make the contract when West began with either two diamonds or three since you have removed his safe exit. On the actual lie of the cards, for example, West has a choice of ways to surrender when he wins the third round of hearts. A club lead sets up South’s king, while another round of hearts concedes a ruff-and-discard.

Bid with the aces

South holds:

Answer: Rebid two hearts. With a minimum 6-4 hand pattern and a good six-card suit, focus on getting that message across. You may have time to show the clubs later, but losing the fit on this deal would probably not worry you — would it? (With an extra queen, two clubs would be right.)