Bridge

On today’s deal, from the last session of the Cavendish Pairs last year, we shall see two pieces of nice declarer play, one by Piotr Gawrys of Poland, today’s South, the other by Sam Lev, of Manhattan, as North at a different table.

Gawrys opened the South hand rather light, reaching the no-trump game on the auction shown when his partner elected not to explore for a 5-3 heart fit.

When West led a top spade, Gawrys ducked it, and also the next top spade, blocking the suit. East won the third spade and shifted to a club, but Gawrys took the ace and ran the heart 10 to East’s king. Back came a club, and Gawrys took the finesse, repeated the heart finesse and, when it held, had nine tricks.

Four hearts by North looks like an even more hopeless contract, but at another table Sam Lev found a way to make it on a club lead. He finessed, then passed the heart 10 to East, who returned another club. Lev now decided that the spade finesse was wrong. Why else had East not shifted to a spade at trick 3? So after winning the second club, he ran all his trumps. In the six-card ending, East came down to two spades, two diamonds, and his club guard, so Lev simply cashed both top diamonds, then played the club ace, and exited with a club to East, who had to lead away from his spade ace at trick 12: Contract made!

Bid with the aces

South holds:

Answer: Raise to three diamonds, more as an obstructive maneuver than as a game-try. Your partner sounds as if he has a minimum, and you have little defense yourself. So up the ante to make it more difficult for your opponents to get back into the auction.