“Life ain’t all beer and skittles, and more’s the pity; but what’s the odds, so long as you’re happy?” - George du Maurier

When an expert makes a mistake, he might justify it as being a close decision. In today’s deal from a major national competition, I’ll tell you who got the play right but not the name of the player who got it wrong.

You declare four hearts on the lead of the diamond king, ace and another diamond. To your relief East does not ruffs this, so all you have to do is to concentrate your energies on not losing two trump tricks. How should you go about that?

You start by leading a low heart from dummy, and when East contributes a low card impassively, what should you do? The answer is simple: If trumps are 3-2, you will always make the hand. If East has a singleton heart, you are dead in the water, so you must look at the possibility that West has a singleton heart. That is the only time that your play matters, so you must decide whether to play your heart ace or to duck.

In the critical scenario there are three possible small singletons and two possible honors, so the odds are 3-2 in favor of letting the seven ride. That is what Dick Freeman of the Nickell team did, and he was rewarded with a game-swing when his equally renowned colleague, who had the same problem in the other room, led to his heart ace, thus losing two trump tricks and the contract. Perhaps the sun got in his eyes?

Bid with the aces

South holds:

Answer: As a passed hand, you can afford to experiment by reopening with a double. This is for takeout and comes with no guarantees, but it seems there is much more to gain by bidding than passing. You may be able to penalize your opponents or to make a game, even if you might go for a penalty once in a while.

“Too dangerous” is no excuse.