The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, 24 June 2026

The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, 24 June 2026

Barry Rigal
Author

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Technique without art is shallow and doomed. Art without technique is insulting.

Dorothy Alexander

Put yourself in the West seat for this defensive problem.
North’s two no-trump confirms a fit in hearts and sets up a game force, so South’s jump to game denotes a minimum opener, almost denying a singleton or void on the side unless the singleton is a high honor. (As an aside, there is much to be said for opener using a three-club response as any minimum, giving away much less information. Responder can then jump to game and give nothing away, or ask for more information if still interested in slam.)
You are naturally loath to underlead kings against suit contracts, so you put the ball into play with a passive club, deciding to select a slightly offbeat top card from three small. Declarer calls for the ace as partner follows with the two, discouraging. Then comes the heart queen to the 10 and your king. Plan the defense.
Since your partnership uses suit-preference signals in trump, partner’s 10, if from a doubleton, must be a high card asking for a shift to the higher side suit, spades. In that case, partner has the spade ace, and you might be able to secure three tricks in the suit right away.
If you were to shift to the spade nine, declarer could play low, forcing the ace from partner to keep dummy’s queen as a stopper. It must be better to shift to the spade jack, a surrounding play to pin a hypothetical spade 10 in South’s hand.
Here, your spade jack holds, and you continue with the spade king and another spade to set the contract. Failure to cash out would see declarer throw a spade on the fourth club and make his contract.

Barry Rigal

Barry Rigal is an English-born bridge player, author, commentator, and journalist who has won major national titles in both the UK and the United States and served as a VuGraph commentator for decades at European and World championships. He has written and edited numerous bridge books and articles and has been President of the International Bridge Press Association, contributing widely to the game’s literature and education.

Q82
QJ74
Q83
AK5
KJ9
K8
K9742
743
N
W
E
S
A764
106
J1065
1092
1053
A9532
A
QJ86
Dealer: South
Lead: 7
W
N
E
S
1
Pass
2NT
A
Game forcing heart raise
Pass
4
Pass
Pass
Pass

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