{"id":8383,"date":"2026-02-07T00:01:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T23:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/?post_type=publication&#038;p=8383"},"modified":"2026-03-27T10:59:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:59:47","slug":"the-aces-on-bridge-saturday-7-february-2026","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/publication\/the-aces-on-bridge-saturday-7-february-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, 7 February 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-e09935c\" data-block-id=\"e09935c\"><style>.stk-e09935c {margin-bottom:60px !important;}.stk-e09935c-column{--stk-columns-spacing:0px !important;--stk-column-gap:60px !important;row-gap:32px !important;}<\/style><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-e09935c-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-845e92f\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"845e92f\"><style>@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.stk-845e92f {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 calc(60% - var(--stk-column-gap, 0px) * 1 \/ 2 ) !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-845e92f-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-845e92f-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-ac09c2e\" data-block-id=\"ac09c2e\"><style>.stk-ac09c2e {margin-bottom:40px !important;}<\/style><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-ac09c2e-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-6be6af6 stk-entrance\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"6be6af6\"><style>.stk-6be6af6-container{background-color:var(--stk-global-color-85642, #e1edfa) !important;border-top-left-radius:20px !important;border-top-right-radius:20px !important;border-bottom-right-radius:20px !important;border-bottom-left-radius:20px !important;overflow:hidden !important;box-shadow:0 5px 5px 0 #123f5209 !important;padding-top:48px !important;}.stk-6be6af6-container:before{background-color:var(--stk-global-color-85642, #e1edfa) !important;}.stk-6be6af6 {overflow:visible !important;--entrance-transform:translateX(-32px) !important;--entrance-duration:0.75s !important;}.stk-6be6af6 .stk-container{overflow:visible !important;}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-6be6af6-container stk-hover-parent\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-6be6af6-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-icon stk-block-icon stk-block stk-eff88c9 stk-entrance\" data-block-id=\"eff88c9\"><style>.stk-eff88c9 {align-items:flex-start !important;display:flex !important;top:-73px !important;left:-56px !important;position:absolute !important;--entrance-transform:translateX(-40px) rotate(16deg) !important;--entrance-delay:0.5s !important;--entrance-duration:0.75s !important;}.stk-eff88c9 .stk--svg-wrapper .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child{height:40px !important;width:40px !important;transform:rotate(354deg) !important;}.stk-eff88c9 .stk--svg-wrapper .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child, .stk-eff88c9 .stk--svg-wrapper .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child :is(g, path, rect, polygon, ellipse){fill:#fffffe !important;}.stk-eff88c9 .stk--svg-wrapper .stk--inner-svg{background-color:var(--stk-global-color-64234, #f37561) !important;border-radius:160% !important;padding:12px !important;}@media screen and (max-width: 767px){.stk-eff88c9 {left:-36px !important;}.stk-eff88c9 .stk--svg-wrapper .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child{height:24px !important;width:24px !important;}}<\/style><span class=\"stk--svg-wrapper\"><div class=\"stk--inner-svg\"><svg style=\"height:0;width:0\"><defs><linearGradient id=\"linear-gradient-eff88c9\" x1=\"0\" x2=\"100%\" y1=\"0\" y2=\"0\"><stop offset=\"0%\" style=\"stop-opacity:1;stop-color:var(--linear-gradient-eff-88-c-9-color-1)\"><\/stop><stop offset=\"100%\" style=\"stop-opacity:1;stop-color:var(--linear-gradient-eff-88-c-9-color-2)\"><\/stop><\/linearGradient><\/defs><\/svg><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" aria-hidden=\"true\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\"><path d=\"M0 216C0 149.7 53.7 96 120 96l8 0c17.7 0 32 14.3 32 32s-14.3 32-32 32l-8 0c-30.9 0-56 25.1-56 56l0 8 64 0c35.3 0 64 28.7 64 64l0 64c0 35.3-28.7 64-64 64l-64 0c-35.3 0-64-28.7-64-64l0-32 0-32 0-72zm256 0c0-66.3 53.7-120 120-120l8 0c17.7 0 32 14.3 32 32s-14.3 32-32 32l-8 0c-30.9 0-56 25.1-56 56l0 8 64 0c35.3 0 64 28.7 64 64l0 64c0 35.3-28.7 64-64 64l-64 0c-35.3 0-64-28.7-64-64l0-32 0-32 0-72z\"\/><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-24c4feb stk-entrance\" data-block-id=\"24c4feb\"><style>.stk-24c4feb {margin-bottom:6px !important;--entrance-transform:translateY(-16px) !important;--entrance-delay:0.25s !important;--entrance-duration:0.75s !important;}.stk-24c4feb .stk-block-text__text{color:var(--stk-global-color-51802, #00024e) !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text has-text-color\">If there were dreams to sell,<br>What would you buy?<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-fb10b39 stk-entrance\" data-block-id=\"fb10b39\"><style>.stk-fb10b39 .stk-block-text__text{color:var(--stk-global-color-51802, #00024e) !important;font-weight:600 !important;}.stk-fb10b39 {--entrance-transform:translateY(-16px) !important;--entrance-delay:0.3s !important;--entrance-duration:0.75s !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text has-text-color has-text-align-right\"><em>Thomas Lovell Beddoes<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-bb0615c\" data-block-id=\"bb0615c\"><style>.stk-bb0615c {overflow:visible !important;}.stk-bb0615c .stk-container{overflow:visible !important;}<\/style><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-bb0615c-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-67ccbae\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"67ccbae\"><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-67ccbae-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-67ccbae-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-cdd78bb\" data-block-id=\"cdd78bb\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Take the South seat here, declaring four hearts on a trump lead. You try the queen from dummy, and that holds. Play on.<br>You may have a trump loser and a loser in each of the other suits. In that case, you had better set up the clubs for a spade discard. That will be easy enough if clubs are 3-2, but a 4-1 split could prove troublesome.<br>The original declarer tried a club to the ace at trick two, followed by a diamond. He intended to cut the defensive communications while eventually reentering dummy to lead through the potential club void on his right, but all it served to do was sacrifice a tempo. West won and accurately switched to spades. Declarer took that with the spade king and played another club, but East discarded. West won the third round of clubs, whereupon a spade continuation ended declarer&#8217;s chances. East overruffed the fourth round of clubs and cashed a spade.<br>Declarer&#8217;s timing was off. He did not actually need the heart ace as an entry. It would have been better to cash it at trick three and then lead a low club from hand. This preserves the club king as a reentry. If the defense switches to spades, declarer wins in dummy, leads a club toward the king and ruffs a club. The difference here is that South still has the spade ace to control the suit and can eventually discard dummy&#8217;s third spade on a club.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-ab9c86c\" data-block-id=\"ab9c86c\"><style>.stk-ab9c86c {margin-bottom:40px !important;}.stk-ab9c86c-column{max-width:800px !important;min-width:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;margin-left:0px !important;--stk-column-gap:16px !important;}<\/style><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-ab9c86c-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-dc257fc stk-block-background stk-entrance stk--has-background-overlay\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"dc257fc\"><style>.stk-dc257fc {background-image:url(https:\/\/bridge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Barry-Rigal-_bloc-Aces-e1771248268553.jpeg) !important;border-top-left-radius:16px !important;border-top-right-radius:16px !important;border-bottom-right-radius:16px !important;border-bottom-left-radius:16px !important;overflow:hidden !important;padding-top:64px !important;padding-right:64px !important;padding-bottom:64px !important;padding-left:64px !important;--entrance-transform:translateX(-32px) !important;--entrance-duration:0.75s !important;}@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.stk-dc257fc {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 calc(25% - var(--stk-column-gap, 0px) * 1 \/ 2 ) !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-dc257fc-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-dc257fc-inner-blocks\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-4707aff\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"4707aff\"><style>.stk-4707aff {align-self:center !important;}@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.stk-4707aff {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 calc(75% - var(--stk-column-gap, 0px) * 1 \/ 2 ) !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-4707aff-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-4707aff-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-a8167db stk-entrance\" id=\"barry-rigal\" data-block-id=\"a8167db\"><style>.stk-a8167db {margin-bottom:0px !important;--entrance-transform:translateX(32px) !important;--entrance-delay:0.25s !important;--entrance-duration:0.75s !important;}.stk-a8167db .stk-block-heading__text{color:var(--stk-global-color-51802, #00024e) !important;}<\/style><h4 class=\"stk-block-heading__text has-text-color\">Barry Rigal<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-e824948 stk-entrance\" data-block-id=\"e824948\"><style>.stk-e824948 {margin-bottom:12px !important;--entrance-transform:translateX(32px) !important;--entrance-delay:0.3s !important;--entrance-duration:0.75s !important;}.stk-e824948 .stk-block-text__text{font-size:16px !important;}@media screen and (max-width: 1023px){.stk-e824948 .stk-block-text__text{font-size:16px !important;}}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">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\u2019s literature and education.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-b4e30e4\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"b4e30e4\"><style>.stk-b4e30e4-inner-blocks{justify-content:flex-start !important;}@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.stk-b4e30e4 {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 calc(40% - var(--stk-column-gap, 0px) * 1 \/ 2 ) !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-b4e30e4-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk--column-flex stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-b4e30e4-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-93b64e4\" data-block-id=\"93b64e4\"><style>.stk-93b64e4 {top:120px !important;position:sticky !important;}<\/style><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-93b64e4-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-d0b0e35\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"d0b0e35\"><style>@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.stk-d0b0e35 {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 calc(100% - var(--stk-column-gap, 0px) * 0 \/ 1 ) !important;}}@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px){.stk-d0b0e35 {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 calc(100% - var(--stk-column-gap, 0px) * 0 \/ 1 ) !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-d0b0e35-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-d0b0e35-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-df18bdc\" data-block-id=\"df18bdc\"><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-df18bdc-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-ab4dfac\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"ab4dfac\"><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-ab4dfac-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-ab4dfac-inner-blocks\"><div class=\"bdm-deal-wrapper bdm-is-pinnable\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"bdm-pin-btn\" title=\"Unpin the deal\" data-pin-text=\"Pin\" data-pin-title=\"Pin the deal\" data-unpin-title=\"Unpin the deal\" data-close-title=\"Close\"><i class=\"fa-solid fa-thumbtack\"><\/i> <span class=\"bdm-pin-label\">Pin<\/span><\/button><div class=\"bdm-deal-wrapper deal deal-format-schema target-capture small-format\" id=\"bdm-deal-8382-6a3aa7ed11856\"><div class=\"deal-content\"><div class=\"deal-grid all-visible\"><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"cell null\"><\/div><div class=\"cell player n\"><div class=\"player-hand\"><div class=\"suit-row spades\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2660<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">K65<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row hearts\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2665<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">QJ10872<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row diamonds\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2666<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">K<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row clubs\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2663<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">753<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"cell null\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"cell player w\"><div class=\"player-hand\"><div class=\"suit-row spades\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2660<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">J72<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row hearts\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2665<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">53<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row diamonds\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2666<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">AJ92<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row clubs\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2663<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">Q986<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"cell center-compass\"><div class=\"compass-content\">\n                            <div class=\"compass-n\">N<\/div>\n                            <div class=\"compass-w\">W<\/div>\n                            <div class=\"compass-e\">E<\/div>\n                            <div class=\"compass-s\">S<\/div>\n                          <\/div><\/div><div class=\"cell player e\"><div class=\"player-hand\"><div class=\"suit-row spades\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2660<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">Q1084<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row hearts\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2665<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">K96<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row diamonds\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2666<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">Q10854<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row clubs\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2663<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">J<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"cell null\"><\/div><div class=\"cell player s\"><div class=\"player-hand\"><div class=\"suit-row spades\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2660<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">A93<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row hearts\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2665<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">A4<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row diamonds\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2666<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">763<\/span><\/div><div class=\"suit-row clubs\"><span class=\"suit-symbol\">\u2663<\/span><span class=\"suit-cards\">AK1042<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"cell null\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t<div class=\"auction-table\">\n\t\t<div class=\"auction-header\">\n                            <div class=\"auction-cell header\">W<\/div>\n                            <div class=\"auction-cell header\">N<\/div>\n                            <div class=\"auction-cell header\">E<\/div>\n                            <div class=\"auction-cell header\">S<\/div>\n            \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">Opening Lead: Heart three<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If there were dreams to sell,What would you buy? Thomas Lovell Beddoes Take the South seat here, declaring four hearts on a trump lead. You&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":15517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[]},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"language":[],"level":[],"class_list":["post-8383","publication","type-publication","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aces-on-bridge"],"acf":[],"publication_lang":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/8383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publication"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8383"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=8383"},{"taxonomy":"level","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/level?post=8383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}