BRIDGE

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2021

The bidding by the opponents frequently determines declarer’s line of play. Consider this deal where East’s one spade overcall should help South find the winning route to nine tricks.

West led a heart, East taking the king and returning the jack. South won with the queen and had to decide which suit to play next.

Let’s suppose he had led a spade to force out the ace. East would win and play a third heart, establishing West’s suit. Sooner or later, South would have to lead a diamond, and whenever he did, West would take the ace and sink the contract with his remaining hearts.

But now let’s suppose declarer leads diamonds first, instead of spades. In that case, he makes the contract whatever the defenders do. If West doesn’t take the first diamond, South plays another one.

As a result, West’s hearts drop out of the picture. If he takes the ace, he has no entry to his hearts; if he refuses the ace a second time, South abandons the suit and turns his attention to spades to wrap up the contract.

Obviously, the crux of the hand lies in choosing the right suit to attack initially, but which suit South should play first is certainly not the tossup it might appear to be. In making his choice, South goes back to the bidding for guidance.

It is far more sensible to assume that East’s spade overcall was based on a suit headed by the ace rather than the nine. It follows that if West has an ace, it is much more likely to be in diamonds than spades, and South therefore shapes his play so as to deprive West of his potential entry card. In effect, the bidding draws a road map to the winning line of play.