Aces are King

Mr. Clarke played the King all evening as though under constant fear that someone else was about to play the Ace - Eugene Field, US poet and children's writer.

We are always told in bridge that aces are for capturing kings, but a hand from last week's matchpoint pairs at the Woodberry was a beautiful exception.

West was just about worth a vulnerable overcall of 1S, and North decided to bid 3NT, with his solid spade stop, on the second round. East dutifully led the ten of spades, and South won and took a diamond finesse, losing the ten to the jack. Another spade came back and a second diamond finesse lost to the king. East switched to a heart, and Iain Macleay played the king from dummy, in the manner of Mr Clarke, no doubt. Alistair Hogg won and now had to find the beautiful defence of cashing the ace of clubs and then playing a second heart. Declarer is caught in Morton's Fork. If he wins with the ten, he has to lose a spade at the end. If he wins in dummy, he has to lose a club. Cashing the ace of clubs, a Dentist Coup, is necessary or West can be thrown in with a club after the diamonds are cashed. Very difficult to find.