The opponents’ bidding sometimes draws a road map for declarer to follow that he would be unlikely to find had the opponents remained silent. For example, take this deal played by multitime world champion Bob Hamman in a U.S. national championship.

Hamman’s opening one-club bid was artificial and forcing, promising at least 17 high-card points with almost any distribution. West’s four notrump announced a strong two-suiter in the minors. The double by North indicated at least moderate values, and South’s five-heart bid closed the auction.

Without a club lead, Hamman would have had no trouble collecting 11 tricks. But West’s king-of-clubs lead cut South off from dummy’s king of spades. As a result, declarer was faced with the possibility of losing three diamond tricks. However, Hamman utilized his knowledge of West’s hand to bring the contract home.

After taking the club ace, he led a diamond to his nine, losing to the ten. As expected, West shifted to a trump. After winning the eight with the nine, Hamman now made his second key play in the diamond suit by returning the king!

West took the king with the ace, but, just as Hamman hoped, he did not have another trump to lead. Hamman ruffed the queen-of-clubs return, trumped his last diamond in dummy and so made the contract.

By playing the diamonds as he did, Hamman prevented East — the player far more likely to hold two or three trumps — from ever gaining the lead. Had Hamman put up the king of diamonds at trick two, or led the eight of diamonds instead of the king at trick four, East would have won the second diamond with the jack and returned a trump to sink the contract.

Tomorrow: A straw worth grasping.

King Features Syndicate Inc.