You’ve done your best in the auction to make life difficult for the
opponents, and they have bid a small slam. Now for the next part
of the exam.
Matchpoints, S deals, N-S Vulnerable
|
South
1 ♦
Pass |
West
Pass
Pass |
North
1 ♠
6 ♦
|
East (you)
5 ♣
All Pass
|
|
Dummy
♠ A K 7 2
♥ K J 5
♦ K 9 5 4
♣ A 10
|
|
|
|
You
♠ ---
♥ 9 7 6
♦ 10 3
♣ K J 9 8 6 5 3 2
|
Partner led the
♣Q, declarer played the ♣A from dummy.
Your play?
ANSWER: Play the ♣K to request a spade lead!
THE PRINCIPLE: When following suit, an unnecessarily
high card (or low card, in some cases) is not an attitude signal encouraging
continuation of the suit. It is a suit preference signal, asking for a
lead in the higher-ranking of the other suits.
From your hand
it looks like the only chance to defeat 6♦ is if partner holds the ♦A.
If she wins the first round of trump, she can then lead a spade so you can ruff.
With only two clubs unaccounted for at this point, your club suit is all
winners; you could play any high club to encourage a club continuation. But partner
would probably continue clubs anyway, if she has one. By playing the ♣K, an
unusual-looking play, you’ll get her attention and maybe a spade lead too. NOTE: Most experts treat this as a situation
to signal suit-preference rather than attitude, with the default being just
continue clubs.
The complete hand is below. Partner must win the first round
of trumps and lead a spade to defeat the contract. If partner doesn’t hold the
diamond ace, maybe you just helped declarer by alerting her to the bad spade
break; but maybe the spade suit plays itself, so it is a risk worth
taking.
|
|
North
♠ A K 7 2
♥ K J 5
♦ K 9 5 4
♣ A 10
|
|
|
West
♠ 10 9 6 5 4
♥ 10 8 4 3
♦ A 5
♣ Q 4
|
|
East (you)
♠ ---
♥ 9 7 6
♦ 10 3
♣ K J 9 8 6 5 3 2
|
|
|
South
♠ Q J 8 3
♥ A Q 2
♦ Q J 8 7 6
♣ 7
|
|
BONUS MINUTE: In the auction, you might be tempted to make a
Lightner double to get an unusual lead of spades. But from your hand, it looks
like they could run to 6♠ instead. Also, even if you get a spade ruff you’ll need
another trick somewhere to set the contract; more likely is that they’ll make 6♦
doubled, ouch! It’s essential to wish for the ♦A in the play, but doubling
on the speculation that partner has a trick somewhere is way too risky.
