Well, that was unnecessary...

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.