Loose Lips Sink Ships

Playing against very good opponents, you (West) hold
  ♠ 6 3  ♥ J 8 7 2  ♦ J 10 9 5  ♣ 8 6 2

You	North	East	South
Pass	1 ♣	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♦*
Pass	2 ♠	Pass	4 NT*
Pass	5 ♠*	Pass	6 ♠
All pass

South's 2 ♦ bid was artificial, indicating a five-card spade suit; North's response showed exactly three spades. The 4 NT bid asked about key cards (the four aces and the king of trump); North showed two key cards and the ♠ Q.

You led the ♦ J; partner played the ♦ 2 and declarer won the trick with the ♦ Q.

POP QUIZ: Does partner have an ace? If so, which one?  (Answer is at the end)

	♠ K Q 8 ♥ K Q 3 ♦ 8 7 4 ♣ A 10 5 3
♠ 6 3 ♥ J 8 7 2 ♦ J 10 9 5 ♣ 8 6 2	N W E S

Declarer led to the ♠ K, then played the ♠ Q and the third spade to the ♠ A from her hand. Partner followed suit with the 2, 7, and 9. What do you discard on the third round of spades? Discarding a diamond loses if declarer started with ace-king-queen-fourth of diamonds. Discarding the ♥ 2 loses if declarer started with four hearts, and might give declarer a hint about the location of the ♥ A. You won't be taking any tricks with that club suit. What do you discard?

ANSWER: Don't discard the ♣ 2! This is the wrong time to announce that you have useless clubs to spare. The ♣ A 10 in dummy is a warning that declarer has choices if she is missing the ♣ Q or the ♣ J. The ♣ 2 gives declarer a big hint that partner holds any missing club honors. You don't want to help her decide which way to play clubs; loose lips sink ships!

Playing the ♥ 2 to tell partner that you don't have the ♥ A is a waste of time. Partner probably has it, and she knows that you know that. Discarding from either red suit could be wrong if declarer started with four in that suit; your choice in that regard is purely a guess.

So, don't give declarer any clues in the side suits; discard the ♦ 10, the card you are known to hold, and also promising the ♦ 9. 

THE PRINCIPLE: The enemy is listening. Many articles in this series have highlighted the importance of defensive signaling. But even a seemingly innocuous discard can reveal an important bit of information to declarer . When faced with a difficult discarding problem, it is usually best to play the card you are known to hold.

	♠ K Q 8 ♥ K Q 3 ♦ 8 7 4 ♣ A 10 5 3
♠ 6 3 ♥ J 8 7 2 ♦ J 10 9 5 ♣ 8 6 2	N W E S	♠ 9 7 2 ♥ A 10 6 5 ♦ 6 3 2 ♣ Q 9 7
	♠ A J 10 5 4 ♥ 9 4 ♦ A K Q ♣ K J 4

Declarer must find the ♣ Q in order to make six spades. If you and your partner follow suit in clubs smoothly in tempo, declarer is pretty much on a guess. But if you suggest that you have useless clubs to spare, declarer will realize that partner is a favorite to have the queen. I'd rather make declarer guess; a 50-50 chance to set the contract is better than no chance at all!

POP QUIZ ANSWER: In a 4 NT Blackwood (or key card) sequence, asker normally bids 5 NT if all aces or key cards are accounted for. Your opponents are good players and would know that, so South's failure to bid 5 NT suggests that they are missing one key card. The ♠ K and the ♣ A are in dummy. If partner had the ♦ A, she would have played it to the first trick. It seems unlikely that South would blast into a key card sequence missing the ace-king-queen of trump. Partner probably has the ♥A.

-- Ray 
Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)