Short suits may help for game too

Miguel De Cervantes, the author of “Don Quixote,” said, “A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience.”

When you have a long suit opposite shortness, it is usually a minus. When you have a long suit opposite length, that normally makes an excellent trump suit. When you have a good fit, a side-suit shortage is often beneficial.

In this deal, look at the North hand. Partner opens one heart, and the next player passes. What would you do, if anything?

Then, look at the South hand as well and decide how you would play in four hearts after West leads the club queen.

If you count short-suit points, North gets three for his singleton because he knows of at least a nine-card fit. With seven support points, he has sufficient for a two-heart response.

North also has nine losers (two spades, three hearts, one diamond and three clubs), the number for a single raise.

South starts with four losers, one in each suit. The careless declarer would win trick one and immediately play a trump. However, East can take that trick and return a club, suddenly leaving South with those four losers: down one.

The more thoughtful declarer leads a diamond at trick two (preferably a sneaky jack, hoping West will play low). Let’s assume West wins with his ace and plays another club. Declarer takes that trick and discards dummy’s remaining club on a high diamond. The loser count is down to three, so South draws trumps as quickly as possible.

Sometimes, having a singleton opposite the king-queen-jack would be a minus, but here the suit provides a vital discard.