Play the right card to defeat declarer

Sir Winston Churchill said, “The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.”

A bridge player might feel that way if playing with a partner who does not either watch the cards or know how to interpret the signal sent. How should East-West play to defeat four spades in today’s deal?

During the auction, North was torn between signing off in three no-trump with such a flat hand and looking for a slam with so many points opposite a partner who opened. If North had rebid two no-trump forcing (using two-over-one), South would have raised to three no-trump. Then North might have passed, or he might have invited a slam with four no-trump, which South would have turned down. Three no-trump would have made with two overtricks.

In four spades, though, the auction was revealing. West knew that his partner had at most one diamond. So he led the diamond ace. But what did he do next?

This is a textbook situation for a suit-preference signal. West wants to tell his partner where his entry card lies. If it is in clubs, the lower-ranking of the other two side suits, West leads his lowest remaining diamond at trick two. Here, though, West continues with the diamond eight, highest for the higherranking suit. Then, if East knows his stuff, he will ruff and shift to a high heart. West takes that trick and delivers another diamond ruff to defeat the contract.