Partner, which suit did you ask for?

As we are all aware, defense is the hardest part of the game. One way to make it easier would be to place mirrors behind your partner. However, most opponents don’t countenance such furniture fixing. Nevertheless, if you keep track of the tricks won and lost, the cards played and -- very important -- the high-card points produced, you should be able to find the right answer. However, now and then a nigh-impossible deal will come along -- like today’s. North invited game with a limit raise, and South wisely folded his tent with a hand that old-timers would have passed initially. West led the spade eight: a happy choice. East won with his queen, cashed the spade ace and played the spade seven, which West ruffed. What should West have led now? It is traditional in this situation for East to make a suit-preference signal. By leading his higher remaining spade spot, he asked for the higher-ranking side suit to be returned. Here, therefore, West switched to the diamond four. Declarer won in hand with the king, unblocked the club king, played a diamond to dummy’s ace and cashed the club ace, discarding the spade jack. Only then did South play a trump.

East won with the ace and led his last spade, but declarer ruffed high, drew West’s last trump and claimed.

East started to say something, but West beat him to the punch. “Sorry, partner. I see that returning a trump at trick four defeats the contract because you would give me a second spade ruff. When Hy Lavinthal invented the suitpreference signal, he didn’t allow for this situation.”