DAILY BRIDGE CLUB
“Why don’t you ask Wendy to dinner after the game?” I urged Cy the Cynic. Cy, a chauvinist, and Wendy, my club’s feminist, are always at odds.
“We’d never agree on where to go,” Cy said gloomily. “She’s like all women. She won’t say what she wants me to do, but she gets mad when I don’t do what she wants.”
“You had another defensive foul- up?” I asked.
“In a deal today,” the Cynic nodded. Against four spades he had led the ace of hearts as West.
“Wendy gave me a sour look and played the deuce,” Cy said. “I obeyed and shifted ... to a club: three, jack, queen. South drew trumps and led a club to the nine, setting up a diamond discard. He lost one trick in each side suit.”
Wendy played the deuce of hearts because she didn’t like Cy’s lead, but her duty was to direct the defense. Since no shift was safe or necessary, Wendy should have encouraged with the nine. If Cy led a second heart, South should still succeed but might not.
This week: defensive signals. DAILY QUESTION You hold: ♠J 3 ♥ J 10 9 8 2 ♦A J 3 ♣ A J 5. Your partner opens one diamond, you respond one heart and he bids one spade. What do you say?
ANSWER: You have two options, both reasonable, depending on your style and temperament. One is a jump to 3NT, which will often be the best contract. The other, if you prefer careful investigation for game, is a bid of two clubs, a “fourth- suit” action that asks partner to make a further descriptive bid. North dealer Both sides vulnerable