Daily Bridge Club
Simple Saturday
“Simple Saturday” columns focus on improving basic technique and developing logical thinking.
In discarding on defense, a principle is to keep “parity”: You must hold on to the same number of cards in a suit as declarer. A defender must not let declarer score an undeserved long-card trick.
In today’s deal, North’s double is “negative,” showing hearts but the wrong type of hand to bid two hearts. South’s jump to 2NT shows a balanced 19 or so points. West leads the king of spades against 3NT. Say South wins the second spade and takes four diamond tricks.
FOUR CLUBS
East must find a discard. He expects South to have at least four clubs, and East can see four hearts in dummy. He can’t keep parity in both suits. What should he discard?
East’s correct discard is a club. East must assume that West has a club honor: If South has A-K-Q-x, he has nine tricks. As the cards lie, South makes 3NT if East discards a heart. South will take four hearts, four diamonds and a spade.
DAILY QUESTION
You hold: ♠ A 10 4 ♥ K85 ♦ AK3 ♣K Q 4 3. You open one club, your partner bids one spade, you jump to 2NT and he tries three hearts. What do you say?
ANSWER: Showing support for your partner is a foundation of good bidding. Bid three spades. Partner may have five spades and four hearts; he would like to know about your three cards in his first suit. If your spades were stronger — A Q4, K8 5, A K3, K10 4 3 — to jump to four spades would be correct. South dealer Both sides vulnerable