That question again: active or passive?

A.N. Onymous said, “Like swift water, an active mind never stagnates.”

Yesterday, we looked at the differences between active and passive defense — a predicament that always faces the defenders. (It is even worse in a pairs tournament because the defense’s job might be to stop an overtrick.)

How should the defense go against three spades in this deal after West leads the heart nine? What do you think of the bidding?

In the auction, East must have been asleep on the first round. He should have opened either one heart or three hearts. Afterward, he would have found out which would have worked better.

East tried to catch up on the second round, but South had a comfortable three-spade rebid, which ended the auction. (If East had opened three hearts, South would have overcalled three spades, and that would have been passed out. After one heart, South would have bid one spade, West one no-trump, East two hearts, and South only two spades. That might or might not have ended the auction.)

When the deal was originally played, East, thinking South’s heart queen was a falsecard, continued with the heart ace. South ruffed, cashed the spade ace (East dropped the jack) and led another spade. West shifted to his low diamond, but declarer won, cashed the club king, played a club to the jack and discarded his diamond losers on the club ace and heart jack to make an overtrick.

East should have actively shifted to a diamond at trick two. Then the defenders would have gotten two spades, one heart and two diamonds.