ACES ON BRIDGE

“It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason and justice, tell me I ought to do.”

— Edmund Burke

Today’s deal is the second proposed to me by Jacques Guertin, and is almost identical to yesterday’s problem for East against three no-trump.

West again leads the spade six against three no-trump. Declarer wins with dummy’s queen and plays the club king. East ducks and sees West follow with the nine, then wins the next club as West follows with the two. What should East do next, and why?

Unlike yesterday’s deal, both West and East know holding up the club ace will not keep declarer from running the clubs, even if he has to expend an entry to dummy to do so. The real issue is what East should shift to after winning the club ace. Since both East and West know that, West’s card at trick two should specifically relate to that issue.

The Smith Echo is a signal designed to address that question, but be aware it can be played in many ways, and is very tempo-sensitive. Partnerships using it must try to follow in tempo in critical positions, and should be careful to plan their defense at trick one.

If you decide to play it, I suggest you use it as originally written. At no-trump when a count signal is not relevant, an immediate echo by West — in the suit declarer plays on first — asks for a shift. But East’s echo shows extras in the suit his partner led.

So West’s echo in clubs here shows no interest in a spade continuation, and East must win the club ace and play on diamonds. Had West not echoed, East would have led back a spade.

ANSWER: Had the opponents not bid, your hand would have fallen very awkwardly into a gray area. It is unsuitable for an inverted raise or a pre-emptive jump raise, with a one-no-trump call being right on values but wrong in every other way. Here, though, you can raise to two diamonds and plan to bid on to three diamonds, if necessary.