ACES ON BRIDGE

“In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat, but in the evolution of real knowledge it marks the first step in progress toward a victory.”

— Alfred North Whitehead

Congratulations if you managed to bid today’s hand to three no-trump. This is not easy to do — though maybe South should probe with three hearts over two spades, and then if North guesses to bid three no-trump, South will have an easy pass.

When West leads the heart eight against four spades, East cannot tell for sure whether his partner has one or two cards in the suit. But since it will be difficult to beat the hand unless his partner has a singleton, he wins the ace and returns the suit, hoping for the best. South should follow with the heart 10 at the first trick in an attempt to confuse East, but it should not work. If South does follow with his low heart on his first turn, it makes East’s life easier, as now he can be sure that his partner does not have the doubleton eight-three.

Anyway, East gives his partner a ruff, West returns a diamond to his partner’s ace, gets a second ruff ... whoa! How did West know to play back a diamond? There is an answer, but it is not obvious. The question of which minor-suit ace East has is determined by the size of the heart East returns to give his partner the ruff. His play of the nine calls for the higher suit.

This suit-preference signal (also known as Lavinthal, or McKenney in England) would allow East to show the club ace instead by returning a low heart.

ANSWER:

Partner has scattered values but has not joined in, so we can assume no heart fit. Is that enough reason to lead a different suit? I think so. The spade sequence is just enough reason to lead that suit, particularly because your RHO would have bid spades if he had the right hand with a three-card suit. So I would lead the spade jack.