ACES ON BRIDGE

“Moral choices do not depend on personal preference and private decision but on right reason and, I would add, divine order.”

— Basil Hume

South might simply have bid three no-trump on his second turn without exploring for a spade fit here. However, given his partner’s atypical honor structure, his choice worked out fine.

Against four spades, West led the heart king to the four and a discouraging two from East. Now West led out the heart ace, which drew the seven, five and queen. West then made the apparently natural play of shifting to the diamond jack, letting South win with the king. After drawing trumps, ending in hand, declarer took dummy’s diamond honors, throwing a club from hand. He ruffed the fourth diamond in hand, East pitching a club, then discarded a club from dummy on the heart queen, East following with the eight.

South now decided that if East had begun with four hearts, he might have pitched one on the fourth diamond, so he probably had no more hearts left. Instead of taking the club finesse, he threw East in with a trump, leaving him to lead into dummy’s ace-queen of clubs at trick 12.

The key to finding the winning club shift at trick three was that East could have followed with the heart eight at trick two if he had wanted a switch to diamonds. The five should have suggested no preference or the lower ranking suit, clubs. Once you have signaled attitude or count on the first round of a suit, your choice between equivalent small cards may constitute a suit preference signal.

ANSWER: Regardless of whether East intends his call to show a strong hand with diamonds, or the unbid suits, you are in a position to tell him he may have made a mistake. Redouble, announcing that your side has the balance of high cards, and hope partner can raise you or take further appropriate action when the opponents bid on.