The important way to improve defence

Dave Barry, a comedic author and columnist who has won a Pulitzer Prize, said, “I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don’t even invite me.” Most partnerships spend little time discussing defence, even though everyone is a defender twice as often as a declarer. But some contracts are easy to defeat because the signalling is straightforward. Today’s deal is an example. First, though, consider it as a declarer-play problem. South is in four spades. West leads the diamond queen. What should declarer do? In the bidding, North should make a three-spade limit raise; his hand is too strong for a “weak freak” four spades. Then, yes, East might double for takeout, but the vulnerability is unfavourable. Note that five diamonds doubled should cost 500. South has three heart losers, so appears to need the club finesse to work. However, if it loses, and the defenders do not cash their hearts, declarer will have 10 winners: six spades, two diamonds and two clubs, his ace and dummy’s jack. So, South should take the first trick on the board and immediately play a club to his queen. If instead he makes the mistake of first drawing a round of trumps, East can make things crystal clear to his partner by discarding the heart ace — top of touching honours. If declarer takes the club finesse at trick two, West should find the heart shift because, at trick one, East plays a discouraging diamond two, denying the king.