Daily Mail

BRIDGE MASTERCLAS­S

- PETER DONOVAN

a) WEST leads the ♠A against South’s 3NT contract, dummy going down with two small spades. What should East play when he holds the ♠Q-6, and what if he holds the ♠Q63? THE LEAD of the ace in an unbid suit in defence of a no-trump contract convention­ally calls on partner to drop the highest card he holds in the suit. In either case, therefore, East should play his ♠Q.

This has a dual purpose: it unblocks the suit if West started with AKJxxx, and it also places the outstandin­g cards for West. b) At Game to North-South, the bidding goes:

WEST leads the ♠K and dummy goes down with three small spades. What should East play from his own holding of ♠10-6? EAST immediatel­y has hopes of defensive tricks in spades. If West started with six to the KQJ he would have intervened at the one level. So South holds at least three spades, surely the queen and possibly the knave. East, in the hope of getting in a ruff, should therefore start a peter – that is, a high-low signal by playing the ♠10.

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