DAILY BRIDGE CLUB

Unlucky Louie has the habit of fiddling with his wedding band when he’s declarer.

“Why does he do that?” I asked Cy the Cynic. “Does it help him concentrate?”

“Maybe he’s trying to figure out the combination,” said Cy.

Cy is no fan of marriage, but I suspect he’d have made today’s 3NT. Louie didn’t. He won the first club with the ace and led the ace and a low heart. East won and shifted to the queen of spades. Louie won with the king and led a third heart, but after West took the jack and king, Louie had no other chance for a ninth trick.

Louie succeeds by setting up a long suit ( the theme of this week’s deals), but he must be careful. At Trick Two he leads dummy’s king of diamonds, overtakes with his ace and continues with the ten.

If West wins and leads another club, Louie takes the king and forces out East’s jack of diamonds. Louie still has the king of spades as an entry to his hand; he wins three diamonds, two spades, a heart and three clubs. DAILY QUESTION You hold: ♠A 8 5 3 ♥ A 10 4 2 ♦K ♣ A Q 7 2. You open one club, your partner responds one spade, you raise to three spades and he next bids four diamonds. What do you say?

ANSWER: Since the agreed suit is spades, your partner’s four diamonds shows slam interest and a “control” in diamonds — almost surely the ace. Cuebid four hearts to show that ace. Even if partner signs off at four spades, my inclination would be to bid six spades. North dealer Both sides vulnerable