DAILY BRIDGE CLUB

“Simple Saturday” columns are meant to help aspiring players improve technique and develop logical thinking.

This week’s deals have treated helping partner on defense. Defenders signal “attitude” first ( whether they wish a suit to be led or continued), then “count” ( how many cards they hold in a suit), then maybe “suit preference.”

Today’s declarer takes the king of diamonds and leads a spade to dummy. East signals with the three. Clearly, he doesn’t like spades, so the deuce shows “count”: an odd number.

Dummy then leads the queen of clubs, and East follows with the eight, showing an even number — surely four since South won’t hold six clubs on the bidding.

When West takes his king, he may be tempted to shift to a low heart. But West knows that South has only eight tricks: three spades, two diamonds and three clubs. A heart shift isn’t necessary. If West trusts East’s signals and continues with the jack of diamonds at Trick Four, South will end a trick short. DAILY QUESTION You hold: - er, at your right, opens one diamond. You pass, the next player bids one spade and the opening bidder raises to two spades. What do you say?

ANSWER: You couldn’t act over one diamond. You lacked - call, and a double would have been unprepared for a spade response by partner. Since you have a good hand with length in both unbid suits, double for takeout now. South dealer N- S vulnerable