DAILY BRIDGE CLUB

“Men are like hot-air balloons,” Wendy, my club’s resident feminist, grumbled to me. “You have to light a fire under them to get them to do anything — and then there’s the hot-air component.”

“I take it that you and Cy are still having trouble on defense,” I sighed.

Cy the Cynic, a chauvinist, and Wendy are adversaries even when they cut as partners. They were today’s East-West in a penny game, and Wendy led a club against South’s four spades. Cy took the ace and returned a club, and South won, drew trumps and forced out the ace of hearts.

“All the Cynic could do was cash his ace of diamonds to hold declarer to no overtricks,” Wendy growled. “The man doesn’t have a clue.”

Cy has 14 points, so South surely has the king of clubs for his bid of four spades. The defense needs two diamond tricks to prevail — and must get them before South can discard on the hearts. At Trick Two, Cy must lead the four of diamonds. South could succeed by playing his jack, but if he misguesses and plays low, down he goes. DAILY QUESTION You hold: S 7 5 H A 8 3 2 D A Q 4 C A 8 6 4. You open one club, your partner responds one spade, you bid 1NT and he jumps to three spades. What do you say?

ANSWER: Most partnerships treat partner’s jump-rebid in his own suit as invitational. (In the old Goren style, which was geared to accurate game and slam bidding, such bids were forcing.) Since partner promises a good six-card suit, a raise to four spades is better than a bid of 3NT.