DAILY BRIDGE CLUB:

“The man is a few tacos short of a combination plate,” Cy the Cynic fumed.

Cy was talking about Millard Pringle, a quiet little man who tends to lose his way in the maze of defensive “rules.”

“Look what he did to me in a penny game,” Cy said. “When I showed a strong hand, my partner raised to 3NT, hoping I could use his long diamonds.”

“His bid was speculative,” I said, “especially with no sure side entry.”

“Millard led the 10 of spades as West,” Cy went on: “jack, king, ace. I took the king of diamonds and led the jack, and Millard played the 10!

“Naturally, I assumed East had the queen, so I put up dummy’s ace, expecting an overtrick. I went down three. I asked Millard about his 10 of diamonds, and he apologized. He said he had covered my jack with the wrong honor.”

If Millard covers the jack with the queen, Cy will duck in dummy to keep communication and will be sure of nine tricks. With Millard as West, maybe Cy should have played low anyway.

DAILY QUESTION: You hold: ♠ AQ7 ♥ AK7 ◆ K J3 ♣ Q 7 4 2. You open one club, the next player overcalls one spade and two passes follow. What do you say?

ANSWER: If your partner had responded one spade, you would have bid 2NT, showing about 19 points, balanced. In the actual auction, bid 1NT. This is the way to show a balanced hand slightly too strong for a 1NT opening.