Neither vulnerable. North deals.

Neither vulnerable. North deals.
NORTH
x A K Q
u 10
v K Q 10 9 8
w A K 4 2
WEST EAST
x Void x J 8 2
u A 7 6 5 4 u K 8 3 2
v 5 4 3 v J 6 2
w 10 9 8 6 5 w Q J 7
SOUTH
x 10 9 7 6 5 4 3
u Q J 9
v A 7
w 3
The bidding:
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
1v Pass 1x Pass
3w Pass 3x Pass
4NT Pass 5v Pass
6x Pass Pass Pass
Opening lead: Ace of u
Signaling is one of the most difficult aspects of defense at bridge to master. It was the subject of this lesson deal by Eddie Kantar in the Daily Bulletin at the recent Summer North American Bridge Championships.
Minor two-suiters are notoriously difficult to bid if you start the auction with an artificial game force of two clubs. A better way to handle most of them is shown here. Start with a one-bid and then jump shift in the second suit -- if partner passes one diamond, there is almost surely no game in the hand. When South rebid spades, North checked on aces and settled in the small slam.
"There is some confusion as to how to signal when partner leads an ace and a singleton (in the suit) pops up in dummy. Some play suit preference. When the possibility of a trump promotion exists, however, which is the case here, an encouraging card should be interpreted as a request to continue the suit. If West plays a second heart; forcing dummy to ruff, the J 8 2 of trumps morphs into the setting trick. A heart continuation makes far more sense than a diamond shift. The Blackwood response has marked South with the ace of diamonds and East can hardly be void."
& copy; 2005 Tribune Media Services
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