“A thermonuclear war cannot be considered a continuation of politics by other means.” – Andrei Sakharov

Put yourself in the East seat for today’s deal and see if you can defeat declarer, the great Zia Mahmood, in three no-trump.

Whatever your usual agreement about opening leads from three small cards, it is often right to lead the lowest one in partner’s bid suit when you have had an easy chance to support him but did not do so.

That is the agreement today’s East and West had.

If your partner (West) had a diamond honor, it would clearly be right to duck the opening spade lead, but if declarer’s diamonds are solid, a different defense may be called for.

Which do you think is right?

In the quarterfinals of the 1999 Orbis Bermuda Bowl, Poland’s Jacek Romanski, sitting East, thought it too likely that South would have nine tricks on top if the opening lead was ducked.

Accordingly, East won the spade king and cashed the ace.

On the second spade, West, Julian Klukowski, played the seven, the higher of his two remaining spot-cards as a suit-preference signal for a heart.

So Romanski switched to a heart, and the defenders quickly took three tricks in that suit to beat the game.

In the other room, South deceptively started with a one no-trump overcall, raising his partner’s invitation to game and making it much harder for the defense.

East won the spade king at trick one and continued with a low spade.

When the club jack came down in three rounds, declarer soon had 11 tricks.

Bid with the aces

South holds:

Answer: Jump to three no-trump to show a good long diamond suit and extra values.

The alternative of rebidding three diamonds may leave you in a partscore with the same losers as in no-trump.

Equally, a two-no-trump rebid may get partner too excited; your hand does not look good for play anywhere but in diamonds or no-trump.