The late Ross Perot’s advice on rattlesnakes: If you see one, kill it. Don’t appoint a committee to study the problem.

At 3NT, South took the ten of hearts and led a club to dummy’s king. East won and returned a heart: queen, king. South won the third heart and could rattle off only eight tricks. If he led a spade next, the defense could win and take two more hearts, so South tried a club to dummy’s ten. Down two.

After the first trick, East was the “dangerous” defender (not as much as a rattlesnake, but a threat to return a heart through South’s A-Q if he got in).

South can use “avoidance” He leads a diamond to dummy at Trick Two and returns the low spade. East must duck; if he grabs the ace, South has nine tricks. When South’s king wins, he leads a club to set up his ninth trick. The defense can win three spades and a club.

If West had the ace of spades, he could win and return a spade to dummy, but then South could safely force out the ace of clubs.

Daily question >> You hold: ? Q 2 ? 3 ? A J 10 9 2 ? K Q 10 5 2. You open one diamond, your partner responds one spade, you bid two clubs and he tries 2NT. What do you say?

Answer >> You certainly can’t stay at 2NT with a minimum distributional hand and a singleton heart. Bid three clubs. Your partner should treat that bid as a signoff and pass or bid three diamonds. If he ignores your warning and bids on, you may need a new partner.

North dealer

N-S vulnerable

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