This week’s hand is about a topic not often covered in bridge literature – trying to prevent defenders from communicating. Most pairs have some method of telling partner where their strength lies, either using the age-old method of discarding a high card in the strong suit at the first opportunity, or by using some other method.

There are many good signalling systems in bridge and my preference has always been for Lavinthal discards which are simple but effective, so here is a summary below.

In Lavinthal your first discard is always in a suit that you do not want and the size of the discard indicates which of the remaining two suits you do want.

So if declarer is drawing trumps in a heart contract your discards will mean the following:

• Low spade – I do not want spades, I want clubs, the lower of the other suits

• High spade – I do not want spades, I want diamonds

• Low club – I do not want clubs, I want diamonds

• High club – I do not want clubs, I want spades

• Low diamond – I do not want diamonds, I want clubs

• High diamond – I do not want diamonds, I want spades.

There a couple of advantages to Lavinthal over traditional methods:

You don’t throw away high cards in a suit where they may be needed.

Your discard usually carries two messages, the suit you do want and the suit you don’t, leaving an inference that you might have a little something in the third suit.

So now to the hand (see Figure 1).

In a recent tournament, the  four-spade game was reached 39 times and succeeded 20 times. Where it was defeated, the opening lead was a club or a spade.

For those who “never lead away from a King”, the trump lead was routine. It is usually best, also when dummy has not shown a long suit, which can give declarer discards.

Seven Wests led a club, five times after East had doubled an artificial club bid, once after East had opened an unusual three clubs and once after the auction shown. Where four spades made, eight Wests led a heart (end of the defence) and 12 led a spade.

The question is, how would you play four spades as South after a trump lead?

The successful declarers were usually the more experienced ones who did not give the defenders the chance to signal their preferences – win the spade Ace and immediately take the heart finesse.

West wins this and now has to switch to a club to defeat the contract, but she has no guidance on how to continue and often will continue spades and the contract makes as one of declarer’s club losers goes away on a heart.

Notice that if declarer draws even one more trump before playing hearts it gives East the chance to signal for a club (by playing the nine of clubs in traditional methods, or the two of diamonds, using Lavinthal) and the contract is defeated.

Good play by those declarers who succeeded!

• David Ezekiel can be reached on davidezekiel999@gmail.com

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, September 19

1 Louise Rodger/Magda Farag

2 John Burville/Molly Taussig

3 Judy King/Martha Ferguson

Monday, September 22

North/South

1 Molly Taussig/Elysa Burland

2 Tony Saunders/Charles Hall

3 Richard Gray/Wendy Gray

East/West

1 Betsy Baillie/Joyce Pearson

2 Rachael Gosling/Margaret Way

3 Martha Ferguson/Judy King

Tuesday, September 23

North/South

1 Sally Irvine/Sandra Ogden

2 Michael Frings/Felicity Lunn

East/West

1 Sarah Bowers/John Thorne

2 Tracey Pitt/David Leach

Wednesday, September 24

1 Sheena Rayner/Jane Smith

2 Charles Hall/Margaret Way

3 Martha Ferguson/Rachael Gosling