#8 Neither Vulnerable
West    North    East    South
Pass        1♦         Pass       1♠
DBL        2♠         Pass       4♠
AP
                       
                                                North (dummy)
                                                ♠ A 9 5 4
                                                ♥ K Q J 2
                                                ♦ A 5 3
                                                ♣ 7 4
                        West (you)                           East
                        ♠                                              ♠ Q 8 6
                        ♥                                              ♥ 10 9 6 4
                        ♦                                              ♦ K Q 4
                        ♣ K                                          ♣ J 8 2
                                                South (declarer)
                                                ♠
                                                ♥
                                                ♦
                                                ♣ A
 
As East, assuming the lead of the king is from ♣KQ, East usually encourages holding the Jack. However, with East’s diamond holding, it is better to discourage in clubs (♣2). West would then look to dummy for guidance as to which suit to lead. Spades are trump, clubs are discouraged, hearts look daunting which leaves the diamonds suit. If declarer ducks the ♦A, then East can return to West’s hand with ♣Q. West then switches back to diamonds. It’s a criss-cross club/diamond defensive play.
 
Visit Webinars.PlayBetterBridge.com for free webinar videos called Defend These Hands with Me.  World Champion and Master Teacher Donna Compton walks you through her thought process of opening leads, passive vs aggressive defense and many more “must know” defensive ideas. The combination of being a world-class player, along with the ability to share her thoughts with all levels of players makes these webinar videos unique. Married to a multi-time Barry Crane Top 500 Champion and captaining the World’s Top Bridge Team gives Donna access to state-of-the-art bidding, play and defensive agreements.  Join Donna today and take your game to the next level!