#8 Neither Vulnerable
North   East   South   West
   1♣         2♠       3NT       AP
                                                North (dummy)
                                                ♠ 7 2
                                                ♥ A J 3
                                                ♦ K J 6
                                                ♣ Q J 10 9 2
                            West                                       East
                            ♠ 8                                           ♠ A Q 10 9 4 3
                            ♥                                              ♥ 8 4 2
                            ♦                                               ♦ 7 3
                            ♣                                              ♣ K 5
                                                South (declarer)
                                                ♠
                                                ♥ 
                                                ♦ 
                                                ♣
 
West leads the ♠8. North plays the ♠2. What is East’s plan?
 
As East, in order to establish your spades knowing South has the SKJx because West’s ♠8 looks like top of a doubleton, play partner for a second spade plus the ♣A. (If Declarer has the ♣A, you can’t set the hand).
 
If partner has those cards, you must duck the first spade to keep the second spade in partner’s hand. When partner gets in with the ♣A, partner returns a spade, you clear the suit and have the ♣K as an entry to cash your established spades. Play the S9 at trick one to show encouraging attitude in the suit.
 
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!