Here's one more deal from the ACBL Spring Championships. In a pairs event, North-South bid easily to 3NT. West led a heart, and the battle for vital overtricks was on.

Declarer, Leslie Popper, won in his hand and cashed five spades, pitching clubs. West threw hearts, East diamonds. Popper next led a club: ten, king, five. He took two more hearts, and East, who was down to the J-10-9 of diamonds and A-J of clubs, had to discard once more.

SECOND CLUB

If East threw a fourth diamond, South would take three diamond tricks. So East let go the jack of clubs, but then Popper led a club, dropping the A-Q and setting up a second club trick in dummy. Making six, plus 690!

At the end, East holds South to 11 tricks (saving a bundle of matchpoints) by discarding the ace of clubs. Then if South leads a club, West wins and cashes a heart.

Indeed, it seems East might have found that defense: If South had K-Q-x-x in clubs, he might have arranged to lead twice toward his honors.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: S 10 7 5 H K 8 7 5 3 2 D Q 8 C Q 5. Your partner opens one spade, and the next player overcalls two diamonds. What do you say?

ANSWER: You must not let the opponent's intervention deter you from making your normal bid. Raise to two spades, showing a hand worth six to nine points with at least three-card support. Your hand isn't strong enough for a response of two hearts, which would suggest at least 10 points (and in some styles even more).