"Minnie's glasses got me again," Cy the Cynic fumed.

Minnie Bottoms, my club's senior member, wears old bifocals that make her mix up kings and jacks, often to her opponents' chagrin.

"What's happened now?" I asked.

In a team match, both Souths played at five clubs, and West led a heart. At one table East played the king, and South took the ace and let the queen of trumps ride. East won and returned ... a heart. Reprieved, South drew trumps, guessed right in spades and had 11 tricks.

DIAMOND SHIFT

"I was South at the other table," the Cynic said. "Minnie was East and played the JACK on the first heart, thinking it was the king, of course. When I took the queen, she knew I had the ace. So when I finessed in trumps, she shifted to a diamond, and I went down."

Minnie's play was astute! Declarer is marked with the ace of hearts, but East can learn whether he also has the queen. (South could and perhaps should succeed by leading a trump to the ace and starting the spades.)

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: S Q 5 H 10 8 7 5 2 D A Q 9 6 3 C 7. Your partner opens one spade, you respond 1NT and he bids two clubs. What do you say?

ANSWER

It's possible a partscore or even a game in one of the red suits might be best. Your partner might have 5-1-3-4 or 5-3-1-4 distribution. But it's a mistake to speculate on what partner might have: Instead, you must bid your side of the table. Bid two spades, which is sure to be a playable spot if he passes.