August 2006 - 49

Sending the message
partner needs
Last month we talked about how
to tell the difference between attitude signals (I like a suit, I don't
like a suit) and count signals (I have
an even or odd number of cards
in a suit). The acronym COPA, the
famous New York City nightclub,
was suggested. Give Count when
the Opponents initiate the trick.
When the Partner initiates the trick,
signals are Attitude - COPA.
Suit Preference
Suit-preference signals are
different. They are attitude signals in
disguise - they show interest in one
suit, but when playing another. In
signaling on defense, you've got to
send the message your partner needs.
Let's look at an example.
J543
Q8
 10 9 6
KJ64
A 9 2
-
N  K J 10 9 7 6 5 4
2
 A J 8 7 5 3 WSE  K 2
952
 10 8 7
 K Q 10 8 7 6
A 3
Q4
A Q 3
You are East. With both sides
vulnerable, you open 4 and
South overcalls 4, which ends the
auction. Partner leads the 2 and
your 9 forces declarer's ace.
Declarer leads the K and
partner wins the ace. What do you
discard?
You should discard the J - suit
preference for diamonds! This is not
an attitude signal - partner doesn't
August 2006

need to know your attitude towards
hearts - that is already known.
Tell partner what she needs to
know - whether you have any
significant side strength. You do in
diamonds, the higher of the two
remaining suits, so you discard a
high heart. If you wanted clubs, the
lower remaining suit, you would
discard a low heart.
Note that in this deal, your spot
cards in clubs and diamonds don't
allow you to signal more directly.
Unless partner plays a diamond now,
declarer will regain the lead and
discard a red-suit loser on dummy's
fourth club. A lazy, low heart discard
will send the wrong message. If you
had the A instead of K, then
the correct discard would be either a
low diamond (if spots allow) or your
lowest heart (suit preference).
The correct order of things
The principle is this: signals are
based on need. Signals are made to
tell partner something she needs to
know. For these to work, however,
partner has to be on the same
wavelength. So both partners must
constantly assess what is needed
and presume partner is giving that
information. This is the order of
priority:
1. attitude
2. count
3. suit preference
These are the two familiar cases
in which you give suit preference:

Need to contact
the ACBL?
See page 4 for information
on how to do so
by phone, e-mail or letter.

INTERMEDIATE PLAYERS

Claim with
Colchamiro

Mel Colchamiro
mcolch@optonline.net

1. When returning a card for partner
to ruff. After the ruff, which suit
should partner play next? You
can indicate where your side
strength is by the size of the
card you lead for partner to ruff.
You hope to regain the lead and
give partner another ruff. A low
card suggests the lower ranking
suit, and a high card suggests the
higher suit.
2. When partner's opening lead
holds the trick and there is a
singleton in the dummy. Which
suit do you prefer partner to play
next? Your high card suggests a
shift to the higher ranking of the
two possible suits, and low card
suggests the lower suit.
There is the broader signaling
concept of need. There are almost
endless situations for suit-preference
signaling. (More on this in future
articles.) But attitude and count
signals are still primary, so don't
forget them. Just remember: if your
partner needs attitude, then your
signal should be attitude. If partner
needs count, you should give count.
If partner needs suit preference, then
give that. You have to decide what
partner needs.
❒
Colchamiro has a book coming
soon: How to Play Like An Expert
(Without Having To be One).
49
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2006
