An old signal
By Frank Stewart

Suit preference signals have been around for a long lime now, invented independently by Hy Lavinthal in America and William McKenney in Britain.

The method was devised in 1934, only eight years after the invention of contract bridge. Theorists have expanded the original concept; players use suit preference in many situations.

Today's deal shows the basic idea. West leads his singleton heart against 4♠. (North-South should have bid 3NT, but that's not East-West's problem.) East takes the ♥A and expects that West has led a singleton. East can give West a heart ruff, but the defense will need two more tricks, hence East must tell West what suit to lead after he ruffs.

To direct the defense accurately, East returns the ♥10, his highest remaining heart, to suggest a possible re-entry in diamonds, the high-ranking remaining suit. When West ruffs, he leads a diamond to East's ♦A and ruffs another heart.

If West could attach no significance to East's lead at trick two, West might lead a club next, letting South survive.


Bidding problem.

You hold:

♠ K Q 10 9 8
♥ 8 7 6  
♦ K 4 
♣ A Q 9.

You open 1♠, and your partner bids 2♥. What do you say?

ANSWER: This is a judgment call, and expert judgment would differ. Many would raise to 3♥. Partner's response suggests a five-card or longer suit, so a trump fit exists, and there is a possible ruffing value in diamonds. I think a bid of 2NT is a more flexible choice. You may have a chance to show the heart support later.

How to Play:

There is a Chinese saying:
'An image is worth 1000 words!'

You may want to take the
Online Player Guided Tour

1 - Bidding: Click the 'Play' button in the middle of the page to display the bidding box.

When you are ready, click the 'Start Bidding' button.

When a bid is alerted, it is shown on a yellow background. You can then click that bid to display the related alert.

When there is a comment or a question about your own bid, you can read it on the bidding box comments pane, and then, click the 'Ok' button to continue bidding.

Click 'Close Bidding Box' to proceed to playing the hand.

2 - Playing: The lead is automatic if you are declarer, otherwise you'll see the 'It's your lead' warning in the center pane.

You will play your cards and dummy's as if you were at a live table.

2.1 -Touching cards are considered equivalent! e.g. if you have 876 and you play the 7 while Vu-Bridge expects you to play the 6, then the 7 will blink and the 6 will be played.

2.2 -Sometimes there will be a comment or question during the play.
You should read it and click the 'Click to continue' button at the top of the comment text.

If its a question, there will be a 'Show Answer' button to click at the bottom of the comment panel.

2.3 - When a comment bears a 'Finish flag' button, you can click it to reveal hidden hands and continue playing. We use this to explain technical coups like end-plays, squeezes etc.

2.4 - You can review the last trick by clicking on the last won or lost trick (back of card) at the bottom of the screen. The last trick will show during 3 seconds and then play will continue.

2.5 - You can click the 'Undo last trick' button at the left of the screen in order to redo one or several tricks and review the attached comments.
You can review the auction by clicking the 'Auction' tab in the same area.
3 - Moving the comment panel:

When the mouse hovers the dark green background of the bidding box or the comment panel, you'll see a crosshair cursor and you can drag and move it around the page.

The left and right arrows on the top left corner of the comment panel allows you to increase or reduce the width for better readability.

4 - When a hand is finished, you can click the 'Board List' at the top of the comment panel, and play other hands From the same Series.

To play other Series, visit the Vu-Bridge's home page and click the 'Bridge Hands' button.