This is aHand:

Defending part-score contracts isn't always much fun and it often isn't easy.

However, when you get the defense right it can be very satisfying!

Bidding.

West opens 1NT after we Pass as dealer.

East, as is normal with a five-card major suit, removes to his five-card major. Many pairs play transfer bids here but this East-West pair do not. East’s 2♥ bid is natural and a sign-off.

Having been told to shut up and display the dummy, West does precisely that.

Play.

Holding an Ace-King combination we follow Barry Crane’s advice and lead the ♠A.

On seeing partner’s ♠9 (“Yes please! I like these.�) we continue with the ♠K and a Spade for North to ruff. That’s three tricks – can we make three more?

A Club shift is taken by our ♣A and we have to decide what to do next. No problem! A Spade is a stand-out lead. Even if declarer were to over-ruff partner it would at least prevent the ♠Q from becoming a potentially useful discard for declarer.

In fact, a fourth round of Spades is a killer as partner’s remaining Heart is the Jack. When East over-ruffs the Spade he creates a further trump trick for our providential holding of ♥10 8 6. There is still a sure Diamond to lose to partner’s King, so 2♥ goes one down.

If North had followed at trick one with the ♠3 (“Sorry, I don’t much like this lead of yours, try something else.�) then nothing is more certain than we would have shifted to the ♦5 at trick two, hoping partner held the ♦K Q, and declarer would have had an easy time of it.