BRIDGE NOTES: Inspired suit preference

In Bridge the defense, which is acknowledged as it's most difficult and complex aspect, has found many ways to communicate as accurately as possible with partner. These defense gadgets have been tested by experts and found to be very useful in throwing light on the grey areas of defense where the defender is unsure, indecisive as to which way to adopt as a winning defense strategy from the multiple discard systems ranging from the Leviathan to the odd-even, the defenders find what best suits their bidding methods and memory. For after all with so many artificial systems being played all over, the understanding rapport between the defenders need to be of the best quality to be more precise and accurate in their defense. Of course with all the gadgetry around what needs to be kept in mind is the plain common sense and the logical inferences that arise from the bidding and play.
In 1975, in the European Championship in 1975, north south bid:
The defender west held the following hand:
Let us now place the reader in the west seat and ask him to plan what is the best defense to defeat 4S doubled by your partner.
This is indeed not an easy defense problem. In fact it is quite a tough one, easy to miss and quite difficult to comprehend at the opening and subsequent stages of the defense. What defenders know from the bidding is that south holds a massive 2 major suitor hand of probably 10-11 cards leaving little for the minor suits. With 2 tricks in hand, hoping south has at least a singleton diamond, what west needs to comprehend is the double by partner which surely is taking something beyond the normal. But the question remains: what could east hold that would give west the 2 extra tricks needed to defeat this doubled contract? Suppose south held 5-5 in majors and east's double says he holds a top honour in spades. That would still yield only 3 tricks for the defense. Where is the 4th coming from? Surely declarer can't be missing 2 aces to make such forceful bidding. He must be holding the other minor ace. That leaves west with the only hope of getting that elusive 4th trick with probably a ruff of the heart. Does that clear the way for west to make the preparatory move of opening the lead with his singleton 3H. It is a big risk for once declarer gets the lead he can run for the trumps and if for example east has no trump entry all the effort could go in vain.
Let us now proceed on the probability that east's double promises a top honour in spades the KS. So keeping all fingers crossed, west leads his singleton 3H to see the following dummy spread out which is rather flat and quite unfavorable for the declarer.
Dummy follows with 7H to west's 3H opening lead, east plays the 6H and declarer wins with the 10H. South now leads 4S to which west quickly hops with AS hoping now to look for an entry in east's hand for obtaining the heart ruff to set the contract. Here the defense can see only 2 possible routes for east's entry, either the AC or the JD.
The question is which offers the more likely holding? There are of course some inferential clues that have come about during the play for west to pick up and decipher correctly for the best defense. Have you as west spotted them? Well when south took the opening heart lead with the 10H it meant be holds all 5 top heart honours which now brings to the second inferential clue which is the card played by east on the opening heart lead. So you remember what was it? Yes, the 6H from a possible holding of 6542 or 6xx.
The choice of card east chose for signaling in hearts was quite clear - the highest be could afford the 6H. Now if west reads south for all 5 top heart honours he can work out easily that 6H is a brave attempt for a suit preference signal indicating possible entry in diamonds. East held the JD and assuming west's 3NT call to hold 3 top diamond honours, made a suit preference signal. West duly led the 2D and the heart return from east sank 4S to give a clear top to east west. At other tables, opening lead of AD gave south an easy 4S contract. Here the story differed due to the inspired suit preference by east.

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S        W        N         E

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1S     3NT     Pass      Pass

4H     Pass    4S         Dbl

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A 2

3

A K Q 10 9 8 2

7 6 5

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North

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Q 9 5 3

9 8 7

6 4 3

8 4 2

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