Bridge

There is one exception to the rule about not covering the first of touching honours: you should cover when you also have two honours.

South found himself in a normal 3NT, and West led fourth highest of his longest and strongest. The six of clubs was ducked to East's queen. It is often right to switch when you have only a doubleton in partner's suit, but here dummy's club pips were weak, and there was no more promising attack. Declarer won the third club, and counted his winners. There were only six, so he needed to develop two more in spades. He crossed to the ace of diamonds to lead the jack of spades – and East did not cover. When the jack scored declarer continued with the ten, and this time East took the ace. But all he could do was lead a red card for declarer to win. When the king of spades felled his queen declarer made his game.

Observe the difference if East covers the jack of spades with the queen. If declarer wins the king he cannot develop spades without losing the lead to West, who has a club to cash.

He might, of course, assume that East would not cover unless he held two honours and duck to keep West off lead, but here two spade tricks are not enough to make his contract.

Both East and West can afford to discard a heart on the fourth spade, leaving declarer short of a trick.