Off-Road Declarer Play Unusual Ways To Play A Bridge Hand - 2
Off-Road Declarer Play Unusual Ways To Play A Bridge Hand - 2
Off-Road Declarer Play Unusual Ways To Play A Bridge Hand - 2
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DAVID BIRD
Dc LEC
Presented fo:
Butler Area Public Library
In Memory of
Evelyn Elwood
Donor
Ginger and Dave Ellis and Family
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© 2007 David Bird. All rights reserved. It is illegal to reproduce any
portion of this material, except by special arrangement with the
publisher. Reproduction of this material without authorization, by any
duplication process whatsoever, is a violation of copyright.
ISBN-10 1-897106-19-X
ISBN-13 978-1-897106-19-8
W238 4 SGey 12 11 10 09 08 07
CHAPTER 1 Fighting your way to the dummy
Contents ~ iil
This book is dedicated to my friend and fellow
bridge writer, Tim Bourke, who constructs two
or three great deals every day and sends the best
of them in my direction.
GnVAPTHER
a Q2
9 63
OAITS32
* 972
a 1085 a K964
7 10497 9 84
©0984 © K106
* 054 * AJ108
4 AJ73
9 AKQJ52
Qo
* K63
aK5
9 AK42
© AK
* AQ932
West leads the ©9, overtaken by East’s ©10. How will you tackle the
notrump game?
a Al
9 K75
© 08732
# A75
a 964 a5
9 0103 9 39862
© K96 © AJ105
* QJ102 » 984
@ KQJ10832
gy M4
© 4
* K63
a 143
9 053
© QJ1073
* 74
a 108 a Q)95
9 KI964 9 82
©9495 © Ab4
* K9I63 * J1085
West leads the 96 against your game in notrump. You play low from
dummy and East produces the 98. How will you play the contract?
Suppose your mind is on the bottle of wine awaiting you in the fridge and
you win with the 910. You will go down. East will hold up the ©A for two
rounds and you will never reach the two good diamonds in dummy. The 9Q
will not provide an entry to dummy, because the YA and 0K will win the next
two rounds of the suit. Restricted to only two diamond tricks, you will be
struggling to avoid down two.
To make the contract, you must win the first round of hearts with the ace.
Dummy’s YQ is now the second-ranked card in the suit and will provide an
entry, provided West holds the Y K as you expect. Let’s say that East again holds
up the ©A for two rounds and then switches to the #J. You will win with the
#A and lead a heart towards dummy. West will take his 9 K to stop you reach-
ing dummy immediately, but the clubs will be safe with West on lead. Nine
tricks will soon be yours.
Sometimes you employ this technique to give you a second entry to
dummy in the suit that has been led.
a QJ1076
9 642
Cals
* KJ3
a 53 a AK84
9 J10 9 0985
© 01042 © 386
*® 09752 * 84
a 92
9 AK73
© AK93
+ A106
aJ65
9 854
© Q31086
* A4
a K10842 a A7
9 K63 9 J1097
© 93 © K74
* J62 * Q975
a Q93
9 AQ2
© A52
* K1083
a AK4
oo
© AK652
* AK764
A small slam in diamonds would have succeeded as the cards lie. (You ruff
a spade and discard two clubs on the high hearts. East can overruff the third
round of clubs, but this absorbs his natural trump trick.) If you put 3NT on
the floor instead, partner will not react kindly to any complaints about his bid-
ding. How will you play when West leads the #2?
With dummy’s heart winners currently inaccessible, you have only six
tricks on top. Unless a defender holds © Q-J-x-x, you can establish two more
tricks by playing ace and another diamond. However, the defenders will then
clear two spade tricks and unless clubs break 3-3, you will not have time to set
up a ninth trick. Is there anything better?
You must cut your way through to the dummy and the two precious jew-
els sitting there in the heart suit. Win the first round of spades and lead a low
diamond towards dummy. You are hoping that West will hold at least one of
the missing honors and that you can set up a dummy entry in the suit.
Suppose West wins with the ©J and clears the spade suit. You can then lead
another low diamond, dummy’s © 10 forcing East’s queen. The defenders can
score a total of two spades and two diamonds, but nine tricks are yours. The
©9 will provide an entry to the ace and king of hearts. You will make three
a 9/7
9 7642
© 632
* QJ53
a 53 a 1062
9 KQJ3 9 1085
© 0984 © J10
* 1074 *& A9862
@ AKQJ84
9 AY
© AK75
* K
West leads the 9 K. How will you play the spade game?
You win the heart lead with the ace. If your next move is to draw trumps,
you are unlikely to make the contract unless diamonds break 3-3. A better idea
is to lead the #K at Trick 2. If East holds up the #A, you will make the con-
tract easily, losing just three tricks in the red suits. Let’s suppose that East notes
his partner’s count signal of the #4 and captures the first round of clubs. He
cashes the 9 10 and switches to the ©J. What then?
Two club winners await you in the dummy and you can fight your way
there in the trump suit. You win the diamond switch and lead the #4 to
dummy’s 47. East wins with the #10 and plays another diamond. You win
with the © K and cross to dummy with the 49. You can then throw two losers
on the #Q-J, return to the South hand with a high ruff and draw the last
trump. Game made!
a 1092
9 942
© Q585
* 342
a/4 4365
9 QJ387 9 105
© 972 © 10643
* AK95 * Q1086
a AKQ83
9 AK63
© AK
* 73
West leads the #A against your spade game and the defenders persist with
two more rounds of clubs. How will you tackle the play?
A possible line is to ruff low and hope to escape for just one heart loser.
(You would duck a heart, draw two rounds of trumps and play the Y A-K. You
would make the contract when hearts were 3-3 or a defender held four hearts
and three trumps, allowing you to ruff the fourth heart.) As you can see, that
line would fail here.
Let’s try something different. You ruff the third round of clubs with the
ace of trumps, aiming to use the 410-9 to provide an entry to the blocked dia-
mond winners. You draw one round of trumps with the king, unblock the ace
and king of diamonds and play a trump to dummy’s ten. If East wins with the
a 42
9 AK532
© 765
# Q)5
a AQJ985 a 76
9 396 9 8
©2 © J10843
» 983 * 107642
a K103
9 Q1074
© AKQY
* AK
a 0985
9 35
© AQIS
* AJ3
a] a4 A2
9 963 9 K10842
© 108763 © 92
* KQ107 * 8542
a KJ10643
9 AQ7
© K4
* 96
West leads the #K against your small slam. How will you play the
contract?
You win with dummy’s #A and recognize that you will need to dispose of
your club loser before drawing trumps. Suppose, though, that you play the
king, ace and queen of diamonds immediately. East will ruff the third round
with the 42 and you will have to overruff. There is no quick entry to the
dummy to play another diamond winner and you will go down one.
Since you will eventually have to take a winning heart finesse to make the
contract, you should attempt it at Trick 2. The finesse wins and you then play
the three top diamond honors. East ruffs the third round, as before, but now
you have prepared an extra entry to dummy! You cash the YA and ruff a heart.
When you play dummy’s remaining diamond honor, East has to ruff with the
4@A. Your club loser goes away and the small slam is made.
a a 053
Oo 103
© AQ10543
* 86
46led
a K107
Oo AITS
ey:
* AK43
West leads the #6 against 3NTT, East playing the 49. How will you play the contract?
2] a K1072
0 84
© 9643
* 872
©K led
aA
9 AKJ1093
© A52
* AK6
West leads the king of diamonds against your game in hearts. How will you
play the contract?
West leads the #9 against your slam in notrump. How will you play the contract?
4) 40652
9 863
© 916
* J72
4J led
a AK
9 AKQ1075
© AS
* AQ10
West leads the #J and you win with the 4A. When you play the ace of
trumps, the jack falls from West. How will you continue the play?
1 4053
9 103
©AQ10543
+ 86
4AJ862 ag4
9086 2K942
© 98 ©K76
& 395 *#Q1072
West leads the #6 against 3NT, East playing the 49. How will you play
the contract?
Let’s see what happens if you win the first trick with the 410. You run the
©J and it wins, East holding up the ©K in an attempt to kill dummy’s dia-
mond suit. A second diamond finesse loses and East returns his remaining
spade. West will not allow the 4Q to become an entry; if you play your 4K on
the second round, he will hold up the 4A. Unable to enter the dummy, you
will fall well short of your target.
A better idea is to win the first trick with an unnecessarily high card, the
4K. This promotes dummy’s 4Q in value and it will now provide an entry.
East ducks the ©J as before and wins the second round of diamonds. You will
win a heart or club return and lead a spade towards dummy, establishing the
4 Q as an entry. Nothing can prevent you from scoring five diamond tricks and
making the contract.
ah
9 AKI1093
©A52
* AK6
West leads the ©K against your heart game. How will you play the
contract?
There is no entry to dummy for a trump finesse, but you have some chance
of escaping a trump loser by laying down the ace and the king. If the YQ does
not drop in two rounds, however, you are almost certain to go down, losing
three subsequent tricks in the minor suits. What else can you try?
You should win the diamond lead and cash the 4A. Next you play the YJ
from your hand. East now has two losing alternatives. If he refuses to win with
the YQ, you will score six trump tricks to go with your four winners in the side
suits. If instead East wins with the YQ, he will set up dummy’s 8 as an entry.
You will be able to cross to dummy and throw your club loser on the aK.
Dummy held only one side-suit winner on this deal, but it was still prof-
itable to surrender a trump trick to reach it, since you were likely to have a
trump loser anyway. You would play the same way with (YA-K-Q-10-9-3.
Since you might lose a trump trick to YJ-x-x-x, you would unblock the 4A
and lead the 9 10 from your hand.
a K106
9 AJ109
© AK103
* AK
West leads the #9 against GNT. How will you play the contract?
There are nine top tricks available outside the heart suit, so three heart
tricks will give you the slam. Since you may need to finesse three times in
hearts, you must look for three entries to dummy in the spade suit. After win-
ning the club lead, you begin by leading the king of spades and overtaking with
the ace. Everyone follows and you take your first heart finesse, the jack losing
to the queen.
West returns another club and you win in hand. Your next play is to lead
the ten of spades. When West follows, it is safe to overtake with dummy’s
queen. East shows out, but this causes no problems, because dummy’s remain-
ing 4J-8 tenace lies over West's 49-7. A finesse of the 910 proves successful.
You take the marked finesse of the 48, which is your third spade entry to the
dummy, and cash dummy’s last two spade winners. You then lead another heart,
finessing for the third time, and pick up the three heart tricks that you need.
Suppose West had shown out on the second round of spades. In that case,
you could not afford to overtake again, since it would establish a trick for East’s
4 9-x-x-x. You would have to play low from dummy and cross to the &Q on the
third round. After cashing the remaining spade honors, you would then have to
hope that one more heart lead from dummy was enough to pick up the suit.
a AK
9 AKQ1075
© A5
* AQ10
ANTI-BLOCKING PLAYS
Get out of my way
The Uptones
The game of bridge offers many potential annoyances. High on the list is the
situation where one of your suits is blocked, particularly if you don’t notice it
until too late! In this chapter, we will see some techniques that you can use to
side-step an approaching blockage.
a AK6
9 AJ103
©3108
&A54
How will you play 3NT when West leads the #K?
a K74
Oo 732
© 310653
* Ab
a 103 a 852
9 098 9 K105
© 972 © 84
* QJ1032 & K9875
a AQJ96
9 AJ64
© AKQ
* 4
Anti-Blocking Plays 21
No bidding prizes for South, but maybe you can find a clever play in the
64 that he reached. How will you tackle the slam when West leads the #Q?
Five spades, five diamonds and two aces will add up to twelve tricks. The
problem is that the diamond suit is blocked and you will need to use the third
round of trumps as an entry to the long diamonds. Suppose you win the club
lead and draw two rounds of trumps with the ace and the queen. Trumps will
break 3-2, but you will have to play all three diamond honors in your hand
while there is still a trump out. As the cards lie, East will ruff the third diamond
and you will be a trick short.
Instead you must aim to discard one of the blocking diamond honors.
Win the club lead with the ace and immediately play dummy’s #6, throwing
the ©Q from your hand. Let’s say that East wins the trick and switches to a
heart. You will rise with the heart ace and draw two rounds of trumps with the
ace and the queen. Since you have discarded one diamond honor, you now
need to cash only two diamond honors in your hand. In other words, you do
not need to lean on Lady Luck so hard! The defender with the last trump (East)
does hold two diamonds, so all is well. You can then cross to dummy with a
third round of trumps and cash the © J-10-6, throwing all three heart losers.
On the next deal, it is not at all easy to see how you might dispose of the
blocking card in your hand.
a 964
9 Q)87
© 976542
mars
a QJ2 a AK10875
a Ce | 9—
© J8 © 03
* 10752 * KQ963
a 3
9 AK1042
© AK10
* AJ84
a 1063
9o—
© Q1087532
* A54
a 4 @ 852
oO 197 9 KQ763
© 964 oJ
* KQJ1073 * 9862
@ AKQJ97
9 A10854
© AK
~* —
Anti-Blocking Plays 23
How will you play the grand slam when West leads the # K?
Suppose you win with the #A, throwing a heart, and try to ruff your
remaining three heart losers. You use club ruffs as the entries for the first two
heart ruffs and then cross to the © A to ruff your last heart loser. So far, so good.
However, you will be stuck in dummy, forced to play a second round of dia-
monds. East will pounce with a trump and that will be down one.
A more obvious and better line of play is to rely on dummy’s diamond suit.
Let’s say that you win the first trick with the #A. What should you throw from
the South hand? Much of the time it would work well to throw a diamond
honor. You could then play two rounds of trumps and cash your remaining dia-
mond honor. Whenever the ©J fell singleton or doubleton, you could reach
dummy with the 410 and enjoy the rest of the diamonds. Such a line would not
be a success, though, when the same defender held three trumps and ©J-x-x.
To cater for all eventualities, you should delay your discard on the #A. You
should ruff the first club and play two rounds of trumps, West showing out on
the second round. Your main hope is that East holds at least two diamonds,
allowing you to cash the ace and the king. When you play the © A, however, the
©] falls from East. Excellent! You abandon diamonds for now, cross to the 410
and only then play the #A, throwing the blocking king of diamonds. The rest
of dummy’s diamond suit is yours and you make the grand slam.
a KQ3
9 8742
© Ab3
* AQ)
a 10842 AeL
9 1095 9 KQJ63
© QJ974 © K8
* 3 * K8764
aAJ965
9A
© 1052
* 10952
With four trumps in his hand, West rightly attacks in hearts rather than
leading his singleton club. You win with the ace and draw trumps in four
rounds. As you see, there is a potential blockage problem in the club suit. How
do you plan to overcome it?
You lead a club to the ace at Trick 6 and continue with the queen of clubs.
East cannot afford to duck both the queen and the jack of clubs, of course, or
you will have ten tricks. His best defense is to win the second round of clubs,
leaving the #J to block the suit. How will you play when he continues with the
OK?
This is the position you have reached:
a—
9 87
© A63
* J
a =
995 9 KQJ
© Q)97 © K8
* — * 8
a9
Y—
© 1052
* 109
When East returns the 9K, you cannot afford to ruff because the club suit
is blocked. You discard a diamond instead and East persists with the 9Q. Again
you discard a diamond loser. Now the defense has run out of steam. If East
plays yet another heart winner, you will ruff in your hand and discard the
blocking #J from dummy. The #10-9 will wrap up your game. If instead East
switches to a diamond, you can win in the dummy and unblock the #J. You
will have a ruffing entry to the South hand to enjoy your last club.
Anti-Blocking Plays 25
AVOIDING A BLOCKAGE IN THE TRUMP SUIT
Let’s end with two deals where you must avoid a blockage in the trump suit.
a AK6
9 A1043
© 10
* AKQJ5
a 1095 a 32
9 KJ7 29862
© AK965 © 0842
* 73 * 1094
a QJ874
9 Q5
on
* 862
West leads the © K against 6@ and continues with the © A, hoping to cause
a problem by locking you in dummy. How will you continue?
Suppose you ruff the second diamond with dummy’s 46. The trump suit
will be blocked and you will run into exactly the sort of communication prob-
lem that West was hoping to cause. After cashing the ace and king of trumps,
you would have no way to reach your hand safely to draw the last trump.
You should therefore ruff with dummy’s 4A at Trick 2, even though this
may promote a trump trick for the defenders when trumps break 4-1. It is then
an easy matter to play king and another trump, winning the second round in
the South hand. Nothing can stop you from drawing the last trump and claim-
ing twelve tricks. If you're that sort of person, you can point out to West that
a black-suit switch at Trick 2 would have given you no chance at all.
On the next deal, too, there is a risk that the trump suit will become
blocked.
a 842
9 A964
© 10854
* 83
How will you play the heart slam when West leads the #K and continues
with a second round of clubs?
Suppose you ruff with the 93 and continue with the king and queen of
trumps. West will show out on the second round and East will refuse to cover
the 9 10. You will be stuck in the dummy, unable to draw the last trump. When
you switch to the side suits, East will ruff the third round of diamonds. Down
one!
It is very unlikely that West holds YJ-x-x-x. It is even more unlikely that
you would begin with the king and ace of trumps, allowing you to pick up such
a division. So, the 9 10 is of no value for finessing purposes and might well get
in your way if you need to pick up YJ-x-x-x from East. You should therefore
dispose of it at Trick 2. Ruff the second round of clubs with the 910. When
you continue with the king and queen of trumps, your reward will come. The
way will be clear to finesse the 99. You can then draw East’s last trump with
the YA and claim the contract when the diamond suit comes in.
Anti-Blocking Plays 27
UNBLOCKING ON THE THROW-IN CARD
A common type of end position is where you throw in a defender, forcing him
to lead into a tenace. When this tenace is faced by a blocking card in the oppo-
site hand, you may be able to discard it as you perform the throw-in. Look at
this deal:
a 95
9 AK2
© K873
» KQ63
@ AQJ842 4763
9 143 9 86
© 95 © J1042
+ 108 * 3542
a K10
9 QJ1095
© AQ6
* AI7
South was tempted to bid 69 at his first turn. Playing with a partner who
regards such leaps as uncultured, he inserted a Blackwood call on the way. How
would you play the heart slam when West leads the 9 4?
You win the lead and draw trumps in two further rounds, noting that West
began with three trumps. The most likely division of West’s minor-suit cards is
2-2, in which case neither suit will yield an extra trick directly. A simple minor-
suit squeeze on East is not possible, because he sits over the four-card holdings.
(Also, you cannot safely concede a trick to rectify the count.)
Pel
9Y—
© K8
* Q6
a AQJ8 a—
—— a
o— © J10
* — * J5
a K10
9—
© 6
* 9
You cash the © K and put East on lead with the 8. On this trick you must dis-
card the #9, which is blocking the path to dummy’s #Q-6 tenace. East then
has to lead from his #J-5 and you make the slam.
Anti-Blocking Plays 29
a9 a K8
9 J10753 9 K982
© 10 © 0653
* K108654 # AJ3
4 AQ107654
OA
© AJ94
* 2
No one at your club bids as wildly as that, I realize. Still, avert your eyes
politely from the bidding and see if you can make the contract. How will you
seek twelve tricks when West leads the © 10?
You must win the opening lead with dummy’s © K, since you need to take
a trump finesse and there is no other entry to the table. Your labors on the first
trick are not yet over, however. You must also unblock the ©9 from your hand
to facilitate taking diamond finesses later on.
You continue with a low trump to the queen, the defenders following with
low cards. You then draw the last trump with your ace and return to dummy
for the last time with the jack of trumps. “Eight of diamonds, please,’ you say.
East plays low and, thanks to your earlier unblock of the ©9, you can under-
play with the ©4 from your hand. Still in the dummy, you take a further dia-
mond finesse and make the contract.
o a A2
9 K85
© AK2
» 98654
akled
43654
9 AQJ63
oOo
* AKQ10
With a reputation for aggressive bidding to uphold, you and your partner
bid all the way to 7. How will you play the contract when West leads the
4K? (Trumps will break 3-2.)
@ a AK6
OAiAZ
> KQ97
* 54
#3 led
a 42
9 854
© A6542
* A86
Showing due respect for his partner’s preemptive opening, West leads the
#3 against your 3NT contract. East plays the #9. What is your plan?
Anti-Blocking Plays 31
3] a K853
9 AK10
© AK
® K963
78 led
a AQ107642
9 J6
© 65
«72
West leads the 98 against your small slam. How will you play the contract?
4) a AQ874
9 364
S438
* J7
©8 led
aK95
9 KQ3
© AKQ42
* Ab
West leads the ©8 against your small slam, East playing the ©6. How will
you tackle the play?
aJ654
9AQI63
Oo
* AKQ10
West leads the #K against your grand slam in hearts. How will you play
the contract?
Five hearts, five clubs and three top winners in the pointed suits will bring
your total to thirteen. The only problem is... yes, that the club suit is blocked.
With the 4A removed by the opening lead, you will have to reach dummy’s
fifth club with the 9K on the third round of trumps.
You win the spade lead and cash the ace and queen of trumps, pleased to
see both defenders follow. Even though there is still a trump out, you must next
cash the ace and king of clubs. When the cards lie as in the diagram, the suit
will break 2-2. You cross to dummy with the YK, drawing East’s last trump,
and play the © A-K, throwing the two blocking clubs. The way is then clear for
you to cash the #9-8-6, discarding the three spade losers from your hand.
You would also have made the contract when the defender with three
trumps held #J-x-x or x-x-x. His partner would not be able to ruff the second
round of clubs. You would continue with a third round of clubs from your
hand to extract the jack (or the third spot). Then you would cross to the 9K
to discard your last club on the >A. Three discards would still be available for
your spade losers — two on the clubs and one on the >K.
Anti-Blocking Plays 33
9 AJ32
© KQ97
* 54
a QJ875 a 1093
9 01076 9 KY
© J103 © 8
* 3 & KQJ10972
a 42
9 854
© A6542
» A86
West leads the #3 against 3NT, East playing the #9. How will you play
the contract?
Unless diamonds break 4-0, you have nine top tricks visible. If the defend-
ers’ diamonds break 3-1, however, the suit will be blocked. You will need to
play the ace, king and queen to pick up the defenders’ cards and the last spot
card in dummy will then block the suit. How can you prevent this from hap-
pening?
Once you have spotted the problem, it is not too difficult to see the solu-
tion. You must discard the potentially blocking diamond on the third round of
clubs. You allow East’s #9 to win and he continues with the #K. Even though
West has no more clubs, you must hold up the #A for a second time. When
East persists with clubs, you win the third round with the ace and discard the
©7 (or the 69) from dummy. The way is then clear for you to play the king,
queen and another diamond, winning the third round with the ace. Since
dummy has no diamond card remaining, you can score the ©6 and the ©5 at
your leisure, giving you the contract.
If East were to switch to a spade at Trick 2, you would win and duck a sec-
ond round of clubs yourself. As before, you would be able to discard a block-
ing diamond on the third round of clubs.
@ AQ107642
9 J6
© 65
«72
West leads the 9 8 against your small slam. How will you play the contract?
You have eleven tricks on top. There are only 13 points missing, so it is a
near certainty that East holds the #A. The best chance is to catch him in a strip
squeeze. You plan to reduce him to YQ-9 #A and then throw him in with a
club to give you an extra heart trick.
Suppose you win the first trick with the YA and follow with the 96 from
your hand. No throw-in play will be possible, because the YJ will block the
path into dummy’s 9 K-10 tenace. You must therefore unblock the YJ at Trick
1. After drawing trumps and cashing dummy’s © A-K, you must continue to
play all your trumps, reducing to 9 K-10 #K in the dummy. If you judge that
East’s last three cards are indeed the 9 Q-9 and the #A, you will throw East in
with a club and he will have to return a heart into dummy’s unfettered tenace.
If East attempts to fool you by baring the YQ and keeping #A-Q or
#A-10, you will have to read the situation and drop his YQ. In such a situa-
tion, the cards played by West, the intended victim's partner, will often allow
you to place the cards.
Anti-Blocking Plays 35
9 364
©7153
« J7
a 3632 a 10
9 1092 9 A875
© 8 © 31096
* K10854 & 0932
a K95
9 KQ3
© AKQ42
* Ab
South breaks the transfer and North is encouraged to make a slam try,
despite the two frail jacks in his hand. By this unconvincing route, South
arrives in a small slam. How would you play this contract when West leads the
©8 and East plays the 06?
You win the diamond lead in your hand and must now pick up the
trumps. When East holds a singleton 410 or @J, a third-round finesse will be
necessary. To prepare for this, you should lead the 49 to dummy’s 4A on the
first round. Your diligence appears to have been rewarded when the 410 falls
from East. You continue with a low trump to the king and then lead the 45 to
dummy’s 48, drawing West’s last trump with the queen. (If you had not
unblocked the 49, you would be stuck in the South hand when West refused
to cover the nine on the third round.)
You now cash two more diamond winners, discovering that the opening
lead was a singleton. You ruff a diamond in dummy, establishing the thirteenth
card in the suit, and return to your hand with the #A. You can then knock out
the YA to bring your total to twelve tricks. You make five trumps, four dia-
monds, two hearts and the #A. A club lead would have beaten the slam.
UNUSUAL
SUIT-ESTABLISHMENT
TECHNIQUES
Make it good
Al
You may reckon there is little to be said about establishing a side suit. ‘Ruff a
round or two and see if the suit breaks favorably, man. That’s all there is to it.’
Think again! There are various interesting techniques that can assist you in the
process and this chapter will present the most important of them.
a AQJ53
9 A63
© Ab
* KJ6
West finds the threatening heart lead, placing the YQ on the table. What
now?
You might as well duck the first trick. You win the heart continuation (or
diamond switch) and draw two rounds of trumps with the ace and the queen.
Even though a club ruff will now sink the contract, you must risk playing on
clubs. Here, fortunately, the defender with the doubleton club has no trumps
left, so the defenders cannot score a club ruff. When you regain the lead you
will cross to the @K, drawing West’s last trump, and discard a red-suit loser on
dummy’s clubs.
Here is a more complex example of this style of play, where declarer caters
for adverse breaks of the side suit he needs to establish.
aA
gy AK7
© A108
* AQ9762
Well, like it or not, that’s the way the bidding went. How would you play
the small slam when West leads the 47 and East plays the &Q?
After winning the spade lead, you should draw two rounds of trumps with
the ace and queen. When the 3-1 break comes to light, you should continue
with the ace and king of hearts. Suppose East started with a singleton heart and
ruffs the second round. This will cause no problem because you will be able to
finesse the 910 on the third round. If instead the hearts break 3-2, you will
simply draw the last trump before continuing hearts. When the cards lie as in
the diagram, West shows out on the second heart. You cross to the heart queen
and ruff a heart. You can then return to dummy with the trump king to enjoy
the long heart, discarding one of your diamond losers.
If West had found the more taxing lead of a diamond, you might well play
the contract the same way. You would have to judge, on the evidence available,
whether East or West was more likely to hold a singleton heart.
a AK7
Y9—
© 10863
* AK10864
aJ62 a 94
9 310874 9 KQ953
© AJ4 © K95
* J7 * Q52
4 Q10853
9 A62
© Q72
* 93
West leads the YJ against your spade game. How will you play the contract?
The original declarer threw a diamond from dummy and won with the
YA. He then played a trump to the ace and continued with dummy’s two top
club honors. Both defenders followed politely and he continued with a third
round of clubs, not overjoyed to see East produce the last club. What now?
Declarer tried his luck with the 410. Not the best! West overruffed with
the 4J and was not pressed to switch to the © 4. The defenders pocketed three
diamond tricks and that was down one.
Declarer’s line of play might have been assessed as a calculated gamble at
matchpoints. Playing IMPs, it was rather careless. He should have ruffed with
the &Q, avoiding any risk of an overruff. He could then draw a second round
of trumps with dummy’s 4K and play a good club, discarding a diamond. Even
though West could ruff this trick, the defenders would score just one trump
and two diamonds.
a 9/7
9 85
© 064
& KQ7542
a 0842 a 3106
9 063 © A1097
© 31093 © 872
« 108 * AJ
a AK53
9 AK42
© AKS
* 63
West led the ©J and the original declarer won with the ace, continuing
with a club to the king. If East had captured with the ace, the contract would
easily have been made. Declarer could win the diamond return with the king,
cross to the #Q and clear the club suit. The © Q would remain as an entry to
the established winners in clubs. However, Easy was alert to the situation and
allowed the #K to win. The contract could no longer be made. Declarer
returned to his hand and led to the #Q but this lost to East’s ace and the club
suit was dead.
“95
9 85
© K97542
* K74
a QJ108 a 642
9 J6 9 Q10973
© AQ8 © J10
* 1983 * 1062
a AK73
9 AK42
© 63
* AQ5
West leads the @Q against 3NT. You win with the @A and see that you
must set up dummy’s diamond suit. You will need to find the ©A onside, in
which case you hope to lose just two spades and two diamonds. Suppose your
first move is to play a diamond to the king, winning the trick. You will go
down! The defenders will win the second round of diamonds and, with only
one entry left to the dummy, you will have no chance to establish and enjoy the
diamond suit.
a 1085
9 A62
© AK2
* Q1052
a 73 a J42
9 5 9 31093
© QJ1065 oat 3
& KJ943 « A86
a AKQ96
9 KQ874
© 94
« /]
a Q82
9 A3
© AQ87
* AKJ7
4965 a 310
9 K1072 9 86
© J62 © K10943
* 984 * Q1065
a AK743
9 QJ954
© 5
* 32
How will you play the spade slam when West leads the #5?
You need to set up the heart suit. If you draw all the trumps and play ace
and another heart, you will go down when the hearts lie as in the diagram. You
can improve your chances by drawing just two rounds of trumps and then
attempting to ruff a heart. It is not easy to time the play correctly. Suppose you
win the trump lead with the ace. If you play ace and another heart now, West
will return a third round of hearts, promoting a trump trick for the defenders.
a K102
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© 106 © 0384
* K10952 + 0)86
a A95
9 KQJ1086
© AK
* A3
aK97643
7 A83
© AK
x A4
You and your partner would have bid the hands differently, I realize. Still,
treat it as a play problem. West leads the “J against the spade slam. How will
you organize the play?
You will need a 2-2 trump break and must aim to set up dummy’s club
suit, so that you can discard your heart loser. Entries to dummy are not plenti-
ful and if you open the proceedings by cashing the top two trumps, you will
need the clubs to break 3-3. How can you make the slam when clubs are 4-2?
After winning the diamond lead, you should play the #4 from your hand!
You can see what would happen if you played ace and another club instead.
a 742
9 A8743
© KQ
® K92
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9 KJ92 9 Q105
© 1063 © 39854
* 03106 * 85
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9 6
© A72
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9 8
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* K9
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* J106 Phe
os
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* 743
You cash the oA, throwing the #9 from dummy, and play a club to the
king. East is welcome to ruff, because you will ruff his diamond return and, at
last, enjoy the 98.
How will you play the spade slam when West leads the 9 K?
2 a 843
9 A4
& $43
* AQ764
©J led
a AKQJ7
9 K7
© AK62
* 93
West leads the ©J against 64. What’s your best chance for the contract?
a AKQJ2
9 Ab
© AJ542
w A
North shows a useful card or two with his leap to 44. The double raise is
non-forcing, of course; he would make the stronger bid of 34 if his hand were
any stronger. You suggest a slam with a cuebid in clubs and North is happy to
cuebid the © K. How would you tackle the resultant contract of 64 when West
leads the YK?
You win the heart lead and play the ace and king of trumps, both defend-
ers following. If you draw the last trump next, you will need a 3-2 diamond
break, as well as to find East with the ©Q. A better idea is to leave the last
trump outstanding while you take a look at the diamond suit. You cross to the
©K and finesse the ©J. The finesse wins and West shows out, discarding a
heart. Since you still have a trump in dummy, the 4-1 diamond break presents
no problem. You continue with the ace of diamonds and ruff a fourth round of
the suit. You can then return to your hand with the #A to draw East’s last
trump and claim the contract.
West leads the ©J against your small slam in spades. How will you give the
contract the best chance?
Suppose you begin by ducking a diamond trick. You will then lose only
one diamond trick when the suit breaks 3-3 or when you can successfully ruff
the fourth round in dummy. However, you will still need to find the #K
onside. That being so, it is much better to rely on establishing the club suit for
a diamond discard.
You win the diamond lead and draw trumps in three rounds. If you con-
tinue with a club to the queen, you will need the clubs to break 3-3 (or, as a
fall-back, the diamonds to be 3-3). A better idea is to duck a round of clubs,
planning to finesse the #Q on the second round. You win the red-suit return
in your hand and lead another club. When the cards lie as in the diagram, the
#K will appear and you win with the #A. You then cash the #Q and ruff the
fourth round of clubs. The YA remains as an entry to the long club.
As it happens, a heart lead (“Lead the unbid suit, partner!’) would have
beaten the contract, because the defenders could kill the heart entry to dummy
if a round of clubs was ducked.
Various techniques are available to prevent your honors from getting ruffed.
We will see the best of them in this chapter.
a 1094
9 KQ8
© 973
* K632
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9 963 N LO oz
© J82 W E © KQ1054
* QJ1095 S * 7
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9 AT4
© Ab
* A84
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© 03103 ©8754
#39874 * 10
If North had held four-card spade support, a grand slam would be worth
bidding. You take a conservative view (for a change) and stop in a small slam.
How will you play the contract when West leads the © Q?
You should win with the ©K, preserving the two entries to dummy. All
will be well if trumps are 3-2, so you start by drawing two rounds of trumps.
West shows out on the second round of trumps, discarding a heart. What now?
You must make arrangements for your fourth club. The card can be ruffed
in dummy, provided that you can score your three club honors without one of
them being ruffed by a defender. East will have to follow to one round of clubs,
but that is all you require, as long as you play the contract properly.
After the second round of trumps, play a club to the ace, East following.
When you lead a second round of clubs towards the honors in your hand, East
will gain nothing by ruffing a losing club with his master trump. He discards
instead and you win with the #K. You re-enter dummy with the oA and lead
a third round of clubs towards your hand. Again East cannot gain by ruffing.
He discards and you win with the #Q. You still have two black-suit losers in
your hand, but they are about to be merged into one. You ruff your last club
with dummy’s 49 and it makes no difference whether East decides to overruff
or not. He will score a trump trick at some stage and the remaining tricks are
yours.
If you had carelessly won the opening lead in the dummy, you would have
gone down. With East holding only one club, you needed two entries to
dummy, so that you could lead twice towards the club honors in your hand.
Next we will see a deal where you need to establish a suit in which one of
the defenders holds a singleton. By leading towards the honors, you not only
save them from being ruffed, you are also able to establish the suit.
Fld 33
© AQJ5
* AKQ52
4431073 a2
9 Kj82 9 A10964
© 10843 © K76
* 3 * 31074
a AKQ98654
oQo—
O92
& 986
A diamond lead would have worked well, as it happens, but West decides
to lead the #3 against your spade slam. How will you play the contract?
You win with the #A and reach your hand with a heart ruff. When you
play the ace and king of trumps, East shows out on the second round. You now
have a loser in the trump suit. To avoid relying on the diamond finesse, you will
need to discard a diamond loser on dummy’s clubs. How can you manage that
in the dangerous case where West’s club lead was a singleton?
You draw a third round of trumps and lead a club towards dummy’s
remaining honors. It will do West no good to ruff a loser, since dummy’s clubs
will then be established. Let’s assume that he discards instead and you win the
trick with dummy’s #K. You return to your hand with a heart ruff (you didn’t
throw all dummy’s hearts on the trumps, did you?) and lead another round of
clubs towards dummy. Once more, West cannot profitably ruff in the second
seat. You win with the #Q and ruff a club, setting up a long card in the suit.
If West overruffs, dummy’ ©A will be an entry to the long club. If West
declines to overruff, you can give him his trump trick and again take a discard
on the long club.
Another important technique is to cash your winners before the defenders can
take a discard in the suit. This is common knowledge on crossruff deals. The
same idea can apply even when you are taking a single ruff in the short-trump
hand.
a AK743
9 162
ols
* AK10
a 8652 a9
9 109853 9 A4
© 96 © 01054
* 85 * QJ7432
a QJ 10
9 KQJ
© AK872
* 96
North’s 4NT is invitational and you judge that your hand is worth a small
slam in spades. How will you play this contract when West leads the 9 10 to
East's ace and the 94 is returned?
You have eleven top tricks and a club ruff in the short-trump hand (South)
will provide an easy twelfth. You win the second round of hearts and draw two
rounds of trumps with the queen and the jack, East throwing a club on the sec-
ond round. What now? If you take your club ruff immediately, you will regret
it. When you ruff the third round of clubs with the 410, West will discard one
#9752
7053
4 K986
& K7
a Kki63 o 1084
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4 Q5542 W E 4 1073
& 5 5 + 0110842
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7 bAKS1074
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& 4963
@ a AQ7
9 QJ105
© 10985
& AY
aKled
a K3
9 AK43
© AK763
* 105
West leads the #K and you win with dummy’s #A. When you play the ace
and queen of trumps, West discards a club on the second round. How will
you continue?
@ a 1093
9 K872
oO 1542
* 74
+) led
a AKQ84
9 A5
© AK
* AQ63
You arrive in 6@ and West leads the #J, East playing the #K. How will you
play the hand?
a K3
9 AK43
© AK763
* 105
West leads the #K and you win with dummy’s #A. When You play the ace
and queen of trumps, West discards a club on the second round. How will you
continue?
Obviously you cannot afford to draw all the trumps before setting up the
diamond suit. Nor can you afford to get one of your diamond honors ruffed,
should East hold a singleton in the suit. You play a diamond to the ace and then
cash the king, ace and queen of spades, throwing your club loser. Conveniently
in the dummy, you now lead a second round of diamonds towards your
remaining honor in the suit.
What can East do? If he ruffs, it will be the last trick for his side. You will
win his return, draw trumps and enjoy the rest of the diamond suit. Let’s sup-
pose that East discards a club instead. You will win with the ©K and concede
a diamond trick to West. When West continues with a high club, you can ruff
in your hand with the 9K and lead the 94 to dummy’s YJ, proceeding to draw
East’s last trump. At Trick 13, you score a good diamond in the dummy.
aAKQ84
QA5
© AK
*#AQ63
You bid to a small slam in spades and appear to be off to a good start when
West leads the #J. East plays the #K and you win with the #A. How should
you continue?
It looks almost too easy. You can cash the #Q and ruff a club with the
410. Even if East began with only two clubs and overruffs with the @J, you
will still be able to ruff your last club loser with dummy’s 49. What could pos-
sibly go wrong?
The answer is that East’s #K might be a singleton. In that case, he will ruff
the #Q with a low trump and may still be able to score an overruff with the
4J later. Don’t think to yourself, ‘A 6-1 club break is not very likely.’ Such
breaks become much more likely when an honor is led, suggesting that the
leader holds a longish suit headed by a sequence. Also, East would not gener-
ally play the #K unless he had to, because West would not lead away from the
#A. South is therefore marked with the #A-Q. Anyway, what can you do to
guard against the situation where clubs do break 6-1?
Yes, you must lead towards the #Q. So, cross to the 9 K at Trick 2 and lead
a club towards your hand. If East follows suit, or discards, you will win with
the club queen and ruff a club with the #10. It will not matter if East over-
ruffs, since you can then ruff your other club loser with the #9.
Suppose instead that East ruffs the second round of clubs with a low trump.
You will then win his return and draw two rounds of trumps before attempting
to ruff your remaining club loser. You will survive when East started with three
or fewer trumps and you can therefore draw his remaining trumps in two
rounds. Another small chance is that West may hold a singleton @J. In that case,
East will not be able to overruff dummy’s 410 when you ruff your club loser.
When you have five trumps out against you, they will break 4-1 almost three
times in every ten. Quite often this will cause you a problem. In this chapter,
we will see some of the ways in which you can protect yourself from such pieces
of bad luck.
a K4
Kd
© 0874
* AQ865
a 8 a A1095
9 J10976 9 Q54
© K105 © A963
* J1074 * 92
4 QJ7632
9 A82
© 12
* K3
How will you play the spade game when West leads the VJ?
Seeing that the contract was more or less cold on a 3-2 trump break, some
declarers won the heart lead and turned immediately to the trump suit. When
East took his &A, he was quick to switch to a diamond and the defenders
scored two tricks in the suit. The 4-1 trump break meant that a second trump
trick had to be lost and that was down one.
There is a fair chance of surviving a 4-1 trump break by playing on clubs
before trumps. You win the heart lead with the king, cross to the 9A and ruff
a heart with the #4. You continue with the king, ace and queen of clubs. If
clubs break 3-3, you dispose of a diamond loser and can afford the subsequent
loss of two trump tricks. (You do best to continue with a fourth round of clubs,
in fact, throwing your last diamond). Even when clubs break 4-2, the play may
still gain. When East holds four trumps and a doubleton club, as in the dia-
gram, he will have to ruff with a natural trump trick. You dispose of your dia-
mond loser and subsequently lose one diamond and two trumps.
What if West holds four trumps and a doubleton club? The chances are
not so good. West will ruff the third club and may then be able to cross to his
partners hand with a diamond, underleading the ©A if necessary. A fourth
round of clubs is then likely to promote a third trump trick for the defense.
aAK43
QA
© 063
*&AQI96
West leads the 9Q against 4@ and you win with the 9A. How will you
play?
Suppose your first move is to cash the ace and king of trumps, West show-
ing out on the first round. Can you recover by running your club winners? Not
if East is a competent performer. He will refuse to ruff any of your club win-
ners, happily discarding red-suit losers. When you subsequently play a dia-
mond, he will pounce with the ace and draw your remaining trumps with the
queen and the jack. Even if you take a heart ruff when in dummy with the #K,
you will still be one trick short.
How can you avoid this fate? You should draw just one round of trumps
and then play a diamond to the king. East wins with the ©A and forces you
with a heart. You ruff, cross to the #K and ruff another heart. When you draw
a second round of trumps and continue with the ace and queen of clubs,
throwing dummy’s last heart, East is powerless. If he returns the OJ, you will
win with the ©Q and throw dummy’s last diamond on another good club.
a AKQ53
9A
© 1092
* A873
West leads the YK against your spade game. How will you play the con-
tract?
Suppose you win with the singleton ace and cash the ace and king of
trumps, East showing out. You will go down! Turning to the club suit will not
save you, because West will delay his ruff until the fourth round; he will then
exit with his last trump and you will be left with three diamond losers.
You can afford to lose two diamonds and one trump. After winning the
heart lead, you should draw one round of trumps with the ace and then lead a
low trump. West wins with the #10, but he cannot damage you. There is still
one trump in the dummy, preventing the defenders from scoring three dia-
mond tricks. You will win West’s return, draw the outstanding trumps and play
five rounds of clubs, discarding one of your diamond losers.
a 106
9 A85
© AK108
& Q754
a 3 a 8754
9 QJ1074 9 K932
© J742 © 096
* A103 * KJ
a AKQJ92
9 6
e 52
* 9862
West leads the YQ against your spade game. How will you play the con-
tract?
Suppose you ‘do what comes naturally’, winning with the YA and draw-
ing two rounds of trumps. When trumps prove to be 4-1, you will go down!
You need to establish a club trick to bring your total to ten. Each time you con-
cede a trick in clubs, the defenders will force you with a heart. Whether or not
you draw East’s remaining trumps before playing on clubs, you will lose con-
trol of the deal and go down.
The best idea on this type of hand is to attack the side suit immediately,
leaving dummy’s trumps intact to help you to rebuff the forcing defense. So,
after winning the first trick with the YA, you lead a club from dummy. East
wins and forces you with a heart. You play another club, East winning, and
again ruff the heart return. What can West do when he wins the third round of
clubs? All he can do is shake his head! If he plays yet another heart, you will be
able to ruff with dummy’s #10 and draw the outstanding trumps.
a 1083
9 KQ4
© AK10532
* 2
a K7 409642
9 31083 Oe)
© 86 > QJ9
* QJ1075 * 8643
a AJ5
9 A9762
© 74
* AK9
West leads the #Q against your small slam in hearts. How will you play?
You need to set up the diamonds and they will almost certainly have to
break 3-2. What about the trumps? A 3-2 break would be nice, as always. (You
could then draw trumps in three rounds and duck a round of diamonds.) You
would like to succeed when a defender holds four trumps. Can it be done?
You should cash the ace of trumps and then play two top diamonds. Both
defenders follow, you are pleased to see, and you continue with another dia-
mond, ruffing with the 99 in your hand. What can West do? If he overrufts,
you can win his return and ‘draw trumps, ending in the dummy’. It will then
be a simple matter to run the established diamonds, discarding three black-suit
losers. Nor will West fare any better by refusing to overruff. You will then cross
to the king of trumps and play winning diamonds until West rufts. Again, you
will be able to win his return, draw the last trump with dummy’s king and score
any remaining diamonds. It was essential to retain two trump entries to the
dummy (to deal with the case where trumps are 4-1 and the defender refuses
to overruff the third diamond).
a 843
9 K3
© A852
* 7642
a AKQ102 a 395
OT 9 J942
© 0104 SJ97
* QJ108 * 953
a/6
9 AQ10865
© K63
* AK
West leads the 4K and switches to the #Q. How will you play ?
You have three certain losers in spades and diamonds, so all depends on
picking up the trump suit without loss. Before playing another trick, you must
pause to think how you could deal with East holding YJ-x-x-x. You will need
to take two black-suit ruffs in your hand to shorten your trumps to the same
length as East’s. You will then exit with a third round of diamonds, forcing the
defenders to give you the last two tricks with the 9Q-10. How can this be
done?
a a 832
99742
© AKQJ103
i
#Kled
a AQ4
2 AKQ6
o74
* 9653
You bid to 69 and West leads the #K. How will you play the contract?
2] a 9764
9 AK7
© 105
* AQ74
©4 led
a AK52
9 384
Of
* KJ962
West leads the © 4 against your spade game. How will you play the hand? _
West leads the > 3. East wins with the © K and continues with the >A, West
following with the ©8. East persists with another diamond. How will you
play?
4) a 984
OASZ
© AQI4
* 065
+J led
a AK63
2 KQ863
© K7
* 84
West leads the #J. He continues with another club, East winning with the
# K and then playing the #A. You ruff low and West follows suit. How will
you continue?
a K75 431096
gy 31083 9 5
© 6 © 9852
* KQJ107 * A842
a AQ4
9 AKQ6
© 74
& 9653
West leads the #K against your small slam in hearts. How will you play?
The first question to ask yourself is: can you survive a 4-1 trump break? If
you have to lose a trump trick, you will score three trump tricks in the South
hand, six diamond tricks and the 4A. That is a total of ten, so you will still
make the slam if you can ruff two clubs in the dummy.
Suppose you ruff the club lead, cross to the YA and ruff another club.
When you play dummy’s last trump to your king, East will show out. The slam
can no longer be made. West will use his trump winner to ruff the second round
of diamonds, preventing you from scoring more than one trick in the suit.
You can afford to lose a trump trick, but you must do so at a time when
you still have a trump in dummy to protect you from the defenders’ clubs. You
should therefore duck a trump at Trick 2. West has no constructive return to
make. If he plays back a trump, you will win, take another club ruff and return
to your hand with the 4A to draw trumps. You will then make the twelve tricks
that we visualized above.
As it happens, a diamond lead would have beaten the slam. You would not
have sufficient entries to the South hand to score two club ruffs, duck a trump
and draw the outstanding trumps. The lead of a trump honor would also have
defeated you.
a AK52
9 J84
o7
* KJ962
West, with his chunky trump holding, is not interested in ruffs and prefers
a diamond lead to a heart. East wins and continues with a second top diamond,
which you ruff. What now?
Let’s suppose first that you draw two rounds of trumps with the ace and
king. East will show out on the second round — no great surprise after his bid-
ding in the red suits — and you will be in trouble. The best you can do is run
the club suit, but West will delay his ruff until the fourth round of the suit. He
will then play his remaining trump. There will be no way to avoid a heart loser
and that will be down one.
The correct way to play the hand is to draw just one round of trumps, with
the ace, and then to turn to the club suit. It will do West no good to delay his
ruff until the fourth round. You can win his trump return with the king and
play a fifth round of clubs, discarding dummy’s heart loser. It makes no differ-
ence whether West chooses to ruff this with his master trump. You will lose just
two trumps and one diamond.
What if trumps had been 3-2 all along? Following this line would then cost
you an overtrick. That’s the same with many safety plays.
a2
9 038632
© Q7
* 9754
West leads the ©3 against your game in hearts. East wins with the © K and
continues with the ©A, West following with the ©8. East then plays another
diamond. How will you play?
You ruff with a low trump and West follows with the oJ. Suppose your
next move is to cash dummy’s two trump honors. East will show out on the sec-
ond round and you will be in trouble. You cannot afford to reach your hand
with a spade ruff to draw trumps, because this would exhaust your own trump
holding. You would therefore have to play ace, king and another club before
drawing trumps. East would win the third round of clubs and a further round
of diamonds would promote a trump trick for West.
How can you preserve trump control? Play a trump to the ace if you like,
but you must set up the clubs while the 0K is still in dummy. A fourth round
of diamonds from East would then do you no damage. You would ruff low in
the South hand. If West chose to overruff, you would overruff again with
dummy’s 9K. Whether or not West chose to overruff the fourth round of dia-
monds, you would be able to draw trumps and make the remaining tricks.
If East returns a spade instead, after taking his club trick, you can win and
draw trumps, making the contract easily.
a AK63
9 KQ863
© K7
* 84
West leads the #J against your game in hearts. He continues with anoth-
er club, East winning with the #K and then playing the #A. You ruff low and
West follows suit. How will you continue?
You should cash the king and queen of trumps. If the suit breaks 3-2, you
draw the last trump and score an easy overtrick. When East shows out on the
second round of trumps, you turn to the diamond suit, planning to throw
spade losers from your hand. Suppose West ruffs the third round of diamonds
and returns another club. You can ruff in the South hand and draw the last
trump with dummy’s ace. If instead West declines to ruff, you can draw one
more round of trumps and then play your remaining diamond and spade win-
ners. Either way you will score ten tricks and make your game.
EXTRACTING THE
SAFE EXIT CARDS
No place to go
Warren Brothers
In this chapter, we will look at various contracts that can be made with an even-
tual throw-in play. In particular, we will see how you can set up successful end
positions by extracting the defenders’ safe exit cards.
a Q853
9 64
© K86
* 9632
a 62 a]
9 AQ9853 N ol?
6:95 W E © Q)104
+ AK8 5 + J10754
a AKJ1094
9 K10
CATS?
* Q
a 53
9 64
© 8
* 9
aA — ——
9 AQ9853 G7
o— © QJ
* — * J10
a AK
9 K10
oy
-*—
If West began with 2-5-3-3 shape and has carelessly retained the ©Q, you
can make your contract now by playing a diamond. This is very unlikely,
though. With four-card support, East might have raised hearts and West would
surely have unblocked the © Q if he held it. So, confident in your card-reading,
you play a heart from dummy instead. Whichever card East chooses to play,
you cover it. West scores two heart tricks and then has to give you a ruff-and-
sluff. Away goes dummy’s diamond loser and you ruff your two diamond los-
ers in the dummy.
a AK7
9 A7T4
© Q1075
* A72
West leads the #Q and you win with the 4A. When you continue with
the ace and king of diamonds, a small problem arises. West holds © J-9-x-x and
you have only three tricks in the suit. How will you continue?
You must aim to throw West in with the third round of spades at a time
when he can cash a total of only four winners and will then have to lead into
your diamond tenace. Since you are missing seven cards in both hearts and
clubs, West’s most likely shape in those suits is 2-2. To make sure that West.
does not have a safe exit card in clubs, you should now duck a round of clubs.
You win the return, whatever it may be, and cash your remaining winners
in hearts and clubs. Since West did indeed start with two hearts and two clubs,
you have now stripped his safe exit cards. When you throw him in with the
third round of spades, he cashes two spade winners and then surveys the last
two cards in his hand, the © J-9. With a sympathetic look in your eye, you show
him your ©Q-10 and claim the last two tricks.
If West held three hearts and one club, you could make the contract by
ducking a heart instead. Playing this way, you would go down when West’s
shape is 5-2-4-2, however. The defenders would clear the spade suit and you
could no longer duck a club. If you cashed the ace and king of hearts, West
would throw a spade to keep his safe exit card in clubs. So, you really do need
to guess what shape the West hand is. There are 441 possible holdings for
West that contain two hearts and two clubs and only 245 where he has three
a AK3
9 AKQJY
© A52
ae 94
a J109 a Q764
| 9 6432
© 93 © J1076
* KJ108732 * 6
a 852
9 1085
© KQ84
* AQ5
a K3
9 9
o—_—
* 94
a 109 a Q76
Ve= =
o— o
* KJ10 * 6
a 8
9gQ—
© 8
* AQ5
You cash dummy’s last heart, discarding the © 8 from your hand. What can
West do? If he throws a club, you will run the #9 to his hand, setting up an
extra trick for yourself in the club suit. West is therefore forced to part with a
spade, which was his intended safe exit card. You cash the 4K, stripping West
of his non-clubs. You lead the #9 and your last worry vanishes when East’s sin-
gleton club is a lowly six-spot. You contribute the #5 from your hand and West
has to win and lead back into your #A-Q. Slam made!
Here is another deal where a defender is put to an awkward discard before
being thrown in. In one suit, he is forced to reduce to a singleton honor. A los-
ing finesse is then taken to it, leaving him endplayed.
a 864
9 KQ10974
oK54
* 9
a KJ10973 a 52
9 5 9 8
© 0986 6 $72
+ QJ * K1086532
a AQ
9 AJ632
© A103
* A74
West leads the #Q against your small slam in hearts. You win with the ace,
ruff aclub high, cross to the YJ and ruff your last club. An obvious start, yes,
but how will you continue?
If West began with © Q-J-x(-x), he can be endplayed on the third round of
diamonds. He will not prosper by unblocking the queen and the jack on the
first two rounds, because your © 10 will then become good. However, it is a
small chance to find him with both missing diamond honors and you would
like to make the contract when he has only one diamond honor. Do you see
how this can be done?
You must run the trump suit to put pressure on West. This will be the
position with one trump still to be played:
a 864
o—
oK54
reas
a KJ10 a52
Vi 9—
©0298 CAF?
oe * K
a AQ
9 6
© A103
Ay ae
West has shown out of hearts and clubs. At this stage, on the assumption
that he began with six spades for his weak jump overcall, you can place him
with three spades and three diamonds. If you simply play two top diamonds
and exit with a third round of the suit, West can avoid the endplay by unblock-
ing the ©Q at some stage. Instead, you must cash your last trump. West can-
not afford to throw a spade or you will play the ace and queen of spades, set-
ting up a third-round spade winner in the dummy. He therefore has to release
a diamond. Let's say that he throws the © 8. You lead a diamond to West’s 09
a AKJ3
9 AK8
© AK85
* 63
a 1062 a 74
9 QJ109654 92
o— © QJ943
* J104 * 09875
a Q985
O78
© 10762
* AK2
You win the YQ lead in dummy and draw trumps in three rounds, sur-
prised to see that West holds three trumps. You cash the ©A, hoping to see a
singleton honor appear from West. No, he shows out, throwing a heart. How
will you continue?
You have a complete count on the East hand. He began with 2-1-5-5
shape, so both defenders hold a club guard and a simple squeeze will not be
possible. What else can you try? If you can strip East of his clubs, you can lead
a diamond towards the ten in a three-card ending. How can this be done?
a 3
9 8
© K85
~—
SS ——
9 J1096 9—
SS © Q)9
* J * 09
a Q
gQ—
© 1076
* 2
East has already been forced to release one of his precious clubs. You ruff
a heart in your hand and this pries another club from the East hand. (If he
threw a diamond instead, of course, you would duck a round of that suit, set-
ting up a long diamond.) East now has only one club and you can remove that
by ruffing the #2 in dummy. You are down to the three-card ending that you
visualized when the diamond situation first came to light. When you lead a low
diamond from dummy, East has to rise with one honor and lead away from the
other. The slam is yours.
Here is another throw-in deal where counting will assist you:
aj
QAKQ3
oKQJ
*#KI73
4KQ109543 a 86
wae) 978642
o9 © 1086542
*Q984 * 6
4/2
9431097
©AT3
*#A1052
Holding 24 points, North judges that his hand is worth a slam try. With
two aces, you are happy to accept, and the @K is led. You win with dummy's
ace and play two rounds of trumps, finding West with a singleton. How will
you continue?
You draw East’s remaining trumps and now need to score four club tricks
to make the slam. With West holding eight cards in the majors to East’s six, the
odds favor East to hold the majority of the clubs and therefore the #Q. There
is no need to take an immediate view of the clubs, however, because three
rounds of diamonds will provide further information. When you cash the king
and queen of diamonds, West throws a spade on the second round. Ah, that
changes the situation!
West is now marked with 7-1-1-4 shape. You cash the #A in order to
extract East’s singleton in the suit and then finesse the #J, East showing out.
So far so good. These cards are left:
a)
9—
© J
& K7
a Q10 a 6
0 — C=
o— © 1085
* 09 * —
a]
9o—
© 6
* 105
You lead the ©J from dummy and West is trapped in the headlights. No
subterfuge is possible, because you have a certain count on the deal. When
West discards the #10, you throw him in with the 4Q so he has to lead into
your split club tenace. Small slam bid; small slam made.
a Q8
9 KQ643
© 3943
* 06
@AJ10952 a 63
a7, 1095
© 1065 © 872
* J102 * 9875
a K74
9 A82
© AKQ
& AK43
1] a 85
9 842
© Q7
* 987543
+ Q led
a AKQJ107
9 AJ10
© AK3
* A
How will you play the spade slam when West leads the #Q?
2) aKQ5
9 AK1076
© Q75
* K6
#Q led
a A764
97 Q395
OAG3
* A8
West leads the #Q. It looks like a simple elimination deal, but when you
play a round of trumps, East shows out. How can you recover the situation?
West leads the #2 against your spade game. How will you play? (Irumps
break 2-2.)
4) a 65
9 0865
© AK4
* AQ86
akled
a A107
9 AT4
© 875
* KJ72
West leads the 4K against 3NT. How will you play the contract?
@ AKQJ107
9 AJ10
© AK3
«A
a A764
9 Q)95
© AI3
* A8
West leads the #Q and you win with the #A. It looks like a simple elim-
ination hand (draw trumps, eliminate the black suits and duck a diamond to
endplay East). When you play a trump to the ace, however, East shows out.
How will you continue?
If spades break 3-3, you will have a discard for one of dummy’s diamond
losers. Otherwise, you must aim to strip East of his black cards and then end-
play him by ducking a diamond.
You draw all the trumps and play three rounds of spades. If East began
with four spades, you can strip his clubs and throw him in with a spade, dis-
carding a diamond from dummy (or ruff the spade and duck a diamond).
When instead East began with four clubs, his last five cards will be © K-J-10
#9-8. You must ruff your last spade in dummy and East has to release a club
(otherwise, you can duck a diamond and set up an extra diamond trick by
length). You can then strip East’s last club by cashing dummy’s king, and duck
a diamond to endplay him.
@ AKQJ105
9 AKI5
© A85
oe —
West leads the #2 against your spade game. How will you play?
Unlikely as it may seem, you must aim to set up an endplay on West. Ruff
with the 410 and draw trumps in two rounds. Cash the YA and play ace and
another diamond. If the defenders take two diamond winners and return a
club, you will ruff high again. These cards will be left:
a— a—
9 0106 9—
o— B o)
+ 010 * AJ83
a Q5
9 KI5
o—
oe —
When you cross to the #8, West has to throw a club. You ruff the #9,
removing West’s last club, and endplay him with a low heart.
a A107
9 AT4
© 875
* KJ72
West, who opened the bidding with 14, leads the 4K against 3NT. How
will you play the contract?
Your best chance is to find West with the OK. You plan to extract his
minor-suit cards and then to endplay him with a spade to lead away from the
YK. When he holds three diamonds, you can achieve this endplay only by win-
ning the very first round of spades! You continue with three rounds of clubs
and reach this position:
a 6
9 0865
© AK4
* 6
a QJ93 a 4
9 KY 9 J103
© Q103 © 3962
+ * 10
a 107
gy AT4
© 875
* K
You bought a card play book with a picture of a four-wheel drive vehicle on the
front cover. You will not, therefore, be expecting to find in this chapter some
straightforward examples of finessing or ducking into the safe hand. Yes, I
understand. Test yourself on this deal, then:
aA72
9 06
© 3865
* K954
a 106 a QJ5
9 398532 9 Al0
© 92 © AKQ1073
* 832 + 106
a K9843
9 K74
© 4
* AQJ7
a7
9 Q
© J8
* K9
a— a Q
9 39832 QA
o— © K1073
* 8 * —
a 98
9 14
Oo
J]
You play the #J and overtake with the #K. If East ruffs, dummy’s #7 will
be available for a heart ruff. If instead East discards, you have an entry for a dia-
mond ruff. You then overtake the #7 with the #9, leaving East in the same
predicament. If he again declines to ruff, you will ruff another diamond in the
South hand for your tenth trick.
a A83
9 84
© AQ10964
* 52
a QJ1097 a K4
aio 9 KJ1095
© K8 ean eae
* 1108 * K63
a 652
9 AQ2
O73
* AQ974
South’s 3NT may seem like an overbid, but he reasoned that his Y A-Q,
sitting over the YK, was worth 7 points rather than 6. West leads the &Q and
East overtakes with the 4K when you duck in the dummy. How will you play
the contract when East returns the 44?
After the cards that you have seen, spades are surely 5-2 and you should
win the second round of spades with the ace. You cross to your hand with a
finesse of the 9 Q and lead a diamond, planning to finesse the © 10. If West
follows somnolently with the ©8 on the first round, nothing will stop you from
scoring five diamond tricks. Let’s say that West is a competent performer and
rises with the ©K. It’s a great defense! You cannot afford to duck this trick,
because the danger hand (West) would be on lead and would cash three spade
tricks. So, you win with dummy’s © A. What now?
It is still possible that West began with ©K-J-x and you could play for
that chance. The bidding suggests that the #K will be onside, however, and a
a Q1054
9 J76
OT Sa
* A102
a9 a 8
9 K853 9 10942
© A10986 © Q)2
* QJ5 * K9873
a AKIJ7632
9 AQ
© K3
* 64
a AJ83
9 86
© AQ6
* 10972
a K106 4972
9 KQJ93 9 1074
% 952 © 843
* K6 *» 0)85
aQ54
Noe
© KJ107
* A43
a A9532
gy AK2
© A62
* Q7
West’s Unusual Notrump overcall shows at least 5-5 shape in the minors
and North's 46 is a splinter bid. Two cuebids later, you find yourself in a small
slam. How will you play this when West leads the 9 10, East following with the
94
You can ruff your two diamond losers and will have to set up dummy's
hearts in order to dispose of your club loser. Let’s suppose that you win the
opening lead with the YA and pause to make a plan. Too late! With trumps
breaking 3-1 and hearts 4-1, there is no way to make the contract. You can take
the two diamond ruffs, but however you time the play, East will return a club
when he takes his heart trick. With the #A removed, you will not be able to
enjoy a long heart.
Since the chosen line of play will inevitably involve losing a round of hearts
at some stage, you should arrange to do this when the defenders can inflict the
least damage. You must, in fact, duck the 910 at Trick 1! West cannot safely
dislodge the #A, because he would be leading away from the #K. He will
probably switch to the ©K. All is now easy. You win with the ace, ruff a dia-
mond and cash the king and queen of trumps, West discarding a club on the
second round. You then play the ace and king of hearts, re-enter dummy with
your second diamond ruff and establish a long heart with a ruff. After drawing
East's last trump, you cross to the #A and discard your club loser on the long
heart. Slam made!
Note that East cannot afford to overtake the 910 at Trick 1. If he does
that, you will win the trick and play the king and queen of trumps. You can
then lead the 9 8, forcing East to split his remaining YJ-9. It will then be a sim-
ple matter to set up two heart winners, on which you can discard one club and
one diamond.
a A103
9 AK3
© 64
& AJ854
A diamond lead would have hit the spot, but West began with the YJ. Take
the South cards now. How would you have played the contract?
You need to develop the club suit without allowing West, the danger hand,
to gain the lead. All will be well when West holds fewer than three clubs. What
can you do in the case where West holds three clubs?
A holding of #Q-10-9 will guarantee West an entry and leave you at the
mercy of a diamond switch. Suppose West holds #Q-10-7 or #Q-9-7, though.
The odds are good that he will follow nonchalantly with the #7 when you lead
a low club from the South hand. Since this is the lowest spot card out, you can
duck in the dummy! East, the safe hand, has to overtake with the #10 here and
cannot attack diamonds effectively from his side of the table. You can win any
return and score nine tricks.
If West had been fully awake, he would have played the #9 on the first
round (also the #10 from #Q-10-7). It would then be rather dangerous for
you to duck, because the West hand might gain the lead if he had started with
&Q-9 or &10-9 or even a singleton #9. Rest assured that the defenders who
would think of playing the middle card from these club combinations are few
and far between!
On the next deal, an opening bid by one of the defenders makes it clear that
you should aim for an endplay, rather than take either of the possible finesses.
However, you must take special steps to prevent the other defender from gain-
ing the lead as you prepare the end position.
a 74
9 K96
© 9764
* A653
a AQJ92 a 108
9 4 9 10873
© K108 65532
*% Q)97 + 1082
Game in hearts would have gone down after a club (or a trump) lead. You
went to bed early the previous night, however, and bid an inspired 3NT on the
third round. How will you play this contract when West leads the #Q?
You must aim to throw in West with the fourth round of clubs at a time
when he will have to return a spade or diamond, thereby giving you a ninth
trick. Only one play is good enough — you must duck the first round of clubs
to ensure that East (the danger hand, who can lead through your tenaces) does
not gain the lead on the second or third round of the suit. Let’s say that West
continues with another club, which you win with the king.
You cash the ace, queen and king of hearts, removing West’s holding in the
suit. You then play ace and another club, discarding two spades from the South
hand. West wins the trick and must surrender a trick by leading a spade or a
diamond.
a 104
9 10643
© 875
* 0862
a 8532 a 6
ON 9 8
© 102 © KQJ9643
* A94 * 31053
a AKQJ97
9 AKQ2
OA
* K7
You win the © 10 lead with the ace. What is your plan for the contract?
There will be no problem if the YJ falls in three rounds. When a defend-
er, presumably West, holds J-x-x-x, you must hope to endplay him with the
#A. Perhaps you should draw trumps and test the heart suit? Let’s hope not! It
would then be much too late to set up the endplay you require.
At Trick 2, you must lead the #7. This is an avoidance play, through the
#A that you expect and hope that West holds. If West rises with the #A, you
will have two club tricks. Since you have not yet played a single round of
trumps, you would be able to enjoy both the king and queen of clubs, even on
a trump return from West.
Let’s assume that West plays low on the first round of clubs. You win with
dummy’s #Q and draw trumps in four rounds. When you play the ace and
king of hearts, East shows out on the second round. That’s no problem now.
Your careful play early in the deal is about to pay off. You run all your trumps,
forcing West to abandon his heart guard or to reduce to YJ-9 #A. You can then
throw him in with a club to give you two heart tricks on the return.
a 852
9 A1086
iT 3
* A75
a 1094 43763
9 092 9—
© Q102 © 8654
* Q1063 ® KI984
a AKQ
OKIIS43
© AKI
* 2
Roman Keycard Blackwood tells you that the YQ is missing, so you stop
in the small slam. West leads the 410 and you win with the aA. What is your
plan for the contract?
If you can pick up the trump suit without loss, your worries will be over.
It is anyone's guess which defender is more likely to hold YQ-9-2. What play
should you make on the next trick? (If you come up with the right answer, I
will be forced to admit that you are a strong card player!)
a K6
9 A62
OKT 52
* AK2
a9 a AJ108
9 10984 9 KQJ
© 983 © 1064
* 39854 * 2103
a 075432
1a
© AQ
«76
How will you play the spade game when West leads the 9 10?
a a 85
9 AQ7652
© 554
* A8
aKled
a K643
9 K9
© AKQ7
#752
West leads the #K against your heart game. How will you proceed?
2 a 52
MAIS
© 108732
* AQ6
47led
a KJ8
9 K84
© AK4
* K853
West leads the #7 against 3NT and East plays the 410. How will you play?
a K643
OXY
© AKQ7
* 752
West leads the #K against your heart game. How will you proceed?
If the cards lie perfectly, you can make twelve tricks — six trumps, four
diamonds and two black-suit winners. Suppose, however, you begin by playing
the king and the ace of trumps. You will go down in game! East will gain the
lead with a trump, ruffing the third diamond, and the defenders will add three
tricks in the black suits.
You need to prevent East from gaining the lead and playing a spade
through your king. In time, you will then be able to discard one of dummy’s
spades on the fourth round of diamonds. The first step is to allow the opening
lead of the #K to hold the trick. Otherwise, there is a chance that West will be
able to cross to the #J or #10 in the East hand. You win the club continuation
and make a second avoidance play — a trump to your nine. This will prevent
East from gaining the lead in trumps, unless he has an impregnable 0 J-10-x-
x. West wins with the singleton 910, but cannot attack spades effectively from
his side of the table. Nor, thanks to your hold-up at Trick 1, can he cross to the
East hand with a club. On any return, you will be able to draw trumps in three
further rounds and then discard one of dummy’s spades on your diamond suit.
You will score five trumps, four diamonds and the #A.
a KJ8
9 K84
© AK4
* K853
West leads the 4&7 against 3NT and East plays the 410. How will you play
the contract?
You win with the #J and see that you have eight top tricks. A 3-3 club
break will give you an easy ninth trick, but, with the deal appearing in a bridge
book, you suspect that such a break is even less likely than normal. You must
look for a way to set up the diamond suit without allowing East, the danger
hand, to gain the lead. Can you see how to do this?
You must cross to the #Q and lead the © 10 from dummy. (You could lead
the ©8 with the same effect.) If East fails to cover, you will duck the first round
of diamonds into the safe West hand. West will not be able to continue spades
effectively from his side of the table and you will have nine tricks when you
regain the lead.
What happens if East covers the © 10 with the © Q? You will win with the
© A and return to dummy with a heart or a club. You can then lead the 68.
East cannot afford to cover with the ©9 or you will score all five diamond
tricks. He plays low and you run the card to West, losing to the J. As before,
the diamond suit is established and the safe hand is on lead. The game is yours.
At an early stage in your bridge education, you learn that taking a ruff in the
short-trump hand (usually the dummy) will give you an extra trick. Most of the
time, ruffing in the long-trump hand will not produce an extra trick. That's
because you will be making a trump that would have scored a trick anyway.
Why is it, then, that you often see expert declarers taking an early ruff in
their hand? One reason is that they wish to score a low trump that would not
necessarily have been a winner in its own right. That is the case here:
a AJ852
9 A985
© 632
* 6
a 1096 a KQ74
9 Q1063 9 KJ
© KJ © Q1097
* 3984 * 1053
a 3
9 742
© A854
* AKQ72
a4 Q73
9 A764
© QJ7
* 963
a J1085 a—
9 Q3108 ad. pei
© 1063 © 9852
* Q2 & 310854
a AK9642
OS
© AK4
* AK7
If this were a book on bidding, the auction here might cause you to ask for
your money back. No refund, sorry. This is a book on play. How will you tack-
le the small slam when West leads the 9Q, won with dummy’s ace?
You have twelve top tricks, unless trumps break 4-0. So, you should
address this possibility immediately. How can you make the slam when one of
the defenders holds four trumps?
The first point to make is that you can pick up @J-10-8-5 with East direct-
ly, provided you cash the queen on the first round of trumps. If West shows
out, you will lead a trump towards your hand, intending to finesse the #9. East
will no doubt split his trump honors, but you can return to dummy with a dia-
mond to pick up the outstanding trumps.
What can you do if it is West who holds four trumps, as in the diagram?
You will have to score six trump tricks in the South hand (by ruffing three
hearts) and add six side-suit winners to bring the total to twelve. You must take
the first of the necessary heart ruffs in your hand now, at Trick 2, even though
you have no reason to suspect that West will hold four trumps.
You ruff a heart in your hand and cross to the queen of trumps. East shows
out on this trick and you take advantage of the dummy entry to ruff another
heart. A diamond to the queen allows you to ruff dummy’s last heart. West fol-
lows suit when you cash the two minor-suit ace-kings and the @K brings in
your twelfth trick. At Trick 13, you lead the #7 and West has to ruff his part-
ner’s club winner, condensing two defensive tricks into one. Enjoy the moment!
When the adverse trump holding lies in front of your own long trumps,
you can often work miracles. That’s because the defender has less potential for
ruffing with his intermediate trumps. If he does, you will simply discard a
loser.
a A8432
9 102
© AK93
«72
You win the #K lead in the dummy and play the @K, discovering how
unfair the world can be when West shows out. How will you attempt to recov-
er the situation?
With a certain trump loser looming, you must somehow dispose of your
club loser. You will need to establish dummy’s heart suit. You cash the ace and
king of hearts and the jack falls on your right. What can East do when you con-
tinue with another heart from dummy?
If East ruffs from his 4J-10-9, you can discard your club loser and easily
score the balance. If instead East throws a diamond, you can establish the dia-
mond suit with one ruff, return to hand with a heart ruff and play the good
diamond, throwing dummy’s club. So, let’s assume that East discards a club on
the third round of hearts. You ruff cheaply, cash the two top diamonds and ruff
a diamond in dummy. When you lead a fourth round of hearts from the table,
East is again without resource. Let’s say he throws his last club. You score yet
another low trump in your hand, ruff another diamond in dummy and score
the queen and ace of trumps, conceding the last trick.
What tricks did you make on that line of play? Five winners in the side
suits, two diamond ruffs in dummy, two heart ruffs with low trumps in your
hand, plus the ace, king and queen of trumps.
a 85
9 AK64
© A1063
* AK4
a— 4 QJ97
y 1097 N 9 0853
© KQJ9842 |W f O75
® 163 5 #095
a AK106432
732
Oo
+ 10872
a 8
Y9—
© 10
* 4
a — a QJ9
9— 9—
© Q)9 Ea o—
te —— te —
a K10
Y—
Qo
* 10
You lead dummy’s ©10 and East cannot prevent you from scoring your
410. If he ruffs with the &Q or the @J, you will discard the #10 and finesse
on his obligatory trump return.
The play may have looked smooth as it was being described. There was, in
fact, a pitfall to be avoided. If you took a third diamond ruff too early, East
would have had the chance to discard the second of his three clubs. If you had
not used both of the club entries by this stage, you would have had to wave
goodbye to one of your club winners. By ruffing the two hearts before the final
diamond, you prevented East from making a damaging discard.
Let’s see one more example of this style of play:
a A964
© AK10
* 8653
4 QJ1075 a K83
9— 9 K9873
© 3987 ew!
* Q1094 * J7
a2
gy AQJ1065
© 064
* AK2
“Even at our club they don’t bid as badly as that!” you must be thinking.
I believe you. But, of course, this is a book on card play and no complaints
about the bidding are allowed. West leads the 4Q and you win with dummy's
ace. A trump to the queen brings good news and bad news. The finesse wins,
but West throws a spade. How will you continue?
Your general plan is to finesse the YJ, score the 16 and the 95 by ruffing
spades and then to exit, making the last two tricks with your 9 A-10. Since this
requires three further entries to dummy, you must steel yourself to finesse
dummy’s ©10. Fortune favors the brave and the diamond finesse wins. You
continue with a trump to East’s 97 and your YJ. You cash your top two clubs
and re-enter dummy twice in diamonds to ruff two spades with low trumps.
These cards remain:
a4
9o—
Oo
* 86
al ia
9— 9 K98
o— o—
* Q10 * —
a—
9 Al0
Oo
* 2
There is no need to lead a plain card from dummy towards your trump
tenace. You simply exit with the #2. East has to ruff and lead a trump. The
slam is yours.
a a 973
9 876
© AQ5
* 8762
2Q led
a AKQ62
9 AK4
S K/3
* AK
You arrive in 64, played by South, and West leads the YQ. You win in your
hand and play two top trumps, not overjoyed to see West discarding a dia-
mond on the second round. How will you continue?
@ a AK75
9 K852
© AK2
* K 10
oJ led
aJ6
9 AQ6
© 4
* AQ87542
Bidding with your usual flair, you reach the fine contract of 74. You win the
YJ lead in your hand and play a low trump towards dummy, preparing to
claim the contract. Not so fast! West discards a diamond on the first round
of trumps. So, East began with #J-9-6-3. What is your plan to make the
grand slam, preventing East from scoring a trump trick?
a AKQ62
9 AK4
CART
* AK
West leads the YQ against your slam and you win in the South hand.
Everything will be easy if trumps break 3-2, but when you cash the ace and
king of trumps, West shows out on the second round. What now?
It may seem that you have two unavoidable losers — a trump and a heart.
Look at it another way, though. You have seven winners in the side suits. If you
can score all five trumps in your hand, that will add up to twelve.
You might as well play another top trump before continuing with your
other heart winner and the two top clubs. Next you play the king and the ace
of diamonds. The time has come to score one of your two low trumps. You
lead a club from dummy and ruff with the 42. You return to dummy with the
© Q, East following suit, and are now guaranteed to make the contract. The last
two cards in your hand are the 46 and the 94 (the two losers that you might
have thought were unavoidable). You lead another club from dummy and East
cannot defend the position. If he ruffs with his master trump, you will discard
your heart loser and then score the promoted a6. If East discards, of course,
you will ruff with the a6.
a J6
9 AQ6
© 4
* AQ87542
North’s 4NT was Roman Keycard Blackwood and the 5 response showed
two aces and the queen of trumps. West leads the YJ, won with the YQ, and
West discards a diamond when you lead a trump towards dummy. How will
you attempt to overcome the 4-0 trump break?
You win with dummy’s #K and lead the #10, covered by the jack and the
ace. In order to pick up East’s remaining #9-6, you must now shorten your
trumps three times and then return to dummy to lead a plain card through
East’s trump holding at Trick 12. East will need to hold at least two spades (so
that dummy’s ace and king can provide you with two entries). He does not
need to hold three hearts, however.
You play a diamond to the ace and continue with the © K, throwing your
YA. You then ruff dummy’s last diamond, cross to the YK and ruff a heart,
East showing out. A spade to the ace is followed by a second heart ruff and you
then return to dummy at Trick 11 with the 4K. The hard work has been done.
Your last two cards are the #Q-8, poised over East’s #9-6. You lead a spade
from dummy and make the grand slam, overruffing the trump that East choos-
es to play.
Look back at the tricks that you made: seven trump tricks and two win-
ners in each of the side suits.
One of the hardest things to do, for some reason, is to switch plans in the mid-
dle of a deal. This can become necessary when the fall of the cards tells you that
your original plan will fail. Sometimes it’s just that the play so far suggests that
a different line will have a greater chance of success. There is no particular pat-
tern to the deals in this chapter, except that at some point you should abandon
one plan and switch to another. See how you fare!
a AK5
9 063
O95?
* AK104
a 84 4932
9 107 9 AKI842
© AJ1074 © 83
* 3985 * 62
a QJ1076
9 95
© KQ6
* Q73
West leads the 910 against your spade game. East overtakes with the YJ
and continues with the ace and king of hearts. How will you play the contract?
First, let's see what happened when the deal occurred at the table. Declarer
ruffed the third round of hearts high and drew trumps in three rounds, ending
a 0106
9712
4475
& 46637
at)43 a4
GAGGS | #8 751084
| w Ei 4 $10943
& £0510 ; 154
a 43057
7 403
44067
«79
le wos ws oo
we. Int wre, da
we, te ohprs,
Leaving
te Hipfrway 123
West leads the #K and you win with dummy’s #A. The best initial plan is
to score a heart ruff in dummy and then to draw trumps. When you play a
heart to the king, West wins with the ace and forces you in clubs. How would
you continue from this point?
Suppose you cash the 9 Q and ruffa heart in dummy. If your next move
is to run the trump queen, you will go down. West will win with the king and
force you again in clubs. You will have one trump fewer than he does and will
lose a trump and a club trick for down one. There is no hurry to take a heart
ruff. At Trick 4, you do better to lead a low trump from your hand instead of
continuing hearts.
Let’s assume that West jumps in with the 4K and forces you again in clubs.
You now have two trumps in each hand, while (unknown to you) West has
three trumps. To discover the trump break, you lead the jack of trumps to
dummy’s queen. (If trumps were 3-2, you would take your intended heart ruff
and return to a diamond honor to draw the last trump.) When the 4-1 trump
break comes to light, you switch tracks. Now you ruff a fourth round of clubs
yourself, with the ace, and cross to a diamond honor to draw West’s penulti-
mate trump. You continue with dummy’s good club, throwing your potential
diamond loser, after which you simply play red-suit winners, letting West score
his trump whenever he pleases.
Next, we will look at some deals where you can acquire a count of all four
hands. This will lead you to the conclusion that you should leave the road and
strike out cross-country. Try this one:
a KQ2
9 37643
© 74
* KJ5
a 3 4J105
G2 N 9 Q10985
© KQJ10985 |W E ome
% 9862 S * 01073
a A98764
y AK
© A6b2
* A4
You save time by leaping directly to 6@ and West leads the ©K, East fol-
lowing. What’s your plan?
There are eleven top tricks, assuming that the trumps are not 4-0, and one
possible line of play is to set up a long heart. You could cash the trump ace, fol-
lowed by two top hearts. If both defenders followed, you would cross to the
trump king, ruff a heart, cross to the queen of trumps and ruff another heart.
The #K would then serve as an entry to the long heart.
An alternative line is to draw two rounds of trumps straight away. If
trumps break 2-2, a diamond ruff in dummy will give you a twelfth trick. If
trumps break 3-1, you will still have the entries to set up and enjoy the hearts
if that suit breaks 3-3. There will also be the club finesse as a final chance.
Suppose you embark on this second line. You win the diamond lead and
play the king and ace of trumps, West discarding on the second round. When
you cash the ace-king of hearts, West again shows out on the second round.
Your plans to establish the suit have to be abandoned. Has the time come to
take the club finesse? A better idea is to claim the contract! You know that East's
shape is 3-5-1-4. So, you can endplay him with a heart. You cash the #A and
cross to dummy with a third round of trumps. These cards remain:
a—
cml Wa:
o7
* KJ
a— a —
9— 9 0109
© QJ10 o—
* 986 * Q107
a AKJ5
9 A106
© Q104
* J109
a 163 a 8
ae 9 039874
© 863 © AJ952
* 875432 * 6
a Q10942
9 K52
© K7
+ AKQ
West leads the 93 against your spade slam and you win in your hand with
the YK. You then draw trumps, noting that East began with one card in the
suit. At this point, only one line of play suggests itself— a finesse of the © 10
to set up a discard for your heart loser. (As a small point of technique,
you should lead the first round of diamonds from dummy, so that you do not
a—
9 Al0
© Q104
- —
a — a—
9— oO
© 863 © AJ9
* 87 -—
a 10
9 52
© K7
~ —
You lead the 410 and throw the 910 from dummy. East has no good dis-
card. If he throws a heart, you will cross to the YA and lead towards the >K,
setting up an entry to the established 5. If instead he throws the 9, you will
lead the ©K to his © A and subsequently drop the ©J. After this display of wiz-
ardry, it would be unfair indeed to find yourself going down because the oJ
was onside all along!
On the next deal, West has advertised length in one suit and is likely to be
short in another suit. When this proves not to be the case, you can switch tracks.
a AKQ8
9 43
© 65
# AK1074
North’s 5© bid is part of Roman Keycard Blackwood and asks about the
queen of trumps. South’s 6# response says: “Yes, I have the trump queen and
also the #K.’ How will you play the grand slam when West leads the 9 Q?
You must establish the clubs. Since West has six hearts to his partner’s one,
you half-expect him to hold a doubleton club. If that’s the case, it will be easy
to ruff two clubs in dummy. You will win the heart lead and cash the #A-K,
both defenders following. When you lead a third round, West produces the
*Q. What now?
If clubs are breaking 3-3, you can afford to ruff high, so you decide to ruff
with the @J. East surprises you by showing out, discarding a diamond. You
return to your hand with the @A and lead a fourth round of clubs. You have
to ruff this with the #10 to avoid an overruff. The lead is in dummy and these
cards remain:
With West long in clubs as well as hearts, you must decide whether to
finesse the 48 or not. How would you go about making your choice?
You must count the possible layouts where a finesse will gain and those
where it will lose. It will gain when West has any remaining doubleton in dia-
monds. That is 15 possible cases. A finesse of the 48 will fail when West has
the singleton #9 remaining and any singleton diamond (6 cases) or any
remaining doubleton #9 (2 cases). So, the odds are almost 2-to-1 in favor of
finessing the a8.
Moving swiftly on, what do you make of this deal?
a 15
O1547
© AKQJ
+ 163
a AQ964 a J1082
9— 9 10983
© 10985 © 7162
* Q1082 * 54
a K3
9 AKQJ6
© 43
*® AKI9
West leads the 10 against your small slam and you win in the dummy,
East playing the © 2. The contract is an excellent one. Unless trumps break 4-0,
you will be able to discard both your spades on the surplus diamond winners
and ruff your potential fourth-round club loser in the dummy. When you play
a trump to the ace, however, West discards a spade. What now?
Prospects are still fairly good. You could draw trumps, cash the ace-king of
clubs and then run three more diamond winners, throwing both your spades.
Finally, you could lead a third round of clubs towards your #J-9, losing only
when West began with #Q-10-x-x. However, the East-West bidding should
give you some concern about this line. East’s somewhat unwise raise in spades
tells you that spades are breaking 5-4. West has shown a void in hearts and
there is a fair chance that his shape will be 5-0-4-4. This lie of the cards is made
even more likely by East’s count signal of the ©2 at Trick 1. You don’t like to
rely on the defenders’ signals, I dare say, but it is foolish to ignore them com-
pletely.
You draw the remaining trumps and West discards two more spades and a
diamond. If West does indeed hold four clubs, there is no benefit in cashing
the #A-K. The contract will be an easy make, anyway, if East’s doubleton con-
tains the queen or the ten. You will continue with two more diamond winners,
discarding the #3. Both defenders follow all the way in diamonds, confirming
your provisional count of the West hand as 5-0-4-4. You are about to play the
last diamond winner, throwing the 4K, when it occurs to you that the end
position is something like this:
oJ
* 163
a AQ a J1082
a os
= oC —
* Q1082 * 54
a K
9 6
Oo
& AKI9
West has two spade winners and four clubs. It is time to switch tracks. You
cash dummy’s last diamond winner and discard the #9. If West discards the aQ,
you will endplay him with a spade to lead into your club tenace, so he has to
throw a club. You cross to your hand with the #A and cash the last trump. West
has no good discard. To retain his club guard, he has to discard the 4Q. You then
throw him in with the @A, forcing him to lead back into your club tenace.
On the next deal, the seemingly obvious line of play is made less likely to
succeed by an effective start to the defense.
a QJ6
g7
© QJ109
*% AJ974
a A3 a/154
9 AJ1098 9 K632
132 © 85
* K63 * Q1082
a K10982
9054
© AK64
* 5
You can expect to make four trump tricks, four diamonds and the #A.
A single heart ruff in the dummy will then bring the total to ten tricks. When
the deal originally occurred, however, West found the defense of ace and anoth-
er trump. How would you play the contract then?
The original declarer won the second round of trumps in dummy and led
the 97, hoping that he might still be able to score a heart ruff. Not against the
present defenders! East rose smartly with the 9K and played a third round of
trumps. No heart ruff was available, nor was there any catch-up route to ten
tricks. The game went down one.
It was hardly likely that the defenders would permit a heart ruff after their
bright start. Declarer should have switched tracks, aiming to set up dummy’s
club suit instead. After winning the second round of trumps, he should play a
club to the ace and ruff a club. A diamond to the queen permits a second club
ruff. Declarer then crosses to the jack of diamonds and ruffs yet another club,
setting up a long card in the suit. These cards remain:
a Q
OF
© 109
* J
a — al
9 A1098 7 K632
ona | oo
* — * —
a—
9 Q54
© AK
tk —
a/16
9 AS
© 10643
* K10853
43952 4 Q104
7 10982 9 QJ76
© K > 0985
* 3962 «74
a AK83
9 K43
© AJ72
* AQ
West leads the 9 10 against 3NT. How will you play the contract?
The original declarer won with the 9K and studied the club suit. Suppose
he cashed the ace and queen of clubs and crossed to the YA to play the #K.
He would make the contract with an overtrick when clubs broke 3-3 or when
the #J fell on the first two rounds. However, better odds could be achieved by
overtaking the #Q on the second round. He would still make the four club
tricks needed for the contract when clubs were 3-3 or the #J fell. He would
also succeed when the #9 fell in two rounds and dummy’s # 10-8 were suffi-
cient to drive out the #]J.
a Q93
9 Q3102
© 8632
* 42
#] led
@ AKJ10854
oQ—
© AKJ5
* AK
How will you play 64 when West leads the #J? (Trumps will break 2-1.)
A372
9 9876
© Q374
* 752
a6 led
a AK8
2 AKQ1043
© A
* AQ4
pass 29
pass 69
You win the spade lead and draw trumps, finding that West was void in the
suit. How will you try to avoid two club losers? (If you take a spade ruff, you
will find that West began with two spades.)
@ AKJ10854
Y —
© AKJ5
* AK
West leads the #J. How will you play the small slam in spades?
If trumps break 2-1, an elimination play beckons. You win the club lead
and cash the #A, both defenders following. After cashing your second club
winner, you cross to dummy with the 4Q. Your idea now is to run the YQ to
West, discarding a diamond from your hand. If West wins the first round of
hearts, he will have only losing options available to him. A heart return will
guarantee a trick for dummy’s YJ-10, on which you can throw your remaining
potential diamond loser. West’s only other alternatives will be to lead into the
diamond tenace or give you a ruff-and-sluff.
When the cards lie as in the diagram, East will cover the YQ with one of
his honors. What then?
It is time to switch tracks. You should ruff East’s heart honor and contin-
ue with the >A, followed by the ©5. If diamonds break 3-2, your worries are
over. If East turns up with four diamonds, you can use dummy’s last trump
entry to finesse the ©J. When the cards lie as in the diagram, West will have to
win the second round of diamonds and he will be endplayed. As in the scenario
we visualized before, a red-suit return will give you an extra trick and a club
return will give you a ruff-and-sluff.
a AK8
9 AKQ1043
OA
* AQ4
West leads the 46 against your small slam. You win with the ace and draw
trumps in three rounds, finding that West was void in the suit. You can ruff
your losing spade. How will you try to avoid two club losers?
Suppose you ruff the third round of spades with the intention of finessing
the #Q. West will show out on the third spade. What implications does that
have? It means that West started with eleven cards in the minors to East’s four.
West is therefore an ‘11-to-4 on’ favorite to hold the #K. The club finesse,
which started out as a 50% chance, is now only a 27% chance. Justice is done
when your club finesse loses. Down one!
How can you do better? You should cash the diamond ace before crossing
to dummy with a spade ruff. When West happens to show out on the third
spade, you switch tracks. You lead the © Q from dummy, intending to throw a
club loser. East cannot beat dummy’s queen (as you rather expected, when he
holds only four minor-suit cards to his partner's eleven). West wins with the
©K and is endplayed. Whether he plays a diamond to dummy’s jack or a club
into your ace-queen, the slam is yours.
There are many situations where a defender can thwart one line of play by
holding up a high card. Sometimes you can wipe the smile off his face by mak-
ing good use of the extra entry that the hold-up has given you.
a 1096
y 874
© KJ986
* 43
aKJ72 a4 Q85
o35 9 K1063
© A7T3 © 54
* 10762 * 3985
a A43
9 AQJ2
© 0102
+ AKQ
How will you play 3NT when West leads the #2 to East’s &Q?
a 64
Ol 52
© 186
* 010943
a 10832 ad
9 QJ6 9 AK10983
© 01073 © K54
« J] * K82
a15
QA
© 9472
a 104 a 8632
9 KQJ82 9 10965
© 01053 © KJ8
* A7 * 86
a AKQJ9
9 143
© A7T6
* K9
a 653
9 054
© 942
& KJ109
a 102 a4
9 3962 9 K1087
© 031076 © K853
* 84 & A732
a AKQJ987
9 A3
OA
* 065
a 6
9 054
Oo
e KI
a — a—
9 5962 9 K107
© J10 © K
OF ea * A7
a QJ9
9 A3
Oo
* Q
When you lead the #Q, East has to win and then has no good return. The
curtain falls on the deal as East explains to his partner exactly why an opening
lead from 9 J-9-6-2 was the obvious move on his hand!
@ AKQJ103
9 7154
© KQ
* 82
With only two spades in his hand, North might well have responded 1NT
instead of 24. Still, a red-suit lead would have dispatched the alternative con-
tract of 3NT. Defending 44, West leads the ©J to East’s © A. Seeing the threat
that dummy’s club suit offers, East switches smartly to the YJ. His aim is to kill
the heart entry to dummy. How will you continue the play?
You win with dummy’s YQ and draw trumps in three rounds. Suppose
you play a club next. East will note the #9 from his partner and hold up for
one round. When he subsequently captures the second round of clubs, he will
have a safe exit in diamonds and you will go down.
Before playing on clubs, you should cash the ©K. You play a club to the
king and East has to duck. The difference now is that you can take advantage
of the entry to dummy. You can ruff a third round of diamonds, which will
remove East’s last card in the suit. When East wins the second round of clubs,
he will have no diamond to play. He will have to return a heart or a club and
the contract is yours.
a Q10
9 AK32
© G18 73
* A
OS ed a A63
9 Q76 9 10985
© 62 © AK
* J10963 * 8542
aKJ984
9 54
© 854
* KQ7
West leads the #J against 3NT. How will you play the contract?
Should you play spades or diamonds? Let’s see what happens if you call for
the @Q at Trick 2. East will hold up the #A and if you persevere with spades
East will win and switch to hearts (he can tell from the #J lead that South holds
the #K-Q). You can set up the diamonds, but you will never reach your hand
to score more than one club trick. You will make four diamond tricks, two
heart tricks and one trick in each black suit. Down one.
a 865
9 94
© KJ108
® 9754
a 10942 aJ3
9 103 9 QJ7
© 974 © A653
* KQJ6 + A1082
a AKQ7
9 AK8652
© 02
* 3
West leads the #K against your heart game and continues with a second
round of clubs, which you ruff. How will you play the contract?
oP a 653
O54
© KI976
* 862
22 led
a AK7
9 AK8
© Q103
* AJ105
West leads the 02 against 3NT, East playing the J. How will you plan the
contract?
2) a 82
9 8643
© 643
* KQJ9
OKled
a AKQ653
O72
© AK2
* 1032
West leads the YK against your spade game and continues with the 9Q.
You ruff and play the ace-king of trumps, West discarding a heart on the sec-
ond round. How will you continue?
You win the spade lead and play a club to the king, West playing the #5 and
East the #4. How will you continue?
4) a Q95
2 653
O G32
& KJ108
©10 led
a A7
9 AKQ104
© AKQ
* Q92
You win the © 10 lead and cash the ace and king of trumps, West throwing
a spade on the second round. How will you continue?
a AK7
9 AK8
© Q103
* AJ105
West leads the 92 against 3NT. How will you plan the play?
Noting that the lead of the 92 suggests that hearts are breaking 4-4, you
win the first trick with the YA. You then lead the ©Q to dummy’s © K. East
has to hold off, or you will score four diamond tricks. It is now safe to play a
club to the jack. West wins with the club queen and persists with another heart.
You win with the king of hearts and lead the 10 to the J. Once again, East
has to hold up the A.
The diamond suit is dead, but at least it provided you with two entries to
dummy. You finesse the #10, winning the trick. When the club suit breaks
3-3, you have three club tricks to go with two from each of the other suits.
Game made!
a AKQ653
C2
© AK2
* 1032
West leads the YK against your spade game and continues with the YQ.
You ruff and play the ace and king of trumps, West discarding a heart on the
second round. How will you continue?
You must aim to score all three of the low trumps in your hand. You lead
a club to the king, which East has to duck (otherwise, you will score three club
tricks, disposing of your diamond loser). Taking advantage of the entry to
dummy, you ruff another heart in your hand. When you play a club to the
queen, East has to duck again. You lead yet another heart, East discarding, and
ruff in your hand. You can then cash the ace and king of diamonds, bringing
your total to ten tricks. You made six trump tricks and four winners in the
minor suits.
No doubt you noticed that West's heart continuation at Trick 2 was very
helpful to you. Had he switched to any of the other three suits, you would not
have been able to score all three of the low trumps in your hand.
a AK
9 AQJ3
© AK73
* 392
You win the spade lead and play a club to the king, West playing the #5
and East the #4. How will you continue?
You have to choose between two lines of play. If clubs are 2-2, you can sim-
ply continue clubs. The #A will appear on the second round and you will score
five club tricks, ending with an overtrick. The alternative is to finesse the VQ
at this stage. If it wins, you can lead another club and repeat the heart finesse
if the second club is also ducked. So, how do you compare the prospects for
these two lines.
The heart finesse is a 50% prospect. What about a 2-2 club break? Initially,
it was a 40% chance, but we can now rule out a 4-0 break (10%) and one quar-
ter of the 3-1 breaks (where the #A is singleton, 12.5%). So, on the face of it
a 2-2 club break is now a 52% chance. Does that make a second round of clubs
the better line of play?
The calculation in the previous paragraph contains a serious flaw. Did you
spot it? With dummy containing no side entry, the defender without the #A
would surely give his partner a true count signal. The spot cards that appeared
were the #4 and the #5. Neither defender has made a high-low signal from
two low clubs, so it is virtually certain that clubs are 3-1! You should therefore
take a heart finesse at Trick 3.
Although hardly any defenders would realize it, East does better to false-
card the #6 on the first round of the suit. This robs you of the inference that
clubs could not be 2-2.
a Al
9 AKQ104
© AKQ
* 092
You win the © 10 lead and cash the ace and king of trumps, West throw-
ing a spade on the second round. How will you continue?
Your first task is to pick up the trump suit, so you lead a club to the ten.
East has to hold up the #A or else you will use your next club entry to dummy
to finesse in trumps and later discard your spade loser on the fourth round of
clubs. Taking advantage of the entry to dummy, you finesse the 910 and draw
East’s last trump.
You continue with the #Q, which East again has to duck. Three rounds of
diamonds extract East’s cards in the suit. You cash the last trump, East throw-
ing a spade, and then throw him in lead with a third round of clubs. He is
forced to exit with a spade and you run this successfully to the queen.
(Suppose East had started with 2-4-4-3 shape. By cashing the last trump
before exiting in clubs, you would squeeze him out of his safe diamond exit
card.)
The benefits of drawing trumps are well known. Sometimes, though, fate con-
spires against you and — for one reason or another — you cannot draw
trumps. In this chapter, we will see how a powerful side suit can rescue you
from this predicament. You use this side suit as ‘substitute trumps’.
First, we will look at the situation where there is one trump still out, but
you cannot draw it because you have no entry to the hand containing your
master trump. You survive by playing substitute trumps (a long side suit) until
the defender ruffs.
a AKJ6
9 AKQ962
od
* AK
a] a 10983
9 J4 9 1073
© KQ4 © AJ106
* 0375432 + 106
a Q542
9 85
© 98752
» 98
North’s 4NT was Roman Keycard Blackwood and the response showed no
keycards. The 5 continuation asked if South held the queen of trumps, the
SNT response saying: “Yes, but no side-suit king’. West leads the king of dia-
monds, followed by another diamond. You ruff the second diamond with the
6 and continue with the ace and king of trumps, discovering the 4-1 trump
break. What now?
The trump suit is blocked. If your next move is to cash the J, you will
have no entry to the South hand to draw East’s last trump. Leaving the &J in
dummy as a potential entry, you turn to the heart suit, your substitute trumps.
If East ruffs at any stage, you will overruff with the 4Q and return to dummy’s
4J, drawing East’s last trump, to enjoy the remaining hearts. If East declines to
ruff, you will discard the two clubs in your hand, eventually continuing with
the #A-K. East cannot score his 410 or #9, because you will overruff the
moment he plays either of those cards.
a 31094
O78.
© 094
* AK85
West plays king and another heart, won by East. How will you play when
East continues with a third round of hearts, giving you a ruff-and-sluff??
East had an easy switch to a club. Why do you think he gave you a ruff-
and-sluff instead? The most likely reason is that he holds four trumps to the
ace. His plan is to force you to ruff in one hand or the other. He will then take
his 4A on the third round of the suit and force the last trump from the other
hand. How can you withstand such a defense?
The answer is that you can use dummy’s diamond suit as substitute
trumps. However, you must take some care at Trick 3. Since East may hold
only two diamonds, you should discard a diamond from the South hand and
ruff in the dummy. You continue with the king and queen of trumps, not at
all surprised when both cards are allowed to win and West shows out on the
second round. These cards remain:
a 310
9Q—
© Q9
* AK85
As discussed above, if you play another trump now, Easy will win and force
your last trump with a heart. Instead, you should plan to run the diamond suit.
There is one pitfall to avoid, though. If you simply play five rounds of dia-
monds, East will pitch his three clubs and subsequently ruff a club. So, you
must cash a club winner (from either hand) before playing diamonds. East can-
not counter this play. If he ruffs with the 47 at any stage, you will overruff and
continue to play minor-suit winners.
On the next deal, the situation is more complicated. You must cope with
a defensive holding of four trumps to the king-queen. With careful timing and
some assistance from your substitute trumps, you can withstand the force.
a 10953
9 98
© KQJ)4
* QJ3
a KQ86 a 4
9 AKI65 S..0:107:3.2
© 109 & 163
* 75 * 10984
West launches the defense with the king and ace of hearts. You ruff the sec-
ond heart, cross to the #Q and play a trump to the jack. West wins with the
queen and has a choice of defenses. Suppose first that he exits passively with a
diamond. You win with the ace and must take care with your next play. If you
cash the ace of trumps, you will go down. When West wins the next round of
trumps, he will be able to force dummy’s last trump with another heart.
Instead, you must lead the trump seven, retaining the ace in your hand. West
has no counter to this. If he wins and plays a fourth round of hearts, you can
ruff with the singleton ace and cross to dummy to draw West’s remaining
trumps with the 10-9. If instead West ducks, you will win in the dummy, draw
a third round of trumps with the ace and run your minor-suit winners.
West’s alternative line of defense is to lead a third heart when he wins with
the trump queen at Trick 3. You discard a club from dummy, ruff in your hand
and cash the ace of trumps, revealing the 4-1 trump break. West now has the
K-8 of trumps, dummy has the 10-9 and your own trumps are exhausted.
There is no point trying to draw West’s trumps, because when he wins with the
king, he will be able to force dummy’s last trump with a heart. Instead, you
must cross to the #J and continue with the king and ace of diamonds. (You
need West to be 2-2 in the minors.) You now play the ace and king of clubs,
your substitute trumps. West’s trumps are neutralized. If he ruffs either club
with a low trump, dummy will overruff.
a 86
9 Q0J7652
© A8B5
* 65
An auction of dazzling splendor carries you to 69. When West leads the
4J, East wins with the 4A and returns a spade. What is your plan?
You need to set up dummy’s clubs, subsequently reaching the established
winners with a trump entry. If clubs break 3-2 and the trumps no worse than
3-1, you can ruff the third round of clubs high and return to dummy with a
third round of trumps.
At Trick 3, you play a trump to the queen. Bad news arrives when West
shows out, discarding a spade. What now? You play dummy’s two top clubs,
everyone following, and lead a third round. East produces the outstanding club
and you ruff with a low trump. A trump to the ace leaves this position:
a 109 a 4
9— 9 109
© 0743 © KJ9
- — <=
a —
9 J76
© A85
ee —
aA%6
9 AKI6
© AKQ104
* 3
a QJ532 a 1074
9— 9 98752
© 7532 © 96
* QJ104 * K76
a K8
2 01043
© 58
* A9852
You reach a grand slam in hearts (nothing wrong with your bidding!) and
West leads the #Q, which you win with the ace. How will you play the con-
tract?
There are twelve top tricks and you can easily bump this to thirteen by tak-
ing a black-suit ruff in one hand or the other. The only risk to the contract is
a 5-0 trump break. Do you have an idea how you might counter such a piece
of bad luck?
On some deals you might attempt a crossruff. After one round of trumps,
discovering the 5-0 break, you would need to cash six side-suit winners and
then score the remaining six trumps separately by ruffing. This would be pos-
sible only against a very specific shape of the defenders’ hands.
—
9 AKS
© KQ10
ace
a Q a —
Saad fas) o—
* J104 * K6
——
9 104
Oo
* 9852
East has a disappointed look on his face. You continue to play diamonds
and there is nothing he can do. Whenever he chooses to ruff, you will overruff
with the 9 10 and draw East’s remaining trumps with dummy’s 9 A-K-J. Now
you can see how important it was to draw the first round of trumps with an
honor in the South hand.
What would happen if West were to show up with five trumps? You would
then be forced to adopt the crossruff line instead.
* KQ8
a 4 41973
9 43 OKI 2
© KQJ84 © A106
* 107542 * 163
a K1052
9 105
& 97532
* AY
West leads the ©K against your spade slam. You ruff in the dummy and
cash the ace and queen of trumps, West showing out on the second round.
How will you continue?
Dummy’s last trump is your sole protection from the opponents’ diamond
winners, so you must abandon the trump suit for the moment. The winning
line is to continue with the ace and queen of hearts, forcing out East’s king.
East will probably continue with another diamond, which you have to ruff
with dummy’s last trump. You cannot draw East’s trumps directly now, but you
can run some hearts (your substitute trumps).
If East ruffs at any stage, you will simply overruff and draw his last trump
before re-entering dummy in clubs. East does better to refuse to ruff, discard-
ing two clubs. You throw your remaining three diamond losers to reach this end
position:
© Q © A
* 1075 + J
a K10
oQo—
o—_
* AY
Suppose you lead dummy’s 6 at this stage. East will ditch his last club
and be able to ruff the next trick. You must cash the #K before leading the last
heart. East will then have no answer. If he discards the © A, you will throw the
#A and remain in dummy to lead a club towards your trump tenace.
What would happen if East defended differently, returning a club instead
of forcing dummy with a diamond? You would win with the #A and ruff a dia-
mond yourself, proceeding with exactly the same line of play.
(Before moving on, look back at the full diagram for a moment. Did you
consider a different line of play, crossing to the #A after two rounds of trumps
so that you could run the 9 10? It may look tempting, but East can then defeat
you by refusing to win with the 9 10! If you repeat the heart finesse, he can win
and return a club, killing the last entry to dummy.)
In our final example, declarer found himself in a 5-1 fit with a 6-1 break
against him. An unpleasant dream after dining too heavily? No, the deal arose
in a game on the Bridge Base Online Internet bridge site.
a AKQJ7
9 A5
© AK65
* Q5
9 K
© 4
+ 10987
a— a 10854
9 QJ98 N 9 106
© J W E o. ==
6 5 a=
a QJ/7
m9
© K6
ee!
Dummy’s club winners are your substitute trumps. When you lead the
#10, East has no good answer. He cannot discard or you will throw a loser and
continue with another club, certain to promote your #7. Nor can East ruff
with the 44 or #5, because you will overruff with the &7, cash the &Q-J and
play diamond winners, restricting East to just one trump winner.
Let’s say that East tries to make life difficult by ruffing with the #8. You
can now succeed in various ways. One of them is to overruff and play good dia-
monds. When East rufts, he has two losing choices. He can lead a trump, allow-
ing you to finesse, draw the last trump and claim the remainder. Alternatively,
he can exit with a heart to dummy’s king, allowing you to lead further substi-
tute trumps to capture his remaining 410-5.
North bids a grand slam, hoping that you can set up his hearts to bring the
total to thirteen. How will you play the contract? (You will soon discover
that East holds aJ-8-6-4.)
a A2
9 AK2
> KQJ64
* 085
ak led
a 108
9310753
© A2
* AK62
34 dbl pass 4 te
pass 60 all pass
West leads the #K and you win with dummy’ @A. You play the YA and
West shows out, discarding a spade. When you play the ace, king and queen
of diamonds, East ruffs the third round with the 98. How will you proceed?
a A1097532
9 J4
© 5
* 982
West leads the © Q and your general hope is to draw trumps and set up the
hearts. However, there is a chance of a trump coup when East holds all four
trumps. You ruff a diamond at Trick 2, cross to the 4K and, lo and behold,
West does indeed show out. You should ruff another diamond, cash the top
hearts and ruff a heart. A spade to the queen leaves this position:
a—
9 875
Oo
* Ab
a J8
[|
o—_—
Oo
* 2107
a Al0
Oo—
Oo
* 982
Let the substitute trumps roll! Dummy’s hearts leave East powerless.
a 108
9 J10753
© A2
* AK62
West leads the #K and you win with dummy’s #A. You play the 7A and
West shows out, discarding a spade. How will you proceed?
Aiming to dispose of the spade loser, you play the A-K-Q of diamonds.
East ruffs the third round with the 8 and you overruff with the 910. West’s
likely shape is 7-0-4-2 and you continue with the three top clubs, followed by
a club ruffin dummy. These cards remain:
a7
9 K
© J6
o—
a QJ9 a4
g— 7096
09 | o—
% — % —
» 10
7 3T5
&—
In this chapter, we will look at several deals where you can use a defender as a
stepping stone to an otherwise inaccessible dummy. We will start with a
relatively straightforward example:
a 63
9 8653
© 9765
* 083
a QJ5 a 74
9 KJ107 N 9942
© 4 W E © QJ108
* KJ952 : * 10764
@ AK10982
9 AQ
© AK32
oA
a AKQJ9
9 08
© KQ
& AKQ5
a 85 a 1074
9 AJ10932 976
© 10982 © J753
* ] * 31064
a 632
9 K54
© A64
* 9832
a—
9 Q8
Oo
* 5
a — a —
9 AJ10 9 6
o— © J
i * J
a—
Or KS
OA
~*—
a AKQ954
9 K2
© AQJ8
* 5
West leads the #K against your spade game, East playing the #Q to
announce his sequence in the suit. West continues with a low club to East’s ten
and you ruff with the #4. All follow when you cash the 4A. What now?
You should lead the 49 to dummy’s 4J. If trumps break 2-2, you will have
two entries to dummy and can finesse twice in diamonds. As it happens, West
shows out on the second trump, discarding a heart. You finesse the ©Q suc-
cessfully and survey this position:
al]
ole o3
©1764
te —
a— a 10
YAQ98 9 107
© 10 oK9
ew K94 #J73
a K1053
9 6
O97 5.32
* 1063
a 982 a Q0)764
os9.82 97
© KQJ © 1086
« K74 * 0982
ah
9 AKQ10543
© A4
* AJ5
West leads the © K and you win with the © A. When you draw two rounds
of trumps, East discards a spade on the second round. What now?
47653
9 94
& 72
* K932
a 84 aKQ)92
9 10875 9 6
© 98 © AJ105
* QJ754 * 1086
a Al0
9 AKQJ32
© 0643
* A
West leads the 48 and you win East’s &J with the aA. You draw trumps
in four rounds, East throwing three clubs. What next?
re
9—
omby!
* K
a ‘=
i C——
ony © J105
* QJ * —
a
Y9o—
© 064
ee
You lead the ©4 and it is the defenders’ turn to worry about a blockage! If
West wins with the ©9, he will have to act as a stepping stone to dummy’s #K.
If instead East overtakes with the 010, he will have to lead away from his
©J-5 into your waiting © Q-6. You can send a few emails about this one when
you get home!
a AK
9 KJ6
© KQ874
* A62
a j6
9 109752
© 085
# K74
a — a 0932
9 Q5384 9 3
© 9743 © 31062
* QJ1092 * 8653
@ AK108754
9 AK6
© AK
a A
a 52
wnt oe
© 0764
* 642
a/4 a 10863
9 AQJ983 9 104
© 10985 oo 2
* 9 * J10873
a AKQJ9
9 K
© AKI
* AKQ5
Reckoning that he would not pick up more than one 30-count in his life-
time, South refused to stop short of a small slam. He leapt to 6@ and West led
the © 10. How would you play the contract?
Declarer won with the ©A, retaining the option to overtake in diamonds
later in the play. He drew trumps in four rounds and tested the club suit, West
showing out on the second round. All would be well if diamonds were 3-3,
since declarer would be able to overtake on the third round. Another possibil-
ity was that West held four diamonds alongside the YA. He could then be
caught in a stepping-stone squeeze. Declarer cashed his third winner in clubs
and surveyed this end position:
a—
9 76
© 076
a
a — ——
9 AQ 9 104
© 985 o2
* — * J10
a9
9 K
© KJ
* 5
When the last trump was led, West had an awkward discard to make. If he
threw a diamond, declarer would be able to overtake on the third round of the
suit, scoring his twelfth trick with dummy’s fourth diamond. If instead West
discarded the YQ, declarer would cash the two diamonds in his hand and
throw West in with the YK to the YA, using him as a stepping stone to
dummy’s © Q. West’s only other option was to throw the YA. This would beat
West leads the &Q to your &A. When you duck a club, East wins and returns
a trump to the king, West playing the 410. How will you continue?
a 92
9 AK9763
© 653
* AK
a6 led
a A8543
ve
© AKQJ102
* 6
West leads the #6. You win with the @A and play the ©A, not overjoyed
when East discards a spade. How will you continue?
a AK9842
9 AKJ
OA
* A53
West leads the &Q and you win with the 4A. When you duck a club, East
wins and returns a trump to your king, West following with the 410. How will
you continue?
You cash the © A and the #A and exit with a third round of clubs, hoping
that West holds just three cards in the suit. If that is the case, the contract can-
not be beaten. Suppose West wins the third round of clubs and cashes his mas-
ter trump. He will then have to lead a heart into your 9 A-K-J tenace or act as
a stepping stone to dummy’s © K.
The defenders will not fare any better if East wins the third round of clubs.
If he switches to a heart, you will rise with the 9A and put West on lead with
a trump, forcing him to give you an extra trick in one of the red suits. If instead
East plays a fourth round of clubs, you will ruff in the South hand, knowing
that West is endplayed if he overruffs. If he declines to overruff, you will throw
him in with a trump on the next trick anyway.
a A8543
oe
© AKQJ102
* 6
West leads the &6 against your small slam in diamonds. You win with the
4A and play the A, not overjoyed when East discards a spade. How will you
continue?
If hearts break 3-3, it is an easy matter to draw trumps, establish the hearts
with one ruff and cross to dummy with a club to enjoy the long hearts. If
instead hearts are 4-2, two ruffs are required to set up the suit. You will then
need to use West as a stepping stone to the dummy.
You cross to the YA and cash the YK, discarding a spade. You then ruff a
heart high. On this trick West shows out, throwing a club. You return to
dummy with the #A and ruff another heart high, establishing two long hearts
in dummy.
The stage is set for the throw-in. You draw two more of West’s trumps and
exit with the ©2, forcing West on lead. He has only clubs left in his hand and
must give the lead to dummy’s #K. The second of your spade losers goes away
and you cash dummy’s two good hearts, disposing of your remaining losers in
spades. It’s time to score up the slam.
TWO-PART RECOVERIES
Rescue me
Aretha Franklin
In this chapter, we will look at some deals where you can succeed only by
employing two different techniques. Your first task is to side-step an immedi-
ate threat to your contract. Can you then give your partner a ‘you could rely on
me, buddy’ glance and reach for the next deal? Sorry, no. You must make sure
that no further pitfalls await you.
To get you into the right mood, here is a gentle starter:
4 A653
9 6
© AKQ65
* 865
a Q1074 a—
O13 9 KQJ9854
oll © 3984
& 397432 + Q10
a KJ982
9 A102
© 1032
* AK
Kos
9—
© KQ6
* 8
a— re
9— 9 K
o— > 598
* J974 * —
a2
9 10
© 102
rye
If you simply play on diamonds now, you will be disappointed. The suit
breaks 4-1 and you will be left with a heart loser. Instead, you should play your
last spade, squeezing East in the red suits. If he throws the YK, your 910
becomes good. If he throws a diamond instead, you will score all three of
dummy’s diamonds.
a QJ10
9 943
© A32
# A1075
a 9732 a 85
9 AKQJ5 9 872
O73 © 31096
* 06 1984
a AK64
9 106
© KQ84
* K32
The bidding develops awkwardly and you end in a 4-3 spade fit. How will
you play the contract when West leads the king and ace of hearts, followed by
the queen of hearts?
Easily the best move at Trick 3 is to discard a club from the South hand.
You preserve your four-card trump length and prevent West from doing any
further damage with heart leads. (If he leads a fourth round of hearts, you can
ruff in dummy and discard a diamond from the South hand.)
Let’s suppose that West switches to a trump at Trick 4. What now? You
should win and draw two more rounds of trumps. If trumps break 3-3, you will
have the chance to play ace, king and another club, ruffing in the South hand.
You will then make the contract when either minor suit breaks 3-3.
When the cards lie as in the diagram, West will turn up with four trumps.
No matter! This will be the position with one trump still to be played:
9—
© A32
* A1075
a9 Pee
915 Gg af
O75 © 31096
* 06 *- 398
a K
Y9—
© KQ84
* K3
When you draw West’s last trump, East is squeezed in the minor suits. Your
tenth trick will come from whichever suit he decides to abandon.
We will look next at a deal where you can recover from a bad break only
by scoring tricks from two different suits. You can perform this ‘drawing from
two wells’ only by careful play in the first of the two suits.
a KIj43
9 AB
© KQ763
* 54
a/6 49852
9 1094 9 K765
© J1082 o—
+ 10983 * QJ762
a AQ10
9 Q137
© A954
* AK
a A73
9 854
© 8432
* 092
aJ984 a —
9 Q10 PII 622
© 5 © QJ1096
* AKJ653 * 874
a KQ10652
9 AK7
© AK7
* 10
West leads the #K against your spade game. Judging from his partner’s #4
that another top club would not be a good idea, West switches to the ©5. You
win with the ©A and cash the 4K, East discarding a heart. How will you
attempt to recover from the 4-0 trump break?
East doubtless holds the sole guards on both red suits, but there is no
chance of a squeeze. The squeeze card would have to come from the dummy
(the hand opposite the red-suit entries) and the long trumps lie in the South
hand. No, you must look for an endplay on West. You draw two more rounds
of trumps with the ace and queen and then need to extract West’s cards in the
red suits. How are you going to do that?
Suppose you attempt to cash two winners in the red suit in which West has
a singleton (diamonds, here). It will not be good enough. West will ruff with
his master trump and exit in the other red suit. You will then lose one trick in
each of the four suits, going down one. So, you need to read West’s distribu-
tion in the red suits. What is your best guess?
The only clue is that you hold six hearts between the hands and seven dia-
monds. So, West is slightly more likely to hold a doubleton heart than a dou-
bleton diamond. You cash the 9A and, following the odds, continue with the
YK. West follows suit — yes! The first part of your recovery, guessing West's
shape, has been successful. These cards remain:
re
9 8
© 843
* 09
a a—
9— 9 J
o— © QJ10
* AJ653 * 87
a 3632
amd
© 0632
* K76
a — a Q1097
9 09862 9 J104
oO eeTS © AK108
* QJ103 * 95
a AK854
9 AK5
© 4
* A842
West leads the #Q against your spade game. How will you play?
The contracts looks comfortable at first glance, since you can afford to lose
a club, a diamond and a trump. Only a 4-0 trump break can cause any prob-
lems and you must address this possibility right from the start. Indeed, the first
move to counter such a piece of bad luck must come right at Trick 1. You must
win the opening lead in your hand, with the #A.
You play the 4A next and West shows out, discarding a heart. How can
you possibly make the contract now? You must aim to shorten the trumps in
both your hand and the dummy. Your intention in the end position is that East
will have to ruff at Trick 11 and then lead away from the 4Q.
Your next move is to lead a diamond, preparing for diamond ruffs in your
hand. East wins the trick and returns a club to dummy’s king. You ruff a dia-
mond and continue with the 9 A-K. A heart ruff returns you to dummy and you
ruff another diamond in your hand. You have reached this end position:
© Q
* ]
a — a Q109
9 Q Ohne
© J © A
* J10 * —
a K8
9Q—
o—
* 84
You exit with a club and West wins with the #10. It will not help East to
ruff his partner’s winner, so he discards the © A. When West continues with the
#J, you discard the ©Q from dummy and East is forced to ruff his partner’s
winning card. At Trick 12, he is forced to lead away from the &Q and you
make the contract.
We will end with a couple of deals where you have to recover from your
own bidding. It’s usually so dependable, I realize, but on the present occasion,
it has landed you in a less-than-ideal contract.
a 63
9 A84
© 1074
* KJ1062
a Q752 a 84
9 Q/7 9 KJ95
© AKI93 © 08652
* 95 * 83
a AKJ109
9 10632
Qo
* AQ74
26 dbl 4o 4a
all pass
North is likely to hold four hearts for his negative double, but, sitting
South, you decide to rely on your chunky spade suit. West leads the © K and
down goes the dummy. A small slam in clubs would have had good play, yes,
but how will you tackle the spade game?
You can afford to lose one trump trick, but you must be wary of losing
control when trumps break 4-2. You ruff the diamond lead and the recom-
mended first move in rescuing this contract is to lead the 410 from your hand.
If this wins the trick, you will cash the ace and king of trumps and turn to the
club suit. Suppose that West senses the position, leaps in with the 4Q and
plays another diamond. What now?
Now comes the second part of your plan. You discard a heart on the sec-
ond round of diamonds and another heart on the third round. A fourth round
of diamonds will cause you no problem, because you can ruff in the short
trump holding with dummy’s remaining trump. If West switches to a heart
instead, you will win with the YA, draw trumps in three further rounds and
run the club suit to dispose of your one remaining heart loser.
It has been an exhausting chapter and you will be relieved to hear that we
are near the end. Are you ready for another dodgy 44 contract?
a K864
9 A95
© KQ42
* 93
4 Q109 aJ7
9 QJ104 9 K73
© AJ107 O95
* 86 * Q107542
West leads the YQ against your spade game. Something seems to have
gone wrong with the formula ‘opening bid + opening bid = game’. Since you
have at least four apparent losers, you will have to take the club finesse in order
to ditch a heart loser. You duck the first round of hearts and win the second
with dummy’s ace. A finesse of the #J succeeds and you cash the #A. When
you continue with the #K, West ruffs with the 49. How will you proceed?
The first move is clear. West may have sacrificed a trump trick by ruffing
and you should take advantage of this by discarding dummy’s last heart. West
has no wish to assist you by playing a diamond next, so he comes off lead with
the YJ.
There’s no time for you to relax. Not only will you need to find the OA
onside, you may also need to lead twice towards dummy’s diamond holding.
So, you must ruff the third round of hearts with dummy’s 46, retaining the
#4. You continue with the king of trumps and the 48 to your ace, pleased to
see the remaining trumps break 2-2. These cards remain:
a 4
oo
© KQ42
Pca
a — a—
9 10 9—
© AJ107 © 95
* — * 0107
a 53
9oQ—
© 863
Pee
You win the 69 lead with dummy’s ©A and play a trump to the ace, East
showing out. How will you try to recover?
2) a2
7.01/53
© K108742
* AB
4J led
4 AK109864
9 A4
© Ad
* 06
You win the trump lead and play a second trump, West showing out. When
you play the #10 to East's @Q, he returns the #4. How will you continue?
a KQ43
9 AKJ2
© 653
a» AK
Not a believer in long auctions, you punt 69 on the second round. You
win the ©9 lead with dummy’s © A and play a trump to the ace, East showing
out. Ever felt unloved? How will you try to recover?
The first task is to enjoy four unruffed rounds of spades, allowing you to
discard one of dummy’s diamond losers. You need West to hold at least four
spades and this makes him the favorite to hold the 4J. So you cash the 4K and
finesse dummy’s 410. The finesse wins and the sun continues to shine when
you play the 4A, East showing out. A trump to the king allows you to cash
your last spade winner, discarding a diamond from dummy. What next?
If you concede a diamond trick immediately, you will go down. To time
the play correctly, you must first cash the ace and king of clubs. That duty per-
formed, you concede a diamond trick to East. Now nothing can prevent you
from ruffing dummy’s last club with your YJ and scoring dummy’s YQ-9,
poised over West’s 9 10-8.
a AK109864
9 A4
© AY
* 06
West, who overcalled 2, leads the #J against 6@. You win with the aA
and cash the 4K, West throwing a club. When you play the 410 to East’s aQ,
he switches to the #4. How will you attempt to rescue the situation?
There is no future in establishing the diamond suit, since the club switch
has robbed you of a key entry to dummy. Instead, you must aim to catch West
in a repeating squeeze. The first step is to preserve your #Q, winning the club
switch with dummy’s ace. You return to your hand with the YA and submit
West to a torrent of trumps. This end position will arise:
9 Q
© K1087
oe —
9 K oy
© 0)3 ay © 65
When you play the 44, West cannot afford a diamond discard, and if he throws
either of his kings, you will play the established queen to squeeze him again!
If you have battled your way through to the last chapter of this book, the
chances are excellent that you already understand the idea of rectifying the
count. You give up those tricks that you can afford to lose (one trick in a small
slam, for example) to prepare the ground for a squeeze. The purpose is to tight-
en the eventual end position. You aim to leave a defender with no card to spare
when you put him to a final discard.
In this chapter, we will look at some deals where the key play is the recti-
fication of the count — sometimes in a manner that is not easy to spot. That
said, we will start with a fairly straightforward example:
aJ6
9 AKQJ9
oe ST
* AQJ5
a 4 a KQ109852
9 10752 9 63
© J1032 © Q5
* K1096 * 72
4 A73
9 84
© AK864
* 843
Partner allows you no leeway for your 3NT bid and raises directly to a
small slam. How will you justify his faith when West leads the #4, East play-
ing the 49?
Five heart tricks, four club tricks and the three pointed-suit winners will
bring your total to twelve. West will need to hold the #K, yes, but a 3-3 club
break is less likely than normal after East’s preempt. You may therefore need a
minor-suit squeeze against West to carry you past the finish line. How can you
arrange this?
There is only one answer. You must duck the first trick, allowing East to
win with the 49. You will win the 4K return with the ace and finesse the #Q
successfully. Next, you play your heart winners, arriving at this end position:
a—
gy 4
ome|
* AJ5
a— a Q9
9— 9—
© J103 © Q5
* K109 « 74
a]
9—
© AK86
* 8
You play dummy’s last heart, throwing the ©6 from your hand, and West
has no card to spare. If he throws a diamond, the ©8 will give you the extra
trick you seek. If instead West discards a club, you will cross to the © A and
finesse the #J, setting up two further club tricks in the dummy.
On the next deal a skilled technician might foresee the potential end posi-
tion even before playing his first card from the dummy. (He would be able to
impress everyone by telling them this in the bar after the match.) See what you
make of it.
@ AKJ1085
9—
© 0632
* 964
North’s double on the second round showed any hand with three-card
spade support (a Support Double). South leapt to the spade game and two cue
bids then carried the partnership to a small slam. How would you play 64
when West leads the 9 K?
There are eleven tricks on top and the only problem arises when East holds
© J-x-x-x(-x). A declarer familiar with double squeezes will at this stage mutter
to himself, “West will have to keep the YA, East will have to keep the J; no-
one can keep a club guard.’
In case this is indeed the position, it is a good idea to rectify the count.
There is only one safe way to do this. You must discard a club from your hand
at Trick 1. (Suppose you were to ruff the first trick and duck a heart from
dummy later, in an attempt to rectify the count. It would be no good. West
would play a third heart to kill dummy’s heart threat.)
So, you allow West’s YK to win the first trick, throwing a club from your
hand. Let's say that West switches to the #J. You win in the dummy, draw
trumps in three rounds and play the ace and queen of diamonds to test that
a—
9 Q
Oo
* K2
a — a—
9A V——
o— oJ
* 103 * 08
a 8
9 —
© 6
* 9
You lead the #8 and “West has to keep the YA’. He throws a club and you
discard dummy’s 9 Q. ‘East has to keep the ©J, so no-one can guard the clubs’.
The muttered mantra comes to pass. East has to throw the #8 and dummy’s
#2 duly scores your twelfth trick.
As you can see, it was not good enough to plan a squeeze once the bad dia-
mond break came to light. You had to visualize that possibility at Trick 1, the
only moment when it was possible to rectify the count safely.
a K73
OWS
© AK
* AQJ54
A spade lead from West would have been a reasonable choice against 3NT.
Needless to say, it would be a very weak effort against GNT and would have
handed declarer the slam on a plate. Wisely seeking a safe lead, West reaches
for the ©9. Take the South cards now. How will you play the slam?
You have ten certain tricks outside spades and can develop an easy eleventh
trick from the spade suit. So, all will be well, unless clubs divide 5-0. If East
does indeed hold five clubs, you can squeeze him in the minors when he also
holds the ©Q. This is a near certainty after the ©9 opening lead, so what can
possibly go wrong?
I present to you the original declarer, who will demonstrate exactly what
can go wrong. He won the diamond lead with the ace and, following what he
regarded as general principles, led a low spade through West’s ace. The contract
could no longer be made! Unwilling to give declarer two spade tricks, West
played the #9 on the first round. Dummy’s &Q won the first trick, but when
the bad club break came to light, there was no way to rectify the count for a
squeeze against East. Declarer went through the motions, cashing four heart
tricks, but East could spare two diamond discards and there was no way to
make the slam.
a 6
9 Q
* — * 10986
a/
Y9—
Oo
* QJ54
Dummy’s last heart squeezes East in the minors and the slam is yours.
The next deal is similar, because you are forced to play for a squeeze only
when one of your suits breaks badly. Take the South cards and see how you fare.
a A94
9 A832
6-97 53.2
* 6
aKJ72 a 1086
9 4 On
© KQS84 © 106
* KJ7 * 21095432
4 Q53
9 KQJ10976
oA
* A8
South won't win a bidding prize for the auction but — you never know —
he may have a chance to shine in the play. How will you play the South cards
when the © K is led?
If diamonds break 4-3, there are enough entries to establish the suit and
take a discard on the thirteenth card. You win the first trick with the © A, draw
the enemy trumps with the YK, cash the #A and ruff a club. When you ruff a
diamond in your hand, an unwelcome © 10 from East warns you that perhaps
the diamonds are not 4-3. When you overtake the 99 with the YA and lead
another diamond, East does indeed discard a club. How will you continue?
You can no longer establish a long card in diamonds and must turn your
mind towards a spade-diamond squeeze against West. It will not be possible to
squeeze West down to &K-x and a master diamond, throwing him in with a
diamond. The long trumps are in the South hand and there will be no entry to
reach the intended throw-in card (a diamond). No, you must aim for a simple
squeeze and that means you must rectify the count.
Think about this for a moment and you will realize that the only conven-
ient moment to rectify the count is now! You discard a spade on the third round
of diamonds and West wins the trick. He can exit safely with a top diamond,
which you ruff, but he will have no answer when you run the trumps.
a AY
Y—
6 9
- —
a Kj 1086
9o—
© J Lod |
~~ —
eoge
a 3
9 AKQ1092
© 31043
* J3
West leads the #Q against your small slam in hearts. How will you play
the contract?
You have eleven tricks on top and some chance of creating a twelfth trick
directly from the diamond suit. If West held © K-x or © Q-x, for example, you
could lead the ©J from your hand. If West covered, you could win with the >A
and lead back towards your © 10. If instead West played low, you would run
the ©J and drop West’s honor with the >A on the next round. Similarly, if East
held a doubleton diamond honor, you could succeed by leading a low diamond
from dummy on the first round, succeeding whether East rose with his honor
or not.
a 10
9—
Oo
* AK5
a) a —
9— eas
—— © Q
* 087 * 1096
Pe
o4
© 10
* J3
When you play the 99, West is the first to suffer. Since he has to retain the
4J, he must abandon his club guard. You release dummy’s #10 and, if you
enjoy putting opponents to the sword, turn to observe East in his plight. If he
throws the ©Q, you will score the © 10. If instead he abandons the club suit,
you will score three club tricks in the dummy.
home
9 AQ10943
© 854
* AKQ5
Commendable brevity in the auction, yes, but how will you tackle the play
when West leads the © Q?
There are eleven tricks on top and an easy twelfth will come from the club
suit if it breaks 3-2. What if the clubs are 4-1? The opening lead of the ©Q
suggests that West may hold the sole guard in diamonds and may be suscepti-
ble to a spade-diamond squeeze. How can the count be rectified, though? If
you simply draw trumps, test the clubs and give East a club trick, he will return
a second round of diamonds to break up the squeeze.
The answer is to delay the club duck until near the end of the deal. Indeed,
you plan to squeeze West on the very trick that rectifies the count!
How does the play go? You win the diamond lead with dummy’s ace and
draw one round of trumps with the king. You will need to extract East's spades
for the eventual end position or else he could return a spade to West’s ace when
you duck a club. So, you ruff a spade, return to dummy with the YJ and ruff
another spade.
So far, so good. You now run your remaining trumps to reach this end
position:
aA a—
2 — era
© J10 o 76
a * J
i
9o—
© 85
* 5
You exit with the #5, rectifying the count and squeezing West at the same
time. He has to throw the © 10 to retain the 4A and you discard dummy’s 4K.
East wins the trick and, thanks to the two spade ruffs that you took, has no
spade to play. He returns a diamond and dummy scores the last two tricks.
LOSER-ON-LOSER RECTIFICATION
This deal is unusual because you rectify the count by leading a card you could
have ruffed. You throw a loser instead and thereby tighten the end position.
a AQJ7
9 K8752
© 986
* 9
a 642 a 8
9 AQ1096 9 J4
© QJ3 © 10754
* AK * Q108752
North's 2 overcall was Landy, showing both major suits. Not expecting
his partner to hold much of value, West makes the intelligent lead of a trump
against the eventual contract of 44. You win in the South hand, so that you
can lead a heart towards dummy. West rises with the YA and plays a second
round of trumps, won in the dummy.
Fondly imagining that you may be able to set up the heart suit, you ruff a
heart in your hand. When you continue with a club, West wins with the #K
and plays a third round of trumps. You win in dummy and ruff a heart, not
pleased to see East show out. This is the position you have reached:
a Q
9 K8
© 986
oe —
a — a—
9 Q10 =
© QJ53 © 1075
* A * 2108
Pea
9o—
© AK2
* J64
West guards the hearts and, very shortly, only East will guard the clubs.
Your aim is therefore a double squeeze, where neither defender will be able to
guard the diamond suit. Only two tricks have been lost so far, however, so the
count has not been rectified. The moment has come to rectify that omission
(no pun intended). You lead a club from your hand and the ace appears from
West. Instead of ruffing in the dummy, you discard a diamond loser.
It makes no difference what West does next. Let’s assume he returns the
©Q. You win in your hand with the ©A, leaving these cards to be played:
Ree
i
© K2
* J6
You lead another club. West has to keep both his hearts, so he must aban-
don his diamond guard. You ruff the club in dummy and cash the VK. East is
squeezed in the minors and you will score your tenth trick in the suit that he
abandons.
West leads the 9 Q against 6NT. East discards a spade and you win with the
YK. You play three rounds of clubs and the suit breaks 3-3. What now?
& a KQ62
9 AK842
© 962
* ]
+6 led
a A43
9 976
© KJ1084
* 02
West leads the #6 to East’s ace and back comes the ©5. When you play low
from your hand, West wins with the © Q and continues with ace and anoth-
er trump, removing dummy’s trump holding. How will you continue?
West leads the YK, cashes the YA and lead a third round of hearts, which
East ruffs with the 42. What is your plan for the contract?
4) a 85
9 K852
© AK84
* AQ7
aQ led
a AK7
9 QI6
© 032
* KQJ4
West leads the #Q against GNT and you win with the #A. There are nine
tricks on top, with two more heart tricks readily available. A 3-3 break in
either red suit will carry you past the finish line. Mind you, that’s not likely
in a chapter about rectifying the count. How will you play?
© 58 © 010975
* 852 8 #973
a K74
9 K107
© AK6
* AQJ4
West leads the 9Q against ONT. East discards a spade and you win with
the YK. You play three rounds of clubs, the suit breaking 3-3. What now?
You have eleven tricks on top and will probably need a squeeze for the
twelfth trick. West has already shown ten cards in hearts and clubs, so no
squeeze will be possible on him. Instead, you must hope that East holds the sole
guard in both spades and diamonds. You cash the 4K and West follows suit.
You still need to rectify the count. How can this be done?
You lead the 97, covered by West’s 98, and must duck in the dummy. By
surrendering a trick at this stage, you will extract one more card from the East
hand. These cards remain:
a— a J108
9 39642 9—
© J © 0109
tk — e—
a A43
C976
© KJ1084
* Q2
West leads the #6 to East’s ace and back comes the ©5. When you play
low from your hand, West wins with the ©Q and continues with ace and
another trump, removing dummy’s trump holding. How will you continue
from this point?
The original declarer gave the deal insufficient thought. He played three
rounds of spades, hoping for the 3-3 break that would allow him to discard his
remaining club loser. Spades failed to divide evenly and there was no way to
recover the situation.
There was little sense in declarer’s line of play. If spades were 3-3, he would
be able to throw his potential heart loser anyway. In the dangerous case where
spades were not 3-3, it might be possible to make the contract on a major-suit
squeeze. To this end, the correct play at Trick 5 is to lead the #Q, conceding a
trick to rectify the count.
Suppose West wins with the #K and returns another club. You ruff with
your penultimate trump and then cash dummy’s YA-K to free your 99 as a
threat card. You then return to the @A and play your last trump, throwing
dummy’s remaining heart. East has to find one more discard from #10-8-7
YQ. He will concede a trick, whichever card he chooses, and the contract is
yours.
a KQ10953
9 82
© K53
* AJ
West leads the king and ace of hearts, continuing with a third round of
hearts, which East ruffs with the 42. What is your plan for the contract?
The only chance is to find that East holds the sole guard on both minors
and can be squeezed. He will need to hold five diamonds and the #K-Q. Even
then, you will not be able to squeeze him unless you have rectified the count.
You have only one chance to do this and the moment is already upon you! You
must discard a diamond from your hand at Trick 3, when East ruffs the third
round of hearts.
Let’s say that East returns the O10. You win with the ©K, preserving
dummy’s ©A as an entry, and run the trump suit. This position will arise:
© Al
* 86
a — =
Y= a=
oJ © 09
* 1075 * KQ
a9
oQ—
© 5
* AJ
You lead the #9, throwing the #6 from dummy, and East is squeezed.
a AK7
9 Q)6
© 032
* AKJ4
West, who opened 34, leads the &Q against GNT. You win with the aA.
There are nine tricks on top, with two more heart tricks readily available. A 3-3
break in either red suit will therefore carry you to victory. How will you play?
You cross to the #Q and lead a heart towards your hand. East cannot
afford to go in with the YA or you will have three heart tricks and the contract.
He ducks and the YQ wins. You re-enter dummy with the © A and lead anoth-
er heart, the YJ winning. You now test the lie of the cards by cashing the ©Q
and the #A. West follows all the way, marking him with 7-2-2-2 shape. This is
the position you have reached:
a 8
9 KB
© K8
* 9
43109642 a —
9— 9 Al0
o— © 109
* — * 108
a K7
9 6
© 3
* KJ
* KK KX
Can you see the street lights up ahead? Yes, we have reached the end of our
off-road journey. My dearest wish is that you enjoyed reading the book as much
as I enjoyed writing it. Perhaps we will both play a little better the next time we
sit down at the card table!
Pix
Butler Area Public Library
218 North McKean St. &
Butler, PA 16001
FRAT
GE TIO rH =
BEATEN TRACK!
Every intermediate player is familiar with the —
routine techniques of dummy play. What this
book describes are less well-known stratagems
that may save the day in situations where
straightforward lines are not going to. work. They include
methods for creating entries, surviving bad trump breaks,
elopements, getting the defenders to help you out, and many
more. In this unique book, you will learn new ways of thinking
about declarer play — ways that just might help you make the
next contract!
o~vsez IM 978- i.
897106- 19-a 1897°1
|
}