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Defense in The 21st Century PDF
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INTRODUCTION
Overview
Asssumptions
Course Material
Summary
2 Defense in the 21st Century
INTRODUCTION
Overview
The Defense in the 21st Century course is an eight- or nine-week course focusing on the defen-
sive aspect of bridge. It is the third in a series of five courses. The first course, Bidding in the 21st
Century, concentrates on the fundamentals of bidding and play. The second course, Play of the Hand
in the 21st Century, focuses on techniques on the play of the cards. The fourth course is, Commonly
Used Conventions, and the fifth course is More Commonly Used Conventions.
Each series consists of three parts:
s Student text
s Student workshop
s Teacher manual
The basic material covered in the course is in the student text. The student workshop, packaged with
the student text, has exercises to be done by the students during the class and includes the practice play
hands. Each class is designed to last approximately two hours. The Teacher manual contains general
material to help the teacher successfully conduct the lesson series. It also has specific information
on each of the lessons. The manual covers what can be taught and suggests an order for presenting
the concepts. It has been designed so that it can be used as a basis for classes with varying levels of
experience and age. The teacher may adapt the material so that it is suitable for a specific class.
Assumptions
Defense in the 21st Century is the third step in a five-part series of bridge lessons, and it is gener-
ally assumed that the students are familiar with the material presented in the previous two programs,
Bidding in the 21st Century and the Play of the Hand in the 21st Century. That is, the students will
be expected to be familiar with the general concepts of bridge bidding and the play of the hand.
Introduction
The students should be able to follow a simple auction to reach a suitable final contract on the
pre-dealt deals. The students are not expected to be able to deal with complex bidding or play situ-
ations. For example, they are not expected to be familiar with bids which involve judgment (e.g.,
opening light and competitive auctions involving redoubles and penalty doubles) and are not expected
to be familiar with advanced conventional bids and treatments (e.g., Flannery, Michaels and negative
doubles). The negative double convention is included as the bonus chapter in this series.
The teacher should assume that the students are familiar with some of the fundamentals necessary
to defend a hand. For example, they will have already made opening leads against both notrump and
suit contracts.
It will be assumed, however, that we can start from scratch. The focus of the course is defense
and students at this stage need a lot of help in this area.
The students most likely will have picked up a basic vocabulary about bridge. Terms such as
“second hand low” and “third hand high” are familiar to them. This makes it easier to discuss the
Introduction 3
defense. As will be pointed out later, however, care still must be taken not to introduce new terms
for defense before they are fully explained.
Although the Defense in the 21st Century course is designed as a sequel to the Bidding in the
21st Century and Play of the Hand in the 21st Century courses, it is also designed to stand on its
own. This allows it to be used with students who have not taken any other course but are (or assume
that they are) familiar with the fundamentals of bidding and play and wish to improve their defense.
It also assumes the knowledge of the Stayman convention and Jacoby transfer bids.
As the program is designed to be taught in the classroom, it should incorporate sound educational
concepts.
s Maximum student involvement. The students should be involved in every step of the
learning process. It should not be a passive activity with the teacher lecturing and the
students listening and trying to absorb. The students must be doing, experimenting
and discovering the fundamental concepts themselves. They take an active role. The
teacher is there as a guide.
s A spiral approach to the curriculum. That is, basic concepts are introduced one
at a time, as needed, and the same concepts are reintroduced at a later stage and ex-
panded upon. It is not necessary to cover everything that could happen the first time
an idea is introduced. The students need only concentrate on one new point at a time
to tackle the task at hand. As experience and confidence grow, the new concept can
be discussed in more depth and the students’ scope can be expanded.
s A simple approach. There is no need to make things any more complex than they
already are. Don’t try to cover everything that could possibly happen for fear that a
simple idea is uninteresting to the students. In fact, the opposite is true. When the
students can grasp a concept, however small, they feel a measure of success and
achievement and their confidence grows. They start to enjoy the learning experience
and hunger for more.
Defense Concepts
We often hear students say, “I hope I don’t get any high cards. I want to be the dummy.” When
students are faced with defending at this point in their education, their general attitude is one of con-
fusion. They don’t know where to start. They vaguely understand guidelines about leading – fourth
from your longest and strongest. They usually defend by instinct and find it a frustrating experience.
Even if they defeat the contract, they are not sure whether they did the right things and rarely learn
anything from the experience. If declarer makes the contract, the experience is worse. They are usu-
ally convinced that they will never “get it.”
We want to give students the chance to play and defend with confidence! They are presented
with a structured approach which is easy to follow. They learn how to formulate a plan and how to
execute it. Whether or not they make the best plan initially is not important. They have objectives in
mind and can see how their plan works, learning something through doing. Perhaps they are even
getting ideas on how to improve their plan for the next time.
In addition to having guidelines on making a plan, the students need the appropriate tools with
which to carry out their plan. The various techniques should be presented one at a time, allowing
the students to become familiar with them in various guises before moving on to the next technique.
4 Defense in the 21st Century
Slowly, students build up a toolbox of techniques which will help them carry out their plan. For the
approach to be successful, students must be given hands to play which reinforce the concepts they
have learned.
In practical terms, the letters PLAN have been used to help the students plan the defense. It works
both with notrump and trump contracts. It helps to organize the defense into four basic steps:
s Pause to consider your objectives
s Look at your winners
s Analyze your alternatives
s Now put it all together
There is a difference in the approach to defending a notrump contract and defending a suit
contract. Nonetheless, the basic steps remain the same, and the students can learn to follow them
through for any deal.
The various techniques to be taught for defending a notrump contract (for the third planning
step) are:
s Promoting high cards (e.g., developing a sure trick when holding the king and the
queen in a suit).
s Suit establishment (e.g., developing tricks through length).
s Finessing (e.g., attempting to develop a second trick when holding the ace and the
queen in a suit).
The additional technique which needs to be introduced when playing in a suit contract is:
s Ruffing declarer’s winners.
Once the basic techniques are mastered, the students can be introduced to some of the concepts
involved in putting it all together (e.g., the fourth planning step). These include:
s Being aware of entries.
s Combining techniques.
The students can apply the planning concept and use the various tools to defend. The PLAN
provides an environment for spiral education. As the students become familiar with the basics, more
advanced techniques can be introduced. For example, more complex variations of finesses or suit
establishment can be discussed at later stages in this course and/or in the subsequent course. The
students don’t have to unlearn anything but can build on to the established concepts.
Lesson Format
The course consists of eight lessons of about two hours each with an optional ninth lesson. The
lessons are in four parts:
s Introduction to the particular defensive concepts being covered (about 40 minutes).
s Introduction of a useful guideline for the play of the cards (about 10 minutes).
s Review of some of the bidding concepts covered in the Bidding course (about 10
minutes).
s A set of four pre-dealt hands which utilize the concepts that have been taught (about
60 minutes).
Introduction 5
The first 40 minutes involve the teacher discussing the concepts with the students (laying out
some practical examples on the table) and the students doing simple exercises from the workbook
which reinforce the particular concept.
A play concept is then introduced and there is an exercise to reinforce the idea.
In the bidding review, to avoid losing the focus on the defense, discussion should be kept to a
minimum. If there are a lot of questions, students can be referred to the Bidding or Play of the Hand
textbook. If you are falling behind schedule, some of the exercises can be left as homework.
During the second hour, the students bid and play hands which have been designed to use the
concepts (and only those concepts) which have been discussed. It is essential to the success of the
lessons that the students get to play all four of the pre-dealt deals, so everyone gets an opportunity
to be declarer. If you are running behind at the end of the first hour, skip the remaining exercises
and move on to the play. As mentioned earlier, the teacher should first walk through the bidding, the
choice of opening lead and how both declarer and the defenders should formulate a plan. The deal
is then bid and played.
At about 15 minutes per deal, the students will get through only the four pre-dealt deals in a
lesson period. Some classes progress more rapidly than others, however, and may be able to handle
more deals. There are many deals in the student text itself which can be used. Knowing the speed
of the class, the teacher can pre-deal as many as necessary. The deals in the text are all designed so
that they can be bid to the appropriate contract using the bidding concepts already covered. The only
thing to be careful about is that South is always the declarer in the textbook examples, so you will
have to rotate the hands.
After the first few lessons, the students will start to play more quickly, and the teacher will not
need to take as much time to walk through the deals. The students will become familiar with the
planning steps and can be given less direction and allowed to experiment more on their own. Once
the basic planning steps have been covered and reviewed, the introduction of new defensive concepts
does not take up as much time. With their increased confidence, students can grasp concepts much
more quickly.
Student text
In theory, the students can read the text and then do the workshop exercises. In practice, since
the text is part of a classroom program, students do the workshop exercises first with the assistance
of the teacher. Then they use the text to review the concepts covered and fill in any missing details.
The student text can stand on its own as a complete description of the basic principles of defense.
Each lesson contains a narrative description of the concepts involved supplemented with ample il-
lustrations to help the students absorb the ideas. It is essentially the basis of the material covered by
the teacher in the first hour of each lesson.
Student workshop
This section of the program contains the classroom exercises and practice deals. For each les-
son, approximately four exercises are introduced covering the fundamentals of defense; one exercise
focuses on play and one exercise concentrates on bidding.
The remaining exercises consist of the deals themselves. The design of the deals is a key element
6 Defense in the 21st Century
to the success of the program. The following ideas are incorporated:
s The deals move sequentially from one concept to the next and do not involve concepts
which have not yet been covered. Within each lesson, the deals sometimes move from one-
step problems (e.g., involving only one concept such as a finesse) to two-step problems
(e.g., combining a finesse with ruffing declarer’s winners) to three-step problems (e.g.,
watching entries while taking a finesse and ruffing declarer’s winners). In addition, deals
in subsequent lessons incorporate the material from previous lessons as the students build
up confidence and ability.
s The deals contain an element of excitement and drama for the students. This does not mean
that they are complex. Instead, they focus on the concepts the students will encounter with
considerable frequency rather than some exotic situation that rarely occurs. The students
get excited seeing the concept in action and learning they would be unable to defeat the
contract without utilizing it.
s The deals need to be authentic in the sense that the students are taught to defend in the
same manner as an expert would defend. There should be no scope to deviate from the
recommended defense to improve on the result. Even though the deals are pre-dealt, the
students should not be given the impression that the situation in artificially contrived.
s The Defense in the 21st Century course presents a good opportunity to reinforce the
sound bidding and play practices introduced in the Bidding in the 21st Century and the
Play of the Hand in the 21st Century courses. The deals are representative of the vari-
ous contracts that one would encounter during a session of bridge: a mixture of suit and
notrump contracts; a mixture of partscore and game contracts with the occasional slam
contract; a mixture of bidding situations including overcalls and takeout doubles.
s The deals illustrate the point they were intended to make. If the students apply the appro-
priate principle, they defeat the contract. Otherwise, the declarer makes the contract.
s The deals give each student at the table an opportunity to be declarer. While it is easier
for students to understand a deal presented in a textbook with South as the declarer, the
pre-dealt deals are presented with declarer in various positions at the table. The dealer is
not always the declarer, and the declarer does not automatically rotate clockwise around
the table. This is to ensure that the deals more closely simulate real action at the table and
to add an element of drama to each deal.
Summary
The Defense in the 21st Century course is designed to focus on the defense. Although bidding
and play are discussed, the exercises move the students quickly through the material so that they
don’t take over the lesson.
It is important that the deals be pre-dealt so that there is time for the students to play the deals.
LESSON 1
Opening Leads Against
Notrump Contracts
General Concepts
General Introduction
Group Activities
Sample Deals
8 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL CONCEPTS
Defense
The opening lead against notrump contracts
Bidding
Review of opening the bidding at the one, two and three levels
Play of the Hand
Review of declarer’s PLAN
1. Pause to consider your objectives
2. Look at your winners and losers
3. Analyze your alternatives
4. Now put it all together
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 9
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Bidding in the 21st Century Play of the Hand in the 21st Century
Bidding in the 21st
Century Play of the Hand in the 21st Century
10 Defense in the 21st Century
GROUP ACTIVITIES
EXERCISE ONE: Choosing the Suit
Introduction
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 11
Instructions
K
L
KQ
.
Heart
______________ Spade
_____________ Diamond
______________ Club
______________
Follow-up
Conclusion
12 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWO: Choosing the Card in Partner’s Suit
Introduction
K
KK8 K
K
K
K
K
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 13
KK42
K K
K
K K KK.
K K
KJ.
K
K
K K
K
KK94 K
K
K
K K K
K K
K
14 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
YOU
YOU
74
YOU
KJ3
Jack
__________ the top of a doubleton
_______________________________________________________________
Queen _______________________________________________________________
__________ top of touching high cards
5
__________ low from three cards not leaded by touching high cards
_______________________________________________________________
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 15
Follow-up
Conclusion
16 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE THREE: Leading the Top of a Sequence
Introduction
KQJ97 43
43
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 17
4
Q92
Q.
J.
e.g.
18 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
K3
YOU
Q84
YOU
K2
YOU
74
YOU
Jack; 3
______________ Queen; 3
_____________ Jack; 4
______________ King: 5
______________
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 19
Follow-up
Conclusion
20 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FOUR: Leading a Low Card
Introduction
L 10 8 4
L L
LQ93
L L
L
L
L L
L 10 8 4
L L
L
L
L L
L 10 8 4
L LQ3
L
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 21
L
L L
L 10 8 4
L L
LQJ9
L L
L
L L
L
L 10 8
L L
LQJ
2.
22 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
YOU
K9872 J43
YOU
J 10 9
YOU
Low (7); 3
_________________ Low (3); 3
________________ Low (3); 5
________________
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 23
Follow-up
Conclusion
24 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FIVE: Leading against a Notrump Contract
Introduction
Instructions
K Q 10 8 4 3 KQ4 KK83
L L L84
742 K83 92
K4
_________________ LQ
________________ 6
________________
Follow-up
K
LQ.
Conclusion
fourth highest from your longest and strongest.
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 25
EXERCISE SIX: Listening to the Bidding
Introduction
Instructions
(YOU)
1K
1
3
KKQ83 KQ84 KJ942
L L J 10 9 LQ83
J83 K Q J 10
L2
_________________ LJ
________________ K
________________
26 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
L
L
Conclusion
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 27
EXERCISE SEVEN: Review of Opening the Bidding
Introduction
L .
2
Instructions
74
K94 K K
L L L K 10 4 3
1
_________________ 1NT
________________ 1L
________________
K K K 10
LKQ84 LKQ L
K4 J42
2NT
_________________ 2
________________ 3L
________________
28 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Bidding
Conclusion
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 29
EXERCISE EIGHT: Review of Declarer’s Plan
Introduction
1. Pause to consider your objectives
2. Look at your winners and losers
3. Analyze your alternatives
4. Now put it all together
Instructions
J92
K
L Q J 10 7 3
Q
K
LK8
K732
Follow-up
L
L
30 Defense in the 21st Century
Conclusion
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 31
SAMPLE DEALS
EXERCISE NINE: Leading Partner’s Suit
Introduction
Instructions
(E-Z Deal Cards #1, Deal 1)
QJ84
K
L Q J 10 8 2
K93 N
K W E K
L L
S
K Q 10 8 7 4 3
L97
73
The Bidding
L
32 Defense in the 21st Century
The Defense
L
L L
The Play
Conclusion
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 33
EXERCISE TEN: Leading from a Sequence
Introduction
Instructions
(E-Z Deal Cards #1, Deal 2)
KQJ4
K
L
N
K K J 10 9 K
W E
L 10 4 3 L72
S
KQ43
L
QJ8
The Bidding
L
34 Defense in the 21st Century
The Defense
K
K
K
K K
K
e.g.
e.g.
K K
The Play
Conclusion
KQ.
K K
K
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 35
EXERCISE ELEVEN: Fourth Highest
Introduction
Instructions
(E-Z Deal Cards #1, Deal 3)
K
L 10 4
N Q4
K W E K 10 8 3
L L
S
KQ4 J 10 8 2
K74
L982
The Bidding
L
The Defense
K
36 Defense in the 21st Century
The Play
Conclusion
KJ
Lesson 1 — Opening Leads Against Notrump Contracts 37
EXERCISE TWELVE: Listening to the Opponents
Introduction
Instructions
(E-Z Deal Cards #1, Deal 4)
KQJ
K
LKJ943
N 4
K742 K
W E
L L
K943 S Q 10 8 2
K K Q J 10
L Q 10 2
The Bidding
L
K
The Defense
L
38 Defense in the 21st Century
The Play
L
Conclusion
LESSON 2
Opening Leads
Against Suit
Contracts
General Concepts
General Introduction
Group Activities
Sample Deals
40 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL CONCEPTS
Defense
The opening lead against trump contracts
s Choosing the suit
s Partner’s suit
s Your suit – look for strength before length
s The unbid suits
s Short suits
s Long suits
s Leading a trump
s Choosing the card
s Partner’s suit
s Top of a doubleton, top of a two-card or longer sequence
s Otherwise low
s Exception: not leading away from an ace
s Other suits
s Top of a two-card or longer sequence
s Top of a doubleton
s Otherwise low (fourth highest)
s Exception: not leading away from an ace
Bidding
Review of responses to opening suit bids at the one level, the two level, and
the three level
Play of the Hand
Review of declarer’s PLAN as it applies to suit contracts
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 41
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
It is often a good idea to set the stage by making reference to the points covered in the previous
lesson. There are similarities and differences between the choice of leads against notrump contracts
and suit contracts. One or two sentences will suffice.
“When you are defending against a notrump contract, you generally proceed
under the assumption that your high cards — your aces and kings — probably
are not enough to defeat the contract. Instead, you look for length in a suit,
so that one or more low cards can take over the limelight and be developed
into the winner(s) needed to defeat the contract.
“We will look at leading against a suit contract. Many of the guidelines
for selecting the actual card you lead from the suit you have chosen are
the same as they are against a notrump contract. When selecting the suit to
lead, however, there are some new considerations. You no longer focus your
attention entirely on long suits. After all, declarer chose to play in a trump
suit, so that you would not be able to enjoy winners in your long suits. The
presence of a trump suit has a great influence on the way declarer plays and
it also influences the way the defenders try to defeat the contract.
“The focus now shifts to the strength of your suits – the high cards you hold.
You want to try to take the tricks to which you are entitled before declarer
can ruff your high cards or discard cards that would lose to your high cards.
In a suit contract, declarer usually plans to ruff some of the losers in the
dummy or discard same on winners in other suits. Of course, two can play
that game. The defenders have a chance to ruff declarer’s winners in a suit
contract, so short suits can become a source of tricks for the defenders.
“Let’s start by considering how the defender on opening lead against a suit
contract chooses the suit that produces the best chance of defeating the
contract.”
42 Defense in the 21st Century
GROUP ACTIVITIES
EXERCISE ONE: Strength Versus Length
Introduction
“Leading away from a suit in which you have high cards can often cost a
trick. To see this, lay out the following cards in the spade suit:
;42
;KJ973 ; 10 8 5
;AQ6
“Let’s first suppose East and West are defending against a notrump contract.
How many tricks will South (declarer) take if South is the one to play this
suit? (One. If South finesses with the ;Q, it loses to West’s ;K.) It would
obviously be better for the defense if East could lead this suit, through
declarer’s ;A and ;Q, to trap the ;Q. If West leads against a notrump
contract, however, West might well lead the ;7, fourth highest from the
long suit. Is this necessarily a bad start for the defense?”
Help the students see that the defense still develops three winners in the suit by driving out the
;A and ;Q, even though West sacrificed a trick on opening lead. This may well be enough to
defeat the contract since declarer can’t stop the defenders from taking their winners once they are
established and the defenders get the lead.
“Leading from a long suit against a notrump contract is usually the best
idea even if you sacrifice a trick in the process. Often you will be more than
compensated by the number of tricks you end up developing in the suit.
You do not always have the luxury of sitting back and waiting for partner
or declarer to lead the suit for you. Declarer will be going busily about the
business of establishing winners in declarer’s long suits.
“Now let’s suppose you are defending a suit contract with the West hand.
Let’s say hearts is the trump suit. Is it still a good idea to lead a spade?
(No.) Why not?”
Help the students see that declarer can win the first trick with the ;Q, take the ;A and ruff the
;6 with one of dummy’s trumps.
“How many losers did declarer start with in the spade suit? (Two.) If you
lead a spade, how many losers does declarer end up with? (None.) Why does
it do you no good to establish your remaining spades as winners? (Declarer
can ruff them.) Notice that declarer would approach this suit in a trump
contract from the point of losers rather than winners. When you defend,
you must be careful not to lead a suit that will help declarer eliminate some
losers in the suit.
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 43
“As pointed out in the previous lesson, the defenders can’t see into each other’s
hands. That’s why imagination, or visualization, has to play an important part.
Let’s take a look at the entire layout of some suits in the first exercise and see
whether or not you should lead them against a suit contract. When you are
actually defending, you will have to imagine the layout of the remaining cards,
but we may be able to establish some recognizable general principles.”
Instructions
“Compare what would happen if you led each of the suits in exercise one
against a notrump contract and against a suit contract (assuming another suit
is trumps). Look at the number of winners you are likely to get if you lead
the suit and the number of tricks you sacrifice by leading the suit. Would
you normally lead the suit against a notrump contract, a suit contract or
both?”
In doing the exercise, tell the students to assume that they would lead the same card against a
suit contract as a notrump contract — top of a sequence or low. Keep an eye on the discussion and
don’t let the students become confused. If it seems that they can’t follow the examples based on
their knowledge from the previous lesson (leading against notrump contracts), then work with the
group as a whole.
1) DUMMY 2) DUMMY
754 743
YOU PARTNER YOU PARTNER
K 10 8 6 2 J93 KQJ 10 6 5
DECLARER DECLARER
AQ A982
3) DUMMY 4) DUMMY
985 K95
YOU PARTNER YOU PARTNER
AQ742 10 6 3 Q J 10 8 642
DECLARER DECLARER
KJ A73
Vs. Notrump
3; 1;Yes
1) ______________ 2; 0; No 4; 1; Yes
2) _____________ 3) ______________ 4) ______________2; 0; Yes
Vs. Suit
0; 1; No
1) ______________ 2; 0; Yes 1; 1; No
2) _____________ 3) ______________ 4) ______________ 1; 0; Yes
44 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
The discussion following the exercise might go something like this:
“In the first example, when you lead the suit (fourth highest), declarer
takes two tricks with the ace and queen, rather than one. Against a notrump
contract, you are willing to sacrifice one trick since you end up developing
three tricks. Against a suit contract, however, you will have sacrificed that
trick in vain. Declarer would end up with no losers in the suit, rather than
the one declarer started with. Declarer can ruff any further leads of the suit
in hand. In conclusion, you would want to lead this suit against a notrump
contract, but not against a suit contract.
“In the second example, you can take two tricks by leading the suit against
a notrump contract, but declarer also gets two tricks. By leading this suit,
you actually are helping declarer develop an extra winner. It usually will
be best to avoid leading this suit. Keep your high cards as later entries to
your long suit and make declarer do the work of developing an extra trick
in the suit. Against a trump contract, declarer already has two losers in this
suit (since it divides 3–3). By leading the suit, you are not helping declarer,
since you are getting only the tricks to which you are entitled. This is a
good suit to lead against a suit contract. If you wait too long, declarer may
be able to discard some of the losers in hand.
“Against a notrump contract, you give declarer a trick by leading the suit in
the third example, but in doing so, you develop four tricks. You may not be
able to wait for partner to get in and lead the suit, so this is a good choice
of suits to lead against a notrump contract. Against a suit contract, you give
declarer an extra trick. Declarer started with two losers but ends up with
only one if you lead the suit. It is better to wait until declarer or partner
leads the suit. Then you take the two tricks to which you are entitled.
“In the last example, you can develop two tricks in the suit against a notrump
contract without sacrificing any, so this is a good choice of suits to lead.
Against a suit contract, you can promote one trick in the suit without sac-
rificing any. Since declarer starts with one loser, this type of suit is good
to lead against a suit contract as well as a notrump contract. You want to
develop your winner before declarer can discard the loser.”
Conclusion
“Against a suit contract, the emphasis is on developing tricks from your
strong suits rather than long suits. You want to avoid leading a suit which
sacrifices a trick. The best choice of suits is often the one in which the part-
nership has combined strength. Since you can’t see partner’s hand, suits in
which you have a strong sequence are usually safe to lead.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 45
EXERCISE TWO: Utilizing the Trump Suit
Introduction
“Although declarer’s trump suit usually works to declarer’s advantage, the
defenders can sometimes use the trump suit to their advantage by ruffing
declarer’s winners. Leading a short suit — a singleton or doubleton, hoping
partner can return the suit for you to ruff — is often a good choice against
a suit contract.
“Many players, including experienced players, almost always lead a singleton
against a suit contract. This is not always the best choice since leading a
singleton involves some risk. You may be helping declarer establish one of
declarer’s suits. Let’s look at the type of conditions that make the lead of a
singleton effective. Construct the following hand face up on the table:
;874
k3
lJ873
' 10 8 6 5 2
“You are on lead after the bidding has gone 1; on your right, 2; on your
left and 4; on your right. Your diamond and club suits are not particularly
appealing, so you might consider leading your singleton heart. For this
to work, partner must be able to win a trick before all of your trumps are
drawn and lead a heart for you to ruff. Let’s see if that is a good possibility.
How many points do the opponents have? (At least 25 combined points, but
probably fewer than 33 since they did not bid to a slam contract.) How many
points do you have? (1 HCP plus 1 for the five-card club suit.) About how
many points do you expect partner to have? (About 8 to 15.) Is it reasonable
to expect partner to be able to take the first trick or an early trump trick so
that partner can lead a heart for you to ruff? (Yes.) So, this would be a good
time to lead the singleton heart. You hope partner will win the first trick and
lead a heart for you to ruff. If partner has another entry, you might be able
to get a second ruff and defeat the contract, despite your lack of high cards.
“Now let’s change the hand slightly and exchange your spades for the king,
the queen and the jack:
;KQJ
k3
lJ873
' 10 8 6 5 2
“There are enough high cards missing that you still could expect partner to
win a trick and give you a ruff if you lead your singleton, but will that gain
anything for your side? (No, you expect two trump tricks anyway.) There is
not much point in leading a singleton when you have natural trump tricks.
You would be better off to lead another suit in an attempt to create tricks
46 Defense in the 21st Century
for the defense elsewhere.
“Put back the three low spades and exchange one of the low diamonds for
the lA and two of the low clubs for the 'A and the 'K:
;874
k3
lAJ87
' A K 10 8 6
“Can you expect partner to have enough strength to win an early trick and
give you a ruff before trumps are drawn? (No. Partner can have very few
points since you have 12 HCPs and the opponents have at least 25 points.)
In this situation, leading your singleton would be a poor choice. If partner
can win a trick, you are likely to defeat the contract anyway, and you might
just help declarer find some missing card such as the lQ. You have a much
better choice in the 'A. If that card wins the trick, you can reconsider
leading your singleton after looking at the dummy. More likely, you may
be able to give your partner a ruff if partner is short in clubs!
“Finally, let’s exchange the lA for another low trump and the '6 for the
'Q.
;8742
k3
lJ87
' A K Q 10 8
“The singleton heart may hold some appeal, but when you have a lot of
trumps, there is another consideration. How many trumps is declarer likely
to have? (About five.) If you start leading your high clubs, either they will
take tricks or declarer may have to ruff in hand to stop you from taking
tricks. How many trumps would declarer have left if declarer started with
five and had to ruff one of your club winners? (Four.) So, if it’s necessary
to draw all of your trumps, how many will be left? (None.) When declarer
has no trumps left and your side regains the lead, you will be able to take
any winners you have and declarer will be powerless to stop you. Declarer
might lose control. So, when you have a lot of trumps, it is often a good idea
to lead your long suit, rather than your short suit, and hope to run declarer
out of trumps. If you can force declarer to ruff a couple of times, you may
end up with more trumps than declarer has.
“Now that we have looked at why you might lead a singleton and why you
might not, let’s see if we can put the knowledge into practice.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 47
Instructions
“You are defending a contract of 4; with no other suits bid during the
auction. What would be the advantage of leading a diamond rather than a
club on each of the hands in Exercise Two?”
1) ;865 2) ;QJ98 3) ; 8 6 5 2
kJ94 kJ942 kJ94
l4 l Q J 10 9 lAKQJ9
'Q97642 '5 '3
Try for a Ruff 2) Natural
1) ________________ trump tricks 3) ____________________
________________________ Long trumps
Follow-up
Have a student from one of your groups report the conclusion that the group reached. Did they
decide that the singleton was the best lead or not? The discussion should have been something like
this:
“On the first hand, you would lead your singleton diamond, hoping for a
ruff. Your club suit does not look too promising, since even if partner has
some help, you won’t be able to take too many tricks before declarer can
ruff. Partner is marked with some strength because you are weak, so there
is a good chance of winning a couple of tricks and giving you one or more
ruffs.
“On the second hand, there is no point in looking for ruffs by leading your
singleton since you are likely to have a couple of natural trump tricks any-
way. Leading diamonds to try to establish one or more winners in that suit
is better.
“On the third hand, you have four trumps. Leading your diamond winners is
probably better. If you can force declarer to ruff, you may end up with more
trumps than declarer has. If you lead the lA, you could always switch to
another suit after seeing the dummy. If you start by leading your singleton
club, you may be too late.”
Conclusion
“Often a singleton is a good lead against a suit contract. Before you au-
tomatically lead a singleton just because you have one, however, consider
two things: (1) whether you can reasonably expect your partner to be able
to lead the suit before declarer pulls your trump cards, and (2) whether you
will gain anything if partner can lead the suit. You are probably better off
to look elsewhere for your tricks, if you have natural trump tricks or a lot
of trumps.”
48 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE THREE: Leading Trumps
Introduction
“You may have heard the expression when in doubt, lead trumps. The op-
posite sentiment is probably more accurate. You should lead trumps only
when you have a reason for doing so.
“There are two main reasons for leading a trump. The first is that declarer
often should want to ruff some losers in the dummy and there must be
trumps in the dummy to do that. By leading trumps, you will start eliminat-
ing dummy’s trumps. If you regain the lead, you may be able to lead trumps
again — declarer may never be able to ruff enough losers.
“The other reason for leading a trump is because leads in all of the other
suits appear to be unsafe. As we saw earlier, you try to avoid giving up a
trick when defending against a suit contract since you may never get the
trick back. If the opponents have shown strength in all of the outside suits,
it may be best to make the passive lead of a trump, hoping to give nothing
away. That way you leave all of the work to declarer.
“Otherwise, you should avoid leading a trump since it probably will help
declarer. Remember that declarer usually wants to draw your trumps before
going about the business of taking the winners and discarding losers. Having
the opening lead can be an advantage for your side. Do not lead a trump if
there is anything better to do.
“How do you know if declarer is planning to ruff some losers in the dummy?
While you can’t always be sure, your ears can give you a good clue. Listen
to what the opponents bid and try to construct a picture of their hands. Let’s
see how you do this. We’ll try to draw a picture of the opponents’ hands on
the table by listening to their auction. First, suppose one opponent opens
the bidding 1k. How many hearts is that opponent likely to have? (At
least five.) So let’s put five hearts face down on the table in front of your
opponent. We put them face down because we aren’t really interested in
which hearts they are.”
Have the students put five cards face down in front of one of the players (e.g., South). This is the
start of a “hand” they are going to construct.
“Now suppose the opponent’s partner responds 1;. How many spades does
that bid show? (At least four.) So let’s put four spades face down in front
of partner. Now the opener rebids 2'. How many clubs does opener have?
(At least four.) So put four clubs face down in front of opener. Suppose
responder then raises to 3'. How many clubs does that show? (At least
four.) Put four clubs in front of responder. Let’s suppose opener passes,
rejecting responder’s invitation, and the final contract is 3'. Let’s fill out
the hands using our imagination. Suppose we give opener two spades and
two diamonds to complete opener’s hand. We can’t be sure, but it helps with
our picture. Put those cards in opener’s hand. We need five more cards for
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 49
responder. Responder didn’t seem too interested in opener’s heart suit, even
though opener showed a five-card suit. Let’s give responder two hearts and
three diamonds.”
The hands on the table should now look like this (with all cards face down):
RESPONDER (DUMMY)
;XXXX
kXX
lXXX
'XXXX
OPENER (DECLARER)
;XX
kXXXXX
lXX
'XXXX
“We have managed to construct a mental picture of the opponents’ hands
from the auction. Some auctions will give us more information, some less.
You can see how useful this can be. Is declarer likely to have some losers to
ruff in the dummy? (Yes, in the heart suit.) Might it be a good idea to lead
a trump? (Yes, to try to prevent declarer from ruffing all of the heart losers
in the dummy.) It would be an especially good idea if we had a lot of high
hearts. Dummy might even have a singleton or a void.
“Let’s get some more practice listening to the auction and constructing a
mental picture of the opponents’ hands.”
50 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
This exercise may be too difficult for your class. You may want to treat it as a “Finer Point” which
some students can look at outside of class time.
“For each of the auctions in Exercise Three, put down a possible suit distri-
bution for both declarer’s hand and the dummy (using X’s to represent the
cards). On which auctions might leading a trump prevent declarer from
ruffing losers in the dummy?”
1) NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
(DUMMY) (PARTNER) (DECLARER) (YOU)
Pass Pass 1k Pass
1 NT Pass 2l Pass
Pass Pass
2) NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
(DUMMY) (PARTNER) (DECLARER) (YOU)
1l Pass 1; Pass
2' Pass 2k Pass
3k Pass 4k Pass
Pass Pass
3) NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
(DUMMY) (PARTNER) (DECLARER) (YOU)
1; Pass
2' Pass 3' Pass
3; Pass 4; Pass
Pass Pass
1) DUMMY 2) DUMMY 3) DUMMY
; X X (X) ;— ;XXX
k X (X) kXXXX k (X) (X) (X)
lXXXX l X X X X (X) l (X) (X)
'XXXX 'XXXX ' X X X X (X)
DECLARER DECLARER DECLARER
; (X) (X) ;XXXXX ;XXXXX
kXXXXX kXXXX k (X) (X)
lXXXX l (X) (X) l (X) (X)
' (X) (X) ' (X) (X) 'XXXX
Lead a trump?
Yes
1) _________________ Yes
2) _________________ No
3)_________________
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 51
Follow-up
The players may want to use the cards to construct the hands on the table, rather than writing them
down. Let them experiment, but be ready to help them, since the concept is probably quite new to
them. There is bound to be some variety, but the main point should be clear, and the players should
be able to see which auctions might induce them to lead a trump. Make sure they see why a trump
lead is unlikely to work on the last auction, where the opponents have a fit in two suits. Declarer is
likely to be able to discard one or more losers if there is enough time.
Conclusion
“As you start paying more attention to the opponents’ auction before choos-
ing your opening lead, you will start to recognize the opportunities for
leading trumps to prevent declarer from ruffing losers. Otherwise, lead a
trump only if everything else looks too dangerous. Try not to be ‘in doubt’
when you choose to lead a trump.”
52 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FOUR: Choosing the Suit
Introduction
“As we have just seen, sometimes the bidding gives you ideas about what
suit to choose for the opening lead. If your partner has bid a suit, either
against a notrump or a suit contract, you usually choose that suit to lead.
Otherwise, an unbid suit is still a good choice. A suit with a strong sequence
offers a good chance to promote winners for your side. Leading from a
strong sequence is usually safer than leading away from an honor, hoping
that partner has something in the suit. If nothing else looks attractive, you
can lead a trump.”
Instructions
“You are on lead against 4k with the hand in Exercise Four.
;Q92
k863
lKQ82
'Q72
“Which suit would you lead under each of these conditions:
1) Your partner overcalled in clubs during the auction.
2) The only suit bid during the auction was hearts.
3) The opponents bid all four suits during the auction.
4) The opponents bid hearts and diamonds during the auction.”
Club Diamond
1) _____________ 2) _____________ Heart
3) ____________ Club or Spade
4) ________________
Follow-up
Have a student from each group report which suit was chosen and why. At this point, we are not
concerned with the specific card chosen, merely the suit. The discussion should have gone something
like this:
“If partner bid clubs, you should lead a club if there is nothing clearly better
to do. If the only suit bid was hearts, you would look at the unbid suits. The
strong holding in diamonds suggests a diamond lead, rather than a spade
or a club, where you will need help from partner — and may not find it. If
the opponents have bid both hearts and diamonds, you should avoid those
suits and lead one of the unbid suits, either spades or clubs. Your guess is
as good as mine as to which suit will work out better, but you have to give
one of them a try.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 53
Conclusion
“When you make the opening lead, it may seem as if all you have to go on
are the 13 cards you are looking at. After all, you are the only player who
has to choose a card without first seeing the dummy. The bidding, however,
often makes your decision easier. If partner has bid a suit, you can lead that
suit. Otherwise, you tend to lead an unbid suit, preferably one with touching
high cards. Sometimes, a singleton or a trump may be attractive.”
54 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FIVE: Choosing the Card
Introduction
“Once you have decided on the suit to lead, the next decision is to choose
the card. There are two main differences between leading against a suit and
a notrump contract. Against a notrump contract, you lead the top of a three-
card or longer sequence; otherwise you lead a low card (fourth highest).
Against a suit contract, you lead the top of two-card or longer sequences.
To see why, lay out the following cards in the heart suit:
DUMMY
k 10 3
OPENING LEADER EAST
kKQ86 k7542
DECLARER
kAJ9
“Suppose spades are trump. What happens if West leads a low heart?
(Declarer ends up with no losers in the suit.) Would this have been such a
disaster against a notrump contract? (No. Declarer gets two tricks, but the
defenders can still establish two tricks.)
“The other difference concerning the choice of cards against notrump and
suit contracts is that you do not want to lead away from an ace against a suit
contract. Lay out the following cards:
DUMMY
kQ
OPENING LEADER EAST
k A 10 8 7 3 kJ542
DECLARER
kK96
“Would there be any harm in leading a low heart against a notrump con-
tract? (No. Declarer is entitled to one trick.) What might happen if you led
a low heart against a suit contract? (Declarer might end up with no losers
in the suit. After winning the kQ, declarer can ruff the remaining hearts
in dummy.) If you lead the suit, it is better to lead the ace than a low card.
Let’s try some more examples.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 55
Instructions
“In each of the examples in Exercise Five, which would be the best card
to lead from the suit against a notrump contract? Which would be the
best card against a suit contract?”
1) DUMMY
753
YOU PARTNER
AK842 10 6
DECLARER
QJ9
2) DUMMY
8
YOU PARTNER
A J 10 9 3 7542
DECLARER
KQ6
3) DUMMY
64
YOU PARTNER
KQ973 10 5
DECLARER
AJ82
4 (low); Ace
1) ________________ Jack; Ace
2) _________________ 7 (low); King
3) ________________
56 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Depending on how much time you have, you can either explain what would be led against a
notrump contract and a suit contract or have one of the students report the thoughts of the group.
The explanation could be something like this:
“In the first example, if you lead the two high cards against a notrump con-
tract and then lead the suit again, you have established two winners. Note,
however, that there may be no entry to them if partner next gets the lead.
Since declarer is entitled to one trick, leading a low card costs nothing and
avoids stranding your winners. Against a suit contract, however, leading a
low card would give declarer an undeserved trick. Declarer may even be able
to discard some losers and you may not get either your ace or your king. By
leading the ace, the king and then another one, partner will be able to ruff,
so declarer will lose three tricks in the suit.
“In the second example, you would lead the top of your interior sequence, the
jack, against a notrump contract. Declarer can win the queen, but if partner
gets in to lead the suit back, you end up taking four tricks since declarer’s
king is trapped. Against a suit contract, however, you may never get a trick
with your ace if you lead the jack. Declarer will win the first trick with the
queen and may be able to ruff the remaining two cards in the dummy. If
you lead the suit, the ace is safer, although you probably would be better
off selecting a different suit to lead.
“In the last example, you would lead a low card against a notrump contract.
Declarer gets two tricks in the suit, but you eventually establish three win-
ners. Against a suit contract, however, the king is a better choice. It prevents
declarer from escaping with no losers in the suit, and if declarer wins the
ace and leads the suit again, your partner may be able to ruff (overruffing
the dummy).”
Conclusion
“When leading against a suit contract, choose the top card of a two-card or
longer sequence. If your suit is headed by an ace, lead the ace rather than
away from it.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 57
EXERCISE SIX: Putting It All Together
Introduction
“Now that we have seen some suggestions about choosing the suit to lead
against a trump contract and choosing the card within the suit, let’s put it all
together. When you’re on lead against a contract of 4k, what sort of things
should you consider before making the opening lead?”
Help the students come up with suggestions that cover the various choices: leading partner’s
suit, avoiding leading the opponents’ suits, favoring strong sequences in the unbid suits, considering
a singleton if partner can get the lead before declarer draws trumps, leading a trump if it sounds as
though declarer will want to ruff losers in the dummy or if everything else looks dangerous, leading
a long suit if you think you can force declarer to use up all of the trumps and lose control, leading
the top of touching high cards, avoiding leading away from an ace. Encourage the students to treat
the suggestions as ideas to keep in mind when leading against a suit contract rather than a list of
rules which has to be memorized.
“When making the opening lead, always review the auction to see if there
are any clues to guide you. You usually concentrate on the unbid suits. Once
you choose the suit, it only remains to choose the appropriate card in the
suit.”
Instructions
“The auction proceeds:
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
(Dummy) (Partner) (Declarer) (You)
1' Pass
1k Pass 1; Pass
2; Pass 4; Pass
Pass Pass
“Which card would you lead from each of the hands in Exercise Six?”
1) ;Q74 2) ;J92 3) ;K8
kJ83 kJ75 kQ97
lQJ62 lAJ975 l Q 10 8 3 2
' J 10 8 'Q4 'Q54
lQ
1) ________________ lA
2) ________________ l3
3) ________________
4) ; A 9 3 5) ; 8 6 4 6) ; 7 5 3
k 10 8 5 3 2 kJ932 k A 10 5
l6 lK5 l A Q 10
'J865 'Q874 ' K 10 4 2
l6
4) ________________ lK
5) ________________ ;3
6) ________________
58 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
You’ll be able to judge whether your class would be better off discussing the examples in groups
or whether you should lead the discussion and guide the students through each example with state-
ments such as: “You like the club suit but the opponents bid clubs, and “What other suit might be a
good choice?”
If students have independently discussed the examples, you could read out the answers, asking if
there is any group which disagrees and then bringing up that example for discussion. For example:
“The only unbid suit is diamonds, so you should look at that suit first. In
the first hand, you have a two-card sequence and can lead the top card, the
lQ. On the second hand, diamonds is probably still the best choice, but
you would lead the lA rather than fourth highest. One advantage of lead-
ing an ace is that you get to see the dummy before deciding on your next
move. On the third hand, you have no sequence, so lead low, the l3, fourth
highest. On the fourth hand, the conditions are right to lead your singleton
diamond. You can win a trump trick before declarer can draw trumps and
there is a good chance to get a ruff. On the fifth hand, a diamond still looks
best. Lead the lK, top of your doubleton. You hope partner will have the
lA or lQ, and you may be able to get a ruff. In the last hand, leading a
diamond is not so attractive. With all of the strength you have, partner is
unlikely to have the lK, so you may be helping declarer. Lead a trump and
leave the work to declarer.”
Conclusion
“When you are leading, use the information that the bidding gives you. Gen-
erally it is a good idea to lead your partner’s suit and to avoid the opponents’
suits. Favor your strong sequences. You also should consider the lead of a
singleton or a trump. Make your best effort and remember that choosing the
best lead is a guess at any time. Even world champions sometimes would
love to play the deal over again with a different opening lead.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 59
EXERCISE SEVEN: Review of Responses to Opening Bids in a Suit
Introduction
The lesson concentrates on opening leads against trump contracts. A comprehensive review of
responding to opening suit bids is not expected. On the other hand, since students will be bidding
the hands, this exercise can serve to quickly remind the students of a few points.
“When partner opens the bidding, you are usually the captain and it is your
job to keep an eye on the final contract. An opening suit bid at the one level
shows a hand with 13 to 21 points. As responder, you would like more in-
formation from your partner, a clearer description of both the strength and
distribution of partner’s hand.
“If partner opens 1k or 1;, showing a five-card suit, your first priority is
to show support if you have three or more cards. With 6 to 9 dummy points,
raise to the two level. With 10 or 11 points, (1) raise to the three level, if
you are playing limit raises, or (2) bid a new suit, planning to raise partner
next round, if you are playing forcing raises. With 12 or more points, (1)
raise to the three level, if you are playing forcing raises, or (2) bid a new
suit, planning to raise partner to game next round, if you are playing limit
raises. If you can’t raise partner’s major, bid a new suit at the one level, if
you can. If you can’t, you’ll have to bid 1NT with only 6 to 9 points, but
you can bid a new suit at the two level with 10 or more points.
“After an opening bid of 2', you should remember that partner alone has
enough points for game (or close to it). When partner opens 2' and you
have fewer than 8 points, always respond 2l. Other responses to a 2'
opening are natural positive bids, promising at least 8 points and two of the
top three honors in the suit mentioned.
“After an opening two- or three-level preemptive bid, showing a weak hand,
you should remember that responding is more about counting tricks than
counting points. Try to visualize partner’s hand and estimate the outcome
of various contracts.”
60 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“What would you respond with each of the hands in Exercise Seven if partner
opened 1k? If partner opened 2'? If partner opened 3k?”
1) ;Q7643 2) ;KQ765 3) ;AJ83
k85 kQ8 kQ862
l742 lJ92 lQJ9
'J86 ' 10 6 4 'J6
1) Pass; 2l; Pass 2) 1;;
________________ 2;; Pass
________________ 1; (3k); 2NT;
3) ________________ Pass
Follow-up
Discuss the answers with the group to move the exercise along. It shouldn’t take more than 10
minutes. The Bidding in the 21st Century text introduces limit raises, but when discussing the third
hand, you may want to explain that many partnerships play forcing raises.
Conclusion
“When partner opens one of a suit, you are in the position of captain but
need more information from partner. Pass with fewer than 6 points. With
support for partner’s major, you can raise the suit to the appropriate level.
Otherwise, bid a new suit. With 6 to 9 points, you are too weak to bid a new
suit at the two level. You have to respond 1NT if you can’t bid a suit at the
one level. When partner opens 2', you are forced to reply even with no
points. With 8 or more points, you can raise with support or bid your own
suit. When partner opens two or three of a suit, you need to decide how well
your hand fits together with partner’s hand before you bid. Remember, the
purpose of a preemptive bid is to interfere with the opponents’ bidding.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 61
EXERCISE EIGHT: Review of Declarer’s Plan
Introduction
“When playing in a suit contract, you always start by going through declarer’s
PLAN:
1. Pause to consider your objectives.
2. Look at your winners and losers.
3. Analyze your alternatives.
4. Now put it all together.
“In a suit contract, the emphasis is on losers. Consider your objective in
terms of losers, count the number of losers you have and then determine
how you can eliminate any losers.”
Instructions
“Go through the four steps of declarer’s PLAN to decide how to play the deal
in exercise eight in a contract of 4k after the opening lead of the 'K.”
Dummy
;Q
kJ753
lAK52
'7642
Lead
'K
Declarer
;A95
k Q 10 9 8 6
lQ3
'A83
62 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Following through the four steps of declarer’s PLAN, you might say something like this:
“The first step is ‘Pause to consider your objectives.’ In a suit contract, the
objective is considered in terms of losers. How many losers can you afford
in a contract of 4k? (Three.) The next step is ‘Look at your winners and
losers.’ In a suit contract, you look at your losers. How many losers are
there? (Six: two in spades, two in hearts and two in clubs.) That is three
too many, so you move on to the third step, ‘Analyze your alternatives.’
How can you get rid of some of those losers? (The two spade losers can be
ruffed in dummy and one of the club losers can be discarded on the extra
diamond winner in dummy.) The final step of the plan is ‘Now put it all
together.’ One of the decisions in putting everything together is whether or
not to start by drawing trumps. Is drawing trumps right away a good idea
on this deal? (No. You would have to give up the lead to draw trumps and
there are too many quick losers. Declarer will have to discard a club loser
before drawing trumps. Declarer also needs two of dummy’s trumps to ruff
the spade losers. Declarer should plan to do this before all of the trumps
are drawn.)”
Conclusion
“When declarer goes through the PLAN, it focuses declarer’s attention in
the right direction. In this deal, for example, declarer may be tempted to
take the first trick and start drawing trumps. Making the PLAN tells declarer
there are too many quick losers, and declarer has to get rid of one before
giving the lead to the opponents.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 63
SAMPLE DEALS
EXERCISE NINE: Leading Partner’s Suit
Introduction
There is nothing difficult about this deal, but it does show how well the defenders can do when
the opener leads partner’s suit. You might discuss only the bidding with all of the hands face up on
the table. Then have the students pick up their hands, bid again and play the hand. West is presented
with a tempting sequence in clubs. If West leads one, declarer makes the contract.
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the first pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #2, Deal 1)
Dealer: North ;Q762
kKJ5
l Q J 10 8
'A6
;93 N ; 10
k962 W E k A Q 10 8 4
l432 lAK75
S
' Q J 10 9 3 '852
;AKJ854
k73
l96
'K74
The Bidding
“What would North open the bidding? (1l.) How can East describe the
hand? (Overcall 1k.) What does South bid? (1;.) West passes. What re-
bid does North make to show support for partner’s suit? (2;.) East passes.
How many points does South have? (13, 11 HCPs plus 2 for the six-card
suit.) At what level does the partnership belong? (Game.) Is there a Golden
Fit? (Yes, spades.) What does South rebid? (4;.) How does the auction
proceed from there? (Pass, pass, pass.) What is the contract? (4;.) Who is
the declarer? (South.)”
The Defense
“Which player makes the opening lead? (West.) What would the opening
lead be? (k2.) Why? How does East plan to defeat the contract? (Two heart
tricks and two diamond tricks.)”
64 Defense in the 21st Century
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer can afford three losers. There are two heart losers, two
diamond losers and one club loser. Declarer can try the heart finesse and/
or plan to promote an extra diamond winner in dummy on which to discard
a heart loser. The club loser can be ruffed in dummy.)”
Conclusion
“Leading partner’s suit not only promotes a good relationship between you
and partner, but it is often the only way to defeat the contract.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 65
EXERCISE TEN: Leading from a Sequence
Introduction
“In the previous deal, partner gave a good suggestion for the opening lead.
Sometimes, there are few hints given from the bidding, and you have to
choose by looking only at the cards in your hand. Remember that the more
powerful suits, suits with strong sequences, should be preferred over a long
suit from which you have to lead away from a high card.”
You may review the bidding with the students with the hands face up so that all of the tables are
playing the same contract. Then have the students play the contract and turn the cards up afterwards,
so you can question them about the defense and the play.
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the second pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #2, Deal 2)
Dealer: East ;J76
k97
l9863
'QJ93
;942 N ;AQ
kKJ64 k A Q 10 8 5
W E
l A 10 7 l542
'765 S 'AK4
; K 10 8 5 3
k32
lKQJ
' 10 8 2
The Bidding
“North and South pass throughout the auction. What would East open the
bidding? (1k.) How does West show trump support and the strength of the
hand? (2k.) What does East rebid? (4k.) How does the auction proceed
from there? (Pass, pass, pass.) What is the contract? (4k.) Who is the de-
clarer? (East.)”
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (South.) What would the opening lead be?
(lK.) Why? (Top of a strong sequence.) What would happen if South led a
spade? (Declarer would take two spade tricks and therefore no longer have
a spade loser. Declarer would make the contract.)”
66 Defense in the 21st Century
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer has one spade loser, two diamond losers and one
club loser. Declarer plans to take the spade finesse, hoping to eliminate the
spade loser.)”
The possibility of an end play (to get South to lead a spade) will not occur to students at this
level. If declarer does lead back a diamond before taking the spade finesse, South can safely lead a
club after taking a second diamond trick. The reason for leading a club rather than a spade can be
explained using the same reasoning for not leading a spade in the first place. Leading through strength
will be explained in a later lesson. The deal is constructed so that South will not give declarer a ruff
and discard if thrown in with a diamond and so that North would win the third round of clubs if that
suit is played. Of course, if declarer somehow chooses to play three rounds of clubs after drawing
trumps, North may lead back a diamond rather than a spade. It is unlikely, however, that this line of
play will occur at any of the tables.
Conclusion
“Against a trump contract, you don’t look so much at your long suit for the
source of tricks that you need to defeat the contract. Instead, you look at your
stronger suits. In this deal, a diamond was safer than a spade lead, although
you would tend to lead a spade against a notrump contract.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 67
EXERCISE ELEVEN: Leading a Trump
Introduction
It’s a good idea to keep this deal face up on the table while you go over not just the bidding but
the opening lead and the play. It can be difficult for the students to picture how drawing trumps can
work out well for the defenders when that is supposed to be a priority for declarer.
“This deal is a good example of when it is best for the defenders to lead a
trump. First of all, let’s look at the bidding and see what kind of picture this
gives the defenders. Then we’ll look at what happens when the defenders
lead trumps.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the third pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #2, Deal 3)
Dealer: South ;K9865
k K J 10 6
lK83
'A
;742 N ; A Q J 10
kA5 W E k742
l J 10 6 2 lQ74
S
'KQ85 ' 10 9 7
;3
kQ983
lA95
'J6432
The Bidding
“South and West pass. What is North’s opening bid? (1;.) East passes.
Without support for partner’s suit and no suit that can be bid at the one level,
what does South respond? (1NT.) West passes. Can North conveniently
show a second suit? (Yes, 2k.) East passes. Which suit does South prefer?
(Hearts.) What does South do? (Pass.) What is the contract? (2k.) Who is
the declarer? (North.)”
68 Defense in the 21st Century
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (East.) After listening to the auction, what
would the opening lead be? (A trump.) Why? (Dummy is likely to be short
in spades and declarer will want to ruff the spade losers in dummy.) What
does East plan to do when back in the lead? (Lead another trump.) How can
West help? (Lead back a trump after winning the kA.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer has five spade losers, one heart loser and one diamond
loser. Declarer plans to give up a spade trick and ruff one or more spade
losers in the dummy.)”
Conclusion
“When you think declarer would like to use dummy’s trumps to ruff
losers, it is a good idea to lead trumps. The bidding often indicates this
when declarer bids two suits and responder doesn’t like one of them.”
Lesson 2 — Opening Leads against Suit Contracts 69
EXERCISE TWELVE: Leading a Short Suit
Introduction
“There are deals where a singleton is the best lead for the defenders and
there are deals when the lead of a singleton helps declarer. Let’s look at this
deal and decide how the player making the opening lead can tell whether
or not this is the right time to lead a singleton.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the fourth pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #2, Deal 4)
Dealer: West ;743
k 10 8 7 4
l9
' 10 6 5 4 3
; K J 10 9 5 N ;Q862
kKJ kA95
W E
l K Q 10 3 lJ75
'AJ S 'KQ2
;A
kQ632
lA8642
'987
The Bidding
“What is West’s opening bid? (1;.) North passes. What does East respond?
(2', temporizing or waiting bid.) South passes. What does West rebid?
(3l, with a jump shift showing a maximum hand of 19 to 21 points.) What
does East rebid? (Game, 4;.) What does West do? (Pass.) Why? (Since
responder heard West's jump shift and did not make a slam try by asking
for aces, West should assume there are not enough points for slam.) If West
decides to ask for aces, West will find the partnership only has two and will
stop in 5;. What is the contract? (4;.) Who is the declarer? (West.)”
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (North.) What hope is there to defeat the
contract? (To use defenders’ trumps effectively — hoping South has some
strength and can give North a ruff.) What does North lead? (l9.) How can
South cooperate? (Win the lA and lead a diamond for North to ruff; then
lead another diamond after winning the ;A.)”
70 Defense in the 21st Century
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Draw trumps after driving out the ;A and then promote
the diamond suit by driving out the lA.) How many losers does declarer
expect to have when the dummy goes down? (Two, the ;A and the lA.)
What can go wrong? (The defenders may ruff some of declarer’s winners
if trumps can’t be drawn quickly enough.)”
Conclusion
“When you can reasonably expect partner to get the lead and give you a
ruff, a singleton can be a good lead. The fewer points you have, the more
points you can expect from your partner.”
LESSON 3
Third-Hand Play
General Concepts
General Introduction
Group Activities
Sample Deals
72 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL CONCEPTS
Defense
Third-hand play
s Third hand high
s When partner leads a low card
s Third hand not so high
s Playing the lower of touching cards
s Finessing against dummy
s When partner leads a high card
s Unblocking
Bidding
Review of responses to opening notrump bids
s The Stayman convention
s Responding to 1NT opening bids
s Responding to 2NT opening bids
s Responding to 3NT opening bids
Play of the Hand
Developing tricks in notrump contracts
s Promotion
s Long suits
s Finesses
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 73
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
There are too many exceptions to develop a set of specific rules for third-hand play. Instead, the
students are introduced to the general guideline of third hand high and shown some of the circum-
stances where this is a good idea. Then they are introduced to some straightforward examples where
third hand does not play its highest card, only as high as “necessary.” Rather than memorizing rules,
the student should be encouraged to look at the card partner leads, look at the dummy and the cards
in hand and try to visualize what the layout of the suit might be. With this picture in mind, the student
can try to make the best play in third position.
Even if the student can visualize all four hands, the student has to know what to do. It is some-
times far from obvious even when you can actually see all of the cards in the suit. The exercises start
off giving the students a chance to look at various suit layouts and to discuss how the defenders can
take the maximum number of tricks in the suit.
“For the last two lessons, we have focused on opening leads. You were the
first to play to the trick. This week, we’re going to move across to the other
side of the table. Your partner leads, either as the opening leader or during
the play, and you are now in the position referred to as third hand. You have
an important role because your card is the last your side will play to the
trick. Let’s see how you make your best choice.”
74 Defense in the 21st Century
GROUP ACTIVITIES
EXERCISE ONE: Third Hand High
Introduction
“One of the sayings handed down from the days of whist is third hand
high. This implies that third hand should play as high a card to the trick as
the player can afford. It helps to consider the circumstances in which this
guideline is best applied. A typical situation is when partner leads a low card
on opening lead and a low card is played from dummy. Let’s see why third
hand high works so well. Take the spade suit and distribute it as follows:
DUMMY
864
PARTNER YOU
KJ75 A 10 2
DECLARER
Q93
“You are East and your partner leads the 5 against a notrump contract.
Declarer plays the 4 from dummy. If you play your lowest card, the 2,
declarer wins the first trick with the 9. If you make a halfhearted attempt
to win the trick and play the 10, declarer wins with the Q. Instead, you
must play the highest card you can afford, the A. If you play the A and
lead back the 10, declarer’s Q is trapped. If declarer covers your 10,
partner’s K takes the trick. If declarer doesn’t cover, your 10 wins and
declarer loses the Q on the next round. By playing third hand high, you
prevent declarer from taking a single trick in the suit.
“Playing third hand high can be the best idea, even if you don’t win the
trick. Let’s change the example slightly by exchanging your A and 10
for declarer’s Q and 9:
DUMMY
864
PARTNER YOU
KJ75 Q92
DECLARER
A 10 3
“Again the lead is the 5 and a low card is played from dummy. It doesn’t
hurt to play the highest card you have, the Q. Declarer can take the A,
but you have promoted three winners for your side. If you played the 2,
or even the 9, declarer would win the first trick with the 10 and still
have the A left.”
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 75
The focus of this lesson is on the first card played by the third hand. Nonetheless, it might help
students see that in order to take all of the tricks they are entitled to in a suit, the defenders often
must be careful. Have them exchange West’s J and South’s 10 and discuss what would happen
after declarer wins the first trick. The defenders would have to trap declarer’s J. This can be done
only if East leads the suit rather than West.
This is likely to draw away from the focus on third hand high. Therefore, unless you feel your
students are advanced enough to quickly understand the situation, this is probably not the best place
to go into too much detail. If you think it is worthwhile, the discussion might go like this:
“In this layout, it is easy for the defenders to take their tricks once declarer’s
A is driven out. Even after playing third hand high, however, the defend-
ers must play carefully to get the tricks to which they are entitled. Let’s
exchange partner’s J and declarer’s 10:
DUMMY
864
PARTNER YOU
K 10 7 5 Q92
DECLARER
AJ3
“After partner leads the 5 and you play the Q to drive out declarer’s
A, let’s look at the remaining cards:
DUMMY
86
PARTNER YOU
K 10 7 92
DECLARER
J3
“We’ll be looking at how the defenders take their winners in more detail later
in the series. It is worth noting at this point, however, that you, East, and not
partner, West, has to lead the suit next, if the defenders are to take the three
tricks to which they are entitled. Suppose partner gets the lead before you
do. If partner leads a spade, either the K or a low spade, declarer gets a
trick with the J. Instead, partner should lead another suit, trying to find
an entry into your hand. There is no problem once you get the lead. When
you lead a spade, the defenders take the next three tricks because declarer’s
J is trapped.
“Let’s practice playing third hand high.”
76 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise One, your partner leads the 5 and the 3
is played from dummy. Which card must you play as third hand to ensure
that your side gets all of the tricks to which it is entitled?”
1) DUMMY
73
PARTNER YOU
KJ652 A84
DECLARER
Q 10 9
2) DUMMY
983
PARTNER YOU
Q 10 6 5 K72
DECLARER
AJ4
3) DUMMY
A83
PARTNER YOU
Q975 K 10 6
DECLARER
J42
Ace
1) ________________ King
2) _________________ King
3) ________________
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 77
Follow-up
Since this is the first exercise, have a student from each group give a report on how many tricks
the group expected to take by playing third hand high. The explanation for each example can be quite
simple. You might expect something like this:
“In the first example, you play third hand high, the ace, and win the trick.
You can then lead the suit back and declarer’s queen is trapped. You end up
with five tricks in the suit.
“In the second example, the king should be played to drive out declarer’s
ace. As long as you lead the suit next, trapping declarer’s jack, the defense
takes three tricks. If partner has to lead the suit next, declarer will take a
second trick.
“In the final example, you should play the king, as high a card as you can
afford. If you play the 10, declarer will win the trick with the jack and still
have the ace left. When the king wins, you can lead the 10, top of your re-
maining doubleton, trapping declarer’s jack and setting up two more tricks
for the defense.”
Conclusion
“In each example, the defenders were more effective when third hand con-
tributed as high a card as could be afforded when trying to win the trick. A
lower card would not have worked out as well.”
78 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWO: Only as High as Necessary
Introduction
“As with all guidelines, we have to be careful as to when we apply them.
You don’t always play your highest card as third hand. The objective is to
try to win the trick or to promote winners in partner’s hand, so you need
to play a card only as high as necessary. To see this, lay out the following
cards in the heart suit:
DUMMY
853
PARTNER YOU
K 10 6 4 QJ2
DECLARER
A97
“Suppose partner leads the 4 and a low card is played from dummy. You
need to play third hand high. Your Q and J are equals, however. Since
each one would be equally effective, it does not look as though it makes
much difference which you choose. However, you must remember that you
are playing with a partner. The card you choose may make some difference
to partner who can’t see into your hand and has no way of knowing that you
hold both the Q and the J.
“You have seen this sort of situation before, where you give partner infor-
mation through the card you play. When making an opening lead, you always
lead the top of a sequence to show that you have the next lower card but not
the next higher card. It would be nice if we used the same rule in this situation,
but the guideline here is to play only as high a card as necessary. That means
you play the lower of your touching cards, the J. It may seem irritating
that you lead the top of touching high cards but play the lower of touching
high cards in third hand, but let’s see why this works out best.
“When you play the J, declarer has to play the A to win the trick. This
passes the information to partner that you must also have the Q. Why? If
declarer had both the A and Q, declarer would play the Q on East’s
J, not the A. Why does it make a difference whether you play the Q
or the J? Suppose you played the Q and declarer won with the A.
Partner would not know who had the J. Partner would be entitled to think
that declarer held that card. Let’s exchange your J for declarer’s 9:
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 79
DUMMY
853
PARTNER YOU
K 10 6 4 Q92
DECLARER
AJ7
“If this were the layout, you would have to play the Q, third hand high.
Now it would not be safe for partner to lead the suit again — declarer would
take a trick with the J. By always playing the lower of your touching cards
when you have a choice, you are telling partner that you do not have the
next lower card, although you may have the next higher card(s).
“Here is another case where you need to play only as high a card as necessary
to win the trick. Rearrange the heart suit as follows:
DUMMY
Q53
PARTNER YOU
98642 AKJ
DECLARER
10 7
“Suppose partner leads a low heart and declarer plays a low heart from the
dummy. Which heart do you play? (The J.) You need play only as high a
card as necessary to win the trick. You do not want to waste your A and
K. That would give declarer an undeserved trick with dummy’s Q.”
80 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In the layouts in Exercise Two, your partner leads the 5 and the 3 is played
from dummy. Which card would you play? What do you expect to happen?”
1) DUMMY
A93
PARTNER YOU
5 Q J 10
2) DUMMY
J83
PARTNER YOU
5 K Q 10
3) DUMMY
A63
PARTNER YOU
5 K J 10
10
1) ________________ 10
2) _________________ King
3) ________________
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 81
Follow-up
Have the students give a brief explanation of which card they would play and why. The points
covered should be something like this:
“In the first layout, third hand would play the 10, only as high as necessary.
If declarer won the trick with the king, partner might suspect that you have
the jack, and even the queen. Partner would know for sure that you do not
have the 9. If the 10 wins the trick, partner will immediately know that
you have the jack and the queen, since declarer could have won the trick if
declarer held one of those cards.
“In the second layout, you would play the 10. Dummy’s jack is trapped and
the 10 is as high a card as necessary. If partner has the ace, the 10 will win
the trick. If declarer has the ace and wins the trick, your king and queen
will have been promoted into winners.”
Some students may want to play the queen, the lower of their touching cards. Remind them that
the focus is on playing only as high a card as necessary. They have to look at the cards in dummy
before deciding how high a card is needed.
“In the last layout, you must be careful not to automatically play the lower
of the touching cards, the 10. The priority is to play third hand high. You
play the lower of touching cards only when you have a choice. Here, if you
don’t play the king, declarer may win the trick with the queen.”
Conclusion
“Third hand should play only as high as necessary, playing the lower of
touching cards when given a choice. Before deciding how high it is nec-
essary to play, the defender has to look at partner’s card and those in the
dummy.”
82 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE THREE: Trapping High Cards
Introduction
“When deciding how high a card you need to play as third hand, it often helps
if you try to visualize the entire layout of the suit. You can't see partner’s
cards, other than the card led, and you can't see declarer’s cards, but some-
times the bidding and the logic of the situation will help you out. Let’s lay
out some of the cards in the diamond suit as follows:
DUMMY
K8
PARTNER YOU
4 AQ73
“Partner leads the 4 and declarer plays the 8. Which card do you play?
(The Q.) This looks too easy. You can see that dummy’s K is trapped
and that your Q is as high a card as is necessary to win the trick. Now,
let’s make it a little more challenging and replace your Q with the J:
DUMMY
K8
PARTNER YOU
4 AJ73
“What do you do when partner leads the 4 and the 8 is played from
dummy? How high a card is it necessary to play to win the trick? The A
will win the trick for sure, but the J may win the trick if partner has the
Q. This is where it helps to visualize the possible layout of the suit. First,
let’s give partner the Q:
DUMMY
K8
PARTNER YOU
Q 10 6 4 AJ73
DECLARER
952
“Seeing all of the cards, it is easy to see that you can insert the J and win
the trick, keeping your A to catch dummy’s K. If you play the A rather
than the J, you will give declarer an extra trick. But what if declarer holds
the Q, rather than partner? Now it looks as though it would be a mistake
to play the J, since declarer will be able to win the trick. Before deciding
that it would cost a trick to play the J, however, let’s see what the situation
looks like when we exchange partner’s Q for declarer’s 5:
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 83
DUMMY
K8
PARTNER YOU
10 6 5 4 AJ73
DECLARER
Q92
“Look what happens when you put in the J. Declarer can win the Q,
but now the remaining cards look like this:
DUMMY
K
PARTNER YOU
10 6 5 A73
DECLARER
92
“Dummy’s K is not going to take a trick, since you still have the A.
When your side next gets the lead, you can take all of the remaining diamond
tricks. Even if you are defending a suit contract, playing the J does not
cost anything. Declarer was always entitled to one trick in the suit.
“Now let’s go back a step and see what would happen if you played the A,
rather than the J. The remaining cards would look like this:
DUMMY
K
PARTNER YOU
10 6 5 J73
DECLARER
Q9
“How many tricks does declarer get now? (Two.) So, playing the A gives
declarer an extra trick whether or not declarer has the Q. Playing the J
does not cost a trick whether declarer or partner has the Q. When a low
card is played from dummy in the above situation and you play the J,
even though you do not know who has the Q, you are said to be taking
a finesse against dummy. Knowing when to take a finesse against dummy
is not always easy. It helps if you can accurately visualize partner’s and
declarer’s holdings in the suit. The general idea is to try to keep dummy’s
high card trapped whenever possible, so that declarer does not get a trick
to which declarer is not entitled. If you keep this in mind, it will help you
decide how high you need to play as third hand when trying to take the most
tricks for your side.
“Don’t finesse against dummy when there is nothing to finesse! If dummy
has only low cards, there is no high card to trap. You should play third hand
high with the highest card you can afford. To give you some practice at
finessing against dummy, let’s try the following layouts.”
84 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Three, your partner leads the 5 and the
3 is played from dummy. Which card must you play to enable your side to
eventually take the maximum number of tricks in the suit?”
1) DUMMY
Q73
PARTNER YOU
K965 AJ4
DECLARER
10 8 2
2) DUMMY
J83
PARTNER YOU
Q765 K 10 2
DECLARER
A94
3) DUMMY
K3
PARTNER YOU
J9754 A 10 6
DECLARER
Q82
Jack
1) ________________ 10
2) _________________ 10
3) ________________
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 85
Follow-up
Give the students some time to look over the various layouts. The concept of finessing against
dummy is not easy and you probably will have to help clarify the answers.
“The first layout is similar to the one we were looking at earlier. When you
can see all of the cards, it is easy to play the jack on the first trick when a
low card is played from dummy. You could still find this play without seeing
all of the cards, if you keep in mind that you would like to keep dummy’s
queen trapped. Even if declarer held the king, rather than partner, it is un-
likely to cost a trick if you play the jack.
“On the next layout, you have to play the 10 in order to take three tricks
in the suit. If you play the king, declarer will win the ace and later take a
second trick with the jack. By playing the 10 on the first trick, you keep
dummy’s jack trapped. At the table, you would have to try to visualize the
layout. Playing the 10 will work best if declarer has the ace, but what if
partner has the ace and declarer has the queen? In that case, declarer is still
entitled to one trick in the suit. By playing the 10, you are merely giving
up the trick sooner rather than later.
“In the last layout, you want to keep dummy’s king trapped, so you play the
10, rather than the ace, on the first trick. Declarer takes one trick with the
queen, but your side takes the rest of the tricks when you regain the lead. If
you play the ace, declarer takes two tricks, one with the king and one with
the queen. What if declarer held the jack rather than the queen? Declarer
would win the first trick, but would take one trick anyway if you play the
ace right away.”
Conclusion
“If partner leads low and there is a high card in the dummy, try to visu-
alize the complete layout of the suit. Whenever possible, you want to keep
dummy’s high cards trapped.”
86 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FOUR: When Partner Leads a High Card
Introduction
“So far, we have been looking at third-hand play when partner leads a low
card. When partner leads a high card, you may not need to play third hand
high, especially when there is an honor that can be trapped in the dummy.
To illustrate this, let’s put out the following cards in the club suit:
DUMMY
K83
PARTNER YOU
Q J 10 9 A542
DECLARER
76
“When partner leads the Q, top of a sequence, what do you play if declarer
plays dummy’s K? (Play the A, to win the trick.) If, instead, declarer
plays a low club from dummy, it would not be a good idea to play your A,
third hand high, since you can see that partner’s Q is going to win the
trick. You and partner have dummy’s K trapped. You essentially play this
suit the same way that declarer would if declarer held the same cards.”
At this point, don’t become involved with which club (other than the ace) that East would play.
The students will come to defensive signals in a couple of lessons.
“Now let’s exchange partner’s Q with declarer’s 7:
DUMMY
K83
PARTNER YOU
J 10 9 7 A542
DECLARER
Q6
“Partner would still lead the top of a sequence, the J. What do you play
this time when declarer plays a low club from dummy? Partner’s lead of the
J tells you that declarer has the Q, since partner always leads the top
of touching cards. It may look as though you want to be sure of winning
the trick by playing third hand high, the A. This situation, however, is
similar to one we looked at earlier. If you play the A, dummy’s K will
no longer be trapped. Declarer will take a trick with the Q and a trick
with the K.
“If you don’t play the A, declarer can win the trick with the Q, but
now dummy’s K is trapped. After regaining the lead, partner can lead the
10 and you will get the rest of the tricks in the club suit no matter which
card declarer plays from dummy.
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 87
“The situation is different if partner leads a high card and there is nothing
in dummy to trap. Give partner your A and exchange dummy’s K with
one of your low clubs:
DUMMY
832
PARTNER YOU
A J 10 9 7 K54
DECLARER
Q6
“Which card would partner lead against a notrump contract? ( J, top of
an interior sequence.) From partner’s lead of the J, you again know that
declarer has the Q. But this time there is no high card in dummy to trap.
What happens if you play a low card? (Declarer takes a trick with the Q.)
Even though it may seem expensive to play one of your high cards on top
of partner’s high card, that is the only way that you can stop declarer from
taking a trick with the Q. This is another case of third hand high. Of
course, partner may not be leading from an interior sequence. Let’s give
declarer partner’s A:
DUMMY
832
PARTNER YOU
J 10 9 7 K54
DECLARER
AQ6
“When you put the K on partner’s J, declarer can win the trick with the
A. But has your play of the K cost your side a trick? (No.) Declarer
is always entitled to two tricks in the suit, no matter what you do. Now,
let’s put you to work deciding whether or not to play third hand high when
partner leads a high card.”
88 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Four, your partner leads the jack and the
4 is played from dummy. Which card must you play on the first trick? How
should the defenders play the suit to get all of the tricks to which they are
entitled?”
1) DUMMY
K74
PARTNER YOU
J 10 8 5 AQ6
DECLARER
932
2) DUMMY
K84
PARTNER YOU
J 10 9 5 A63
DECLARER
Q72
3) DUMMY
754
PARTNER YOU
K J 10 9 A63
DECLARER
Q82
6
1) ________________ 6
2) _________________ Ace
3) ________________
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 89
Follow-up
Have a student report how the group decided the suit should be played and how many tricks the
defenders can take. The focus is on which card third hand should play to the first trick. There is a
good opportunity, however, to think about what would happen next in order for the defenders to take
all of their tricks. The discussion might be something like this:
“In the first layout, play the 6 to let partner’s jack win the trick. Partner can
lead the suit again and dummy’s king remains trapped. The defenders take
all of the tricks in the suit.
“In the next layout, play one of your low cards. Even though you know de-
clarer has the queen, you want to keep dummy’s king trapped. Partner will
have to lead the suit again in order to trap dummy’s king.”
In both of these layouts, partner may need an entry in an outside suit to get a trick with the remain-
ing low card. There is no need to dwell on this if the students do not bring the point up. The layouts
all work the same way whether you are defending a notrump contract or a suit contract.
“In the last layout, you need to play the ace to prevent declarer from taking
a trick with the queen. Then you must lead the suit back, trapping declarer’s
queen, in order to take all of the tricks in the suit.”
Conclusion
“When partner leads a high card, you may be able to trap a high card in the
dummy by playing a low card rather than third hand high. On the other hand,
if there are only low cards in the dummy, you may have to overtake partner’s
high card if there is an opportunity to trap a high card in declarer’s hand.”
90 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FIVE: Unblocking
Introduction
“There are times when you have to play a high card from third hand even
though it doesn’t seem necessary. Put out the following cards in the spade
suit:
DUMMY
942
PARTNER YOU
KQJ75 A3
DECLARER
10 8 6
“Before considering how the defenders should play this suit, let’s consider
how declarer would play this suit. It is straightforward for declarer. To avoid
stranding winners, declarer starts by playing the high card from the short
side. After winning the first trick with the ace, declarer can lead the 3 to
the rest of the winners. The defenders have a more difficult time. Partner
can’t see your cards and starts off by leading the K, top of a sequence.
Since partner’s K will win the trick, it does not look as though you need
to play your A. But look what happens if you don’t. Partner’s K will
win the trick. When partner leads the suit again, you can win the trick with
the A, but you have no low cards left to lead to partner’s winners. The
suit is blocked.
“How can you avoid blocking the suit? (Overtake partner’s K with the
A.) You want to start by playing the high card from the short side, in the
same way that declarer does. By playing the A on partner’s K, you
unblock the suit and take the first five tricks.
“An easy way to recognize this type of situation is to remind yourself that
when partner is trying to take tricks in a long suit, you don’t want your last
card in the suit to be a high card. You want to keep a low card so that you
can give the lead to your partner.”
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 91
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Five, your partner leads the indicated
card and declarer plays dummy’s ace. Which card must you play to allow the
defenders to take four tricks in the suit, if you have the only entry outside
of this suit?”
1) DUMMY
A92
PARTNER YOU
Q J 10 6 3 K4
DECLARER
875
2) DUMMY
A83
PARTNER YOU
J 10 9 6 5 KQ2
DECLARER
74
3) DUMMY
A94
PARTNER YOU
Q 10 7 5 2 K3
DECLARER
J86
King
1) ________________ King or Queen 3) ________________
2) _________________ King
92 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Discuss the exercise with the class as a whole, covering the key points.
“When dummy plays the ace in the first layout, you want to play the king,
so that you will have a low card as the last card left in your hand to lead
to partner.
“In the next layout, if you play a low card on the first trick, the suit will be
blocked. You will be able to take two tricks when you next gain the lead, but
will have no low card left to lead to partner’s remaining winners. Instead,
play the king or queen on the first trick, keeping a low card in your hand.
“The last layout may not seem as obvious — it looks as if playing the king
under the ace will cost a trick. If you are the next defender to gain the lead,
however, you will have a low card left to lead to partner, trapping declarer’s
jack. If you play a low card on the first trick, your side could take only one
trick in the suit unless partner has an entry in another suit.”
Conclusion
“To avoid stranding partner’s winners, sometimes you must play a high
card, even though it is not needed to win the trick, in order to keep a low
card to lead to partner.”
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 93
EXERCISE SIX: Putting It All Together
Introduction
This exercise is a review of the points covered so far. It gives the students a chance to apply the
guidelines for third-hand play looking only at the cards they would see at the table.
Instructions
“Your partner leads the indicated card in the layout in Exercise Six and the
3 is played from dummy. Which card do you play in each situation?”
1) DUMMY 4) DUMMY
10 8 3 Q83
PARTNER YOU PARTNER YOU
4 KJ5 4 K J 10
2) DUMMY 5) DUMMY
A83 K3
PARTNER YOU PARTNER YOU
6 QJ2 2 AJ4
3) DUMMY 6) DUMMY
AQ3 843
PARTNER YOU PARTNER YOU
10 KJ4 Q K7
King
1) _______________________ 10
4) _________________________
Jack
2) _______________________ Jack
5) _________________________
4
3) _______________________ King
6) _________________________
94 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Discuss the exercise after the students have had a few minutes to try the layouts. If the students
have followed everything so far, they should not have any trouble with the exercise. These are the
points to be made:
“In the first layout, play third hand high. Make sure you play the highest
card you can afford, the king, not the jack, when there are no high cards to
trap in the dummy.
“In the second layout, you would play the jack. You want to play third hand
high, but with a choice of cards, play the lower ranking — only as high a
card as necessary.
“In the third layout, play the 4. Partner’s 10 is high enough to win the trick
and partner can lead the suit again, trapping dummy’s queen.
“In the fourth layout, play the 10. It will either win the trick or force declarer
to win with the ace, implying that you hold the missing cards.
“In the fifth layout, play the jack, keeping dummy’s king trapped. If partner
has the queen, your jack will win the trick. If declarer has the queen, you
don’t want to give up two tricks in the suit by playing your ace.
“In the last layout, unblock the suit by overtaking partner’s queen with
the king. You want to be left with a low card in partner’s suit, not a high
card.”
Conclusion
“Let’s see how we can put everything together. The general guideline is for
third hand to play high. Before automatically contributing your highest card,
however, take a look at the card partner led and the cards in the dummy.
You want to play a card no higher than necessary. You want to try to trap
any high cards in the dummy. You also need to be careful not to block the
suit by being left with the highest card in the suit when partner is waiting
to take the remaining winners.”
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 95
EXERCISE SEVEN: Review of Responses to 1NT Opening Bids
Introduction
“When partner opens the bidding 1NT, you have a clear picture of partner’s
hand. Usually you can make the decisions about the level and strain of the
contract right away. For example, with fewer than 8 points, you know the
partnership belongs in a partgame contract. With 10 or more points, you
know the partnership belongs in game.
“There are times, however, when you need more information. Since the
partnership needs 25 combined points to be in a game contract, you may
not be sure of the appropriate level when you have 8 or 9 points. In such a
case, you will have to make an invitational bid, such as raising to 2NT to
ask if opener has a minimum or a maximum hand. The partnership needs
eight or more combined cards in a major suit in order to want to make that
suit trump. You might need to find out how many cards opener has in a ma-
jor suit. If you jump to three of a major, you show a five-card suit and ask
opener to raise to game with three-card support or bid 3NT with only two
cards in the suit. If you have a four-card major suit, you can use the Stayman
convention, 2 , to find out whether or not partner has a four-card major.
“You also can use Jacoby transfer bids which were taught in the Play of the
Hand in the 21st Century course.
“In general, after an opening bid of 1NT, responder’s hand fits one of the
following three categories, and partner bids accordingly.
v With 0 to 7 points, responder wants to play in a partscore, signing
off in 2 , 2 or 2 with a five-card or longer suit, otherwise
passing. If playing Jacoby transfers, a bid of 2 would ask partner
to bid 2 , and a bid of 2 would ask partner to bid 2 .
v With 8 or 9 points, responder invites a game by bidding the Stayman
convention, if interested in a major suit fit, or by bidding 2NT.
Responder also can invite to game using Jacoby transfer bids.
v With 10 or more points, responder bids 4 or 4 with a six-card
or longer suit, 3 or 3 with a five-card suit, 2 if interested
in a four-card major suit or 3NT. Again, responder can use Jacoby
transfer bids to show a game-going hand.
“The focus of this course is defense, so we are not going into the Jacoby
transfer bid convention in detail at this time. To learn more or to refresh your
memory, check out Chapter 9 in the Play of the Hand in the 21st Century
text or the Learn to Play Bridge 2 software.”
96 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“Partner opens 1NT. What do you respond with each hand in Exercise
Seven? You should use both the Stayman and Jacoby transfers conventions,
if applicable.”
1) 10 8 6 5 4 2 2) Q3 3) K6
93 J82 K73
J74 10 7 5 Q 10 9 6 5
82 10 8 7 5 2 975
2 Pass
then pass 2) _________________
1) ________________ 2NT
3) ________________
partner's 2 rebid.
4) K 10 8 6 2 5) 8 6) A3
A5 J 10 8 6 4 2 94
J94 AK7 J82
K83 962 KQJ742
2 Partner
4) ________________ 2 Partner
5) _________________ 3NT
6) ________________
bids 2 , you rebid bids 2 , you raise
3NT, partner decides to 4 .
on the final contract.
7) Q 10 8 3 8) Q8 9) J974
A964 AK62 Q642
A83 10 8 4 2 93
74 962 10 8 6
2
7) ________________ 2
8) _________________ Pass
9) ________________
Follow-up
Since this is a quick review, not the topic of the lesson, you could lead the students through the
answers by making statements such as these:
“With only 1HCP on the first hand, you want the final contract to be a
partscore. You know there are at least eight spades in the combined hands,
because partner shows a balanced hand. What do you respond? (2 , a
transfer to 2 .which you pass.)
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 97
“On the second hand, you want to play in a partscore. You can't bid 2 ,
since that would be the Stayman convention. What do you do? (Pass.)
“With 8 HCP plus 1 length point on the next hand, you want to move toward
game without actually bidding it. You aren’t interested in a major suit, so
what do you respond? (2NT.)
“There are 11 HCP on the next hand, enough for game. How can you make
a forcing bid to find out if opener has at least three spades? (Bid 2 , a
transfer to 2 , then rebid 3NT. Partner decides the final contract of 4
or 3NT.)
“You have 10 total points on the next hand, counting 2 points for your six-
card suit, enough for game. Where do you want to play the contract? (4 .
To get there, start with a 2 transfer to 2 , then rebid 4 .)
“There are enough points for a game on the sixth hand. You may be tempted
to bid game in clubs, but you’ll need to take 11 tricks. What do you do?
(Bid 3NT.)
“There are enough points for a game on the seventh hand. You want to play
in 4 or 4 if you have an eight-card fit, otherwise 3NT. How can you
find out if opener has a four-card major suit? (Bid 2 .)
“On hand number eight, with 9 HCP and a four-card heart suit, you are
uncertain about both the level and strain of the contract. How do you start
getting the information you need? (Bid 2 .) If partner bids hearts, you can
raise. If partner bids 2 or 2 , you can try 2NT to invite game.
“On the last hand, you are interested in a major suit but have only 3 points.
Should you use the Stayman convention? (No.) What do you do? (Pass.)”
Conclusion
“When the opening bid is 1NT, responder has a clear picture of partner’s
strength and distribution and can often sign off in the appropriate contract
immediately. Sometimes responder needs to make an invitational or forcing
bid to get more information from opener.
“Opening 2NT and 3NT bids are also very descriptive. If partner opens 2NT,
you respond in a fashion similar to responding to 1NT, keeping in mind that
opener has 20–21 HCP. You can bid 3 , Stayman, if you are interested in
finding out if partner has a four-card major suit, and you can use Jacoby
transfers, if interested. With no interest in the majors, you would pass only
with fewer than 4 points. Otherwise, you would raise to 3NT (perhaps higher,
if you are interested in a slam). Over 3NT, you do not have as much room.
You would pass unless you are interested in slam or have a six-card major
suit, and over 3NT, a bid of 4 would be Stayman.”
98 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE EIGHT: Developing Tricks in Notrump Contracts
Introduction
“When declarer goes through the PLAN and finds that there are not enough
winners to make the contract, declarer Analyzes the alternatives. Declarer
can get extra tricks from promotion, long suits or finesses. Let’s look at
some layouts.”
Instructions
“What is the maximum number of tricks you can get from each of the suit
combinations in Exercise Eight if the missing cards are favorably located?
How would you plan to play the suit?”
DUMMY: Q7 A75 763 Q742 963
DECLARER: J 10 9 2 K8432 AQJ A863 AQ742
Two Four Three Three
1) __________ 2) ___________ 3) __________ 4)___________ 5) ___________ Four
Follow-up
Since this is mainly a review, it is probably best to go over the exercise with the group as a whole.
You may want to lead the students quickly to each conclusion. You might say something like this:
“You are missing the ace and king in the first layout. How would you develop
tricks? (Play the suit twice, driving out the ace and the king to promote two
winners.) Which card do you play first? (The queen, high card from the short
side.) How many tricks can you take in this suit? (Two.)
“In the second layout, you have eight cards in the suit. How many do the
opponents have? (Five.) How are they likely to be divided? (3–2.) How many
tricks will you end up with if you play the suit five times? (Four.)
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 99
“How many tricks can you get through promotion on the third layout? (Two,
by driving out the king.) Is there any way to get three tricks? (Yes, by taking
a repeated finesse against the opponent on your right.)
“How would you plan to take a trick with dummy’s queen on the fourth
layout? (By leading toward it.) If the king is on your left, can you get more
than two tricks in the suit? (Yes, if the suit is divided 3–2, you get an extra
trick from length.)
“On the fifth layout, how do you get a trick from your queen? (By taking a
finesse.) How do you get more tricks from the suit if the finesse is successful?
(By giving up a trick to the opponents, hoping the suit is divided 3–2.)”
Conclusion
“When there aren’t enough tricks, declarer can make use of promotion, long
suits and finesses to develop the extra tricks required.”
100 Defense in the 21st Century
SAMPLE DEALS
EXERCISE NINE: Third Hand High
Introduction
You might want to discuss only the bidding and then have the students play the deal. You will
be able to judge the needs of your class. If third hand doesn’t play the ace on the first trick, declarer
has only two diamonds and one club loser and can comfortably make the contract. The ace and jack
combination may tempt students to “finesse” by playing the jack.
“Partner gets off to a good lead on the first pre-dealt deal, leading the unbid
suit. Let’s see if that is enough to defeat the contract.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the first pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #3, Deal 1)
Dealer: North AQJ8
53
Q92
K Q 10 2
543 N 96
10 9 4 J762
W E
AJ5 K 10 6 3
9764 S A83
K 10 7 2
AKQ8
874
J5
The Bidding
“What would North open the bidding? (1 .) East and West pass through-
out. With two four-card suits that can be bid at the one level, which does
South bid? (1 , responding four-card suits up the line.) Is there still room
for North to bid a suit at the one level? (Yes.) What does North rebid?
(1 .) How many points does South have? (13 HCP plus 1 dummy point
in support of partner’s spades.) At what level does the partnership belong?
(Game.) Is there a Golden Fit? (Yes, in spades.) What does South rebid?
(4 .) How does the auction proceed from there? (Pass, pass, pass.) Who
is the declarer? (North.)”
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 101
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (East.) Which suit would be led? (Diamonds.)
Why? (Unbid suit.) Which card would be led? ( 3, fourth best.) Which
card would West play on the first trick? ( A, third hand high.) What would
West play next? (Return partner’s suit, leading the J, top of the remaining
doubleton.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer can afford three losers in 4 . There are three diamond
losers and one club loser, one too many. Declarer plans to discard one of
the diamond losers on dummy’s extra heart winner, after drawing trumps.
The A can then be driven out.)”
Conclusion
“The guideline third hand high is useful on this deal, provided you (West)
play as high a card as you can afford.”
102 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TEN: Trapping High Cards
Introduction
“Here’s another deal where third hand has to decide how high a card to play
when partner leads a suit. The play to the first trick can often make the dif-
ference between success or failure for the defense.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the second pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #3, Deal 2)
Dealer: East 65
9752
Q J 10 4
A75
Q72 N K83
QJ3 W E 10 8 4
K762 A9
S
983 K Q J 10 4
A J 10 9 4
AK6
853
62
The Bidding
“What would East open the bidding? (1 .) What would South do? (Overcall
1 .) Can West bid a suit at the one level? (No.) What would West respond?
(1NT.) North passes. With a minimum balanced hand, what does East rebid?
(Pass.) How does the auction proceed from there? (Pass by South.) What is
the contract? (1NT.) Who is the declarer? (West.)”
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (North.) Which suit would be led? (Spades.)
Why? (Partner’s suit.) Which card would be led? ( 6, top of a doubleton.)
Which card will South play if a low card is played from dummy? ( 9, as
high a card as necessary while still keeping dummy’s K trapped.)”
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 103
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer needs seven tricks. There are two sure tricks in
diamonds and declarer will win the first spade trick. Four more tricks can
be developed in clubs by driving out the A. Declarer will need to keep
the A in dummy as an entry to the clubs in case the opponents hold up
their A.)”
Conclusion
“This time the defenders had to cooperate carefully to defeat the contract,
keeping a high card trapped in the dummy.”
104 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE ELEVEN: Third Hand not so High
Introduction
“It isn’t just the high cards — aces and kings — that the defenders have
to concentrate on. The way they use their lower cards can help bring about
declarer’s defeat if they are used wisely.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the third pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #3, Deal 3)
Dealer: South 10 9 5
J72
KJ75
AQ5
K82 N A74
Q963 W E K 10 5
962 10 4 3
S
10 9 3 J742
QJ63
A84
AQ8
K86
The Bidding
“What is South’s opening bid? (1NT.) West passes. What is North’s response?
(3NT.) How does the bidding proceed from there? (Pass, pass, pass.) What
is the contract? (3NT.) Who is the declarer? (South.)”
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 105
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (West.) What would the opening lead be?
( 3.) Why? (Fourth highest from the longest suit.) If a low card is played
from dummy on the first trick, which card should East play? ( 10.) Why?
(East wants to keep dummy’s J trapped with the K.)”
This contract will probably be quite difficult to defeat for most students. You will have to judge
how many hints you want to give them before they play.
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer needs nine tricks and starts with one heart trick, four
diamond tricks and three club tricks. The additional trick required can be
developed in the spade suit through promotion by driving out the A and
the K.)”
Conclusion
“In this deal, third hand had to keep dummy’s jack trapped by playing only
as high a card as necessary to defeat the contract. The defender has to visu-
alize the possible layout of the suit.”
106 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWELVE: Unblocking
Introduction
“It might seem like such a waste to put one of your high cards on your
partner’s honor. In some hands, however, it is the only winning play.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the fourth pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #3, Deal 4)
Dealer: West 10 6 5 2
A6
732
J754
973 N AKQ
10 4 2 W E 873
K84 AQJ9
S
10 8 6 2 AKQ
J84
KQJ95
10 6 5
93
The Bidding
“West and North pass. How does East describe this hand? (3NT.) South
passes. What does West respond? (Pass.) How does the auction proceed
from there? (North passes.) What is the contract? (3NT.) Who is the de-
clarer? (East.)”
The Defense
“Which player makes the opening lead? (South.) What would the opening
lead be? ( K, top of a three-card sequence.) Which card must North con-
tribute to the first trick? ( A.) Why? (If North does not overtake with the
A, the heart suit will be blocked and the defenders will be unable to take
all of their tricks in the suit unless South has an entry in another suit.)”
Lesson 3 — Third-Hand Play 107
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer needs nine tricks and has three spade winners, four
diamond winners and three club winners — as soon as declarer gets in the
lead.)”
Conclusion
“It may seem ironic, but on this deal, the only way the defenders could take
all of their heart tricks was to play both the king and the ace on the same trick.
If third hand didn’t get rid of the ace, the suit would have been blocked.”
108 Defense in the 21st Century
LESSON 4
Second-Hand Play
General Concepts
General Introduction
Group Activities
Sample Deals
110 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL CONCEPTS
Defense
Second-hand play
s Second hand plays low to:
s Conserve high cards
s Make declarer guess the location of high cards
s Create entry problems for declarer
s Second hand plays high to:
s Prevent declarer from winning a trick too cheaply (splitting honors)
s Take the setting trick
s Cover an honor with an honor to promote winners
s Other considerations
s When not to cover an honor with an honor
s Choosing which honor to cover
Bidding
Review of opener’s rebids
s After a 1NT opening bid
s After a 2NT opening bid
s After an opening bid of one of a suit
s After an opening bid of 2'
s After a preemptive opening bid
Play of the Hand
Review of the finesse
s Leading toward the high card you hope will take a trick
s Repeating a finesse
s Finessing for more than one card
s Leading a high card to finesse
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 111
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
“In the previous lesson, you were the third hand and generally played high,
making the best effort to win the trick for your side. In this lesson, we’ll put
you in the position of being the second hand to play to the trick. Declarer
is leading a card, either from declarer's hand or the dummy, and you have
to decide what card to play.
“When you are the second person to play to a trick, your side is in a favor-
able position. Your partner is in the enviable position of being the last player
to play to the trick. Most of the time, the second player (hand) wants to
play low, leaving it up to partner to try to win the trick. A popular maxim
is second hand low, the opposite of third hand high. Like most guidelines,
this maxim is most useful when we understand how it came about and when
to apply it.
“The general idea is that, if your partner gets to play last, there is no need to
waste your high card on one of declarer’s low cards. Wait until declarer plays
a high card which you can capture. Second-hand play is a bit like ‘when in
Rome.’ If declarer plays a low card, it is usually a good idea to play low. On
the other hand, if declarer plays an honor, another maxim, cover an honor
with an honor, is more likely to apply.”
To try to formulate too many rules for second-hand play would lead the students in the wrong
direction. The two guidelines, second hand low and cover an honor with an honor, will give them
something to hold on to while they observe what happens when the guidelines are followed and
become comfortable with the exceptions to the rule. At this point, it is enough to raise the students’
curiosity. Most of the time, they play a card without foreseeing what might happen or noticing what
does happen. If they can develop some confidence with common situations, they will be more eager
to examine the exceptions and see the conditions under which they arise.
112 Defense in the 21st Century
GROUP ACTIVITIES
EXERCISE ONE: When Declarer Leads a Low Card
Introduction
“Your high cards are at their most powerful when they not only win a trick
but capture one of the opponents’ high cards at the same time. An old
bridge saying goes aces are made to take kings — and kings are made to
take queens and so on. If declarer plays a low card and you are the second
hand to play, most of the time it works out best if you also play a low card.
Let’s see why this works so well. Take the heart suit and put the following
layout on the table:
DUMMY
kK73
YOU PARTNER
k A 10 4 kJ865
DECLARER
kQ92
“Suppose declarer leads the k2 toward dummy and it is your turn to play.
You are second hand, looking at the kK in the dummy, and might feel that
you have to play your kA to prevent declarer from winning a trick with
dummy’s kK. Look what happens if you do this. You win the first trick
with the kA and declarer plays the k3 from dummy. Declarer can win the
next two tricks in the suit with the kK and the kQ. If you play low instead
with the k4, declarer can win the first trick with dummy’s kK, but then
the kQ is trapped. Declarer takes only one trick.
“So second hand low appears to be good advice in this situation. You save
your kA to capture one of declarer’s high cards, the kQ in this case. How
low is low? Would it do any harm to play the k10, rather than the k4?
(Yes.) If you play the k10, declarer wins the trick with the kK and these
are the remaining cards:
DUMMY
k73
YOU PARTNER
kA4 kJ86
DECLARER
kQ9
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 113
“Can you see what declarer can do now? (Lead a heart from dummy and
play the k9 to force out the kA, establishing the kQ as a second trick.)
There is no point in unnecessarily sacrificing your k10 — it may cost you
a trick. Play second hand low, the k4.
“Now let’s give partner the kK, exchanging dummy’s kK for partner’s
kJ:
DUMMY
kJ73
YOU PARTNER
k A 10 4 kK865
DECLARER
kQ92
“Again, declarer plays the k2 toward dummy. With partner holding the
kK, does it do any harm if you win the first trick with the kA? (Yes.) If
you play the kA, these will be the remaining cards:
DUMMY
kJ7
YOU PARTNER
k 10 4 kK86
DECLARER
kQ9
“Declarer now can use the kJ or the kQ to drive out partner’s kK and
take a trick in the suit. Put the cards back and see what happens if you play
second hand low.
“When declarer plays dummy’s kJ, partner wins the trick with the kK,
and declarer’s kQ is trapped:
DUMMY
k73
YOU PARTNER
k A 10 k865
DECLARER
kQ9
“Declarer takes no tricks. Let’s look at some more examples of second
hand low.”
114 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise One, declarer leads the 2 toward dummy.
How many tricks can declarer take if second hand (you) plays low? How
many tricks can declarer take if you play high?”
1) DUMMY
Q75
YOU PARTNER
K84 A 10 9 3
DECLARER
J62
2) DUMMY
AQJ
YOU PARTNER
K84 10 9 7 6 5 3
DECLARER
2
3) DUMMY
A 10 9
YOU PARTNER
K84 J753
DECLARER
Q62
0; 1
1) ________________ 2; 3
2) _________________ 2; 3
3) ________________
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 115
Follow-up
Have students from different groups give a report on the discussion and the conclusions reached.
The discussion should be something like this:
“In the first layout, if you play the king on the first trick, declarer gets one
trick because the queen and the jack will be left. If you play low, your side
takes all of the tricks. Declarer will have to play the queen from the dummy
— otherwise partner can win the trick with the 9 — and partner’s ace will
take the trick. Then declarer’s jack is trapped since you still hold the king.
“In the second layout, declarer takes three tricks if you play the king. It’s
captured with dummy’s ace and declarer has the queen and jack as winners.
It may look as though your king is doomed, but that is no reason to play it.
If you play low, declarer may finesse dummy’s jack (or queen), but can get
no more than two tricks since it’s not possible to repeat the finesse. With a
singleton, declarer may not even take a finesse, so you don’t want to make
things easier by sacrificing your king.
“In the last layout, declarer can take all three tricks if you play the king.
Dummy’s ace will win the trick and then declarer can take a finesse against
partner’s jack. By playing low, you restrict declarer to two tricks. If declarer
wins the first trick with dummy’s ace, a finesse can be taken against partner’s
jack, but you win a trick with the king. If declarer plays dummy’s 9 (or 10),
partner will win a trick with the jack. You might even take two tricks by
playing low. Declarer might win the first trick with dummy’s ace and lead
toward the queen, hoping your partner has the king.”
Conclusion
“By playing second hand low, you give your side the best chance to conserve
high cards, so that they not only take tricks but also capture the opponents’
high cards at the same time.”
116 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWO: When Dummy Leads a Low Card
Introduction
“In the first exercise, a low card was led from declarer’s hand and you played
before the dummy. You had the advantage of seeing the cards in the dummy.
Suppose declarer leads a low card from dummy and you are the second hand
to play. Now you can’t see what cards are waiting to be played in third hand.
The concept of second hand playing low, however, is still effective. Let’s
lay out an example in the diamond suit:
DUMMY
l873
PARTNER YOU
lJ4 lK95
DECLARER
l A Q 10 6 2
“When declarer leads the l3 from dummy, you might feel it is a poor effort
for your side if you contribute only the l5. You might think about playing
the lK, so that declarer doesn’t get to win the trick too cheaply. But look
what happens if you play the lK. Declarer wins the trick with the lA and
may lead the lQ next, on which partner’s lJ falls. Declarer’s l10 is now
high and your side takes no tricks. If you play second hand low, declarer can
win the trick with the lQ and play the lA, but you end up with a trick with
the lK. There are other possible layouts of the suit which illustrate why
second hand low is usually the best policy. Let’s exchange both of partner’s
(West’s) diamonds for declarer’s lQ:
DUMMY
l873
PARTNER YOU
lQ lK95
DECLARER
l A J 10 6 4 2
“Look what happens if you play the lK when declarer leads a low one from
dummy. Your lK and partner’s lQ both lose to declarer’s lA. Declarer
ends up with no losers in the suit. Notice how easy you make it for declarer
by playing the lK. Without your help, declarer might take a finesse the
first time, losing to partner’s lQ, and later play the lA, giving you a trick
with the lK — two tricks for the defense, rather than none.
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 117
“The importance of playing low to leave declarer guessing can be seen if
we change the layout:
DUMMY
l8732
PARTNER YOU
l Q 10 6 4 lA95
DECLARER
lKJ
“If declarer leads a low diamond from dummy and you play low, it is easy
to see that declarer has to play the lK, rather than the lJ, to win the trick.
But remember that declarer can’t see your cards. When you play a low card,
declarer may think your partner has the lA and you have the lQ. In that
case, declarer would have to finesse the lJ. If you play the lA, there’s no
guess. Play low and make declarer do the work.
“It might even be a good idea to play low if declarer has both the lK and
the lQ. Exchange declarer’s lJ for partner’s lQ and l4:
DUMMY
l8732
PARTNER YOU
l J 10 6 lA95
DECLARER
lKQ4
“When you play low, declarer can win the trick with the lQ (or lK), but
can you see the advantage for the defense? (Declarer will have to cross back
to dummy to repeat the finesse.) Declarer may have entry problems when
you play low. There may be no convenient way back to the dummy so that
declarer can repeat the finesse. If you were to play the lA on the first round,
all of declarer’s problems in the diamond suit would be solved.”
118 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Two, declarer leads the 2 from dummy.
Which card must you play to ensure that your side takes all of the tricks to
which it is entitled? How do you expect declarer to play the suit?”
1) DUMMY
8732
PARTNER YOU
6 Q95
DECLARER
A K J 10 4
2) DUMMY
J82
PARTNER YOU
A 10 6 4 Q95
DECLARER
K73
3) DUMMY
A82
PARTNER YOU
K76 Q95
DECLARER
J 10 4 3
5 (low)
1) ________________ 5 (low)
2) _________________ 5 (low)
3) ________________
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 119
Follow-up
The layouts provide an opportunity for the students to talk about why second hand low works
and what they expect declarer to do when they play a low card. They might start to see some of the
problems from declarer’s perspective. A student from each group could report on the ideas given
from each group, something like this:
“If you play low in the first layout, declarer is likely to play the ace and the
king, following the guideline eight ever, nine never. If you were to play the
queen, declarer would have no problem taking all of the tricks.
“In the second layout, your side will take all of the tricks if you play a low
card. Declarer is probably planning to play the king (leading toward the
high card), and partner will win with the ace. If declarer later tries leading
toward dummy’s jack, you can win the trick with the queen. If you were
to play the queen on the first trick, declarer would play the king and, when
partner wins the trick with the ace, dummy’s jack will have been promoted
into a winner.
“On the final layout, your side gets two tricks by playing low. Partner can
win the first trick with the king, and later you will take a trick with your
queen, since it lies behind the ace in dummy. If you play the queen on the
first trick, it will win, but now partner’s king would be trapped. Declarer
could later lead the jack and, whatever partner did, declarer would take all
of the remaining tricks.”
Conclusion
“Whether a low card is led from declarer’s hand or dummy’s hand, it is
usually best for second hand to play low and conserve the defenders’ high
cards. Partner plays last, so you usually don’t have to worry about declarer
winning the trick too cheaply.”
120 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE THREE: Splitting Honors
Introduction
“In the first two exercises, we saw that, when declarer leads a low card,
playing second hand low is generally good advice. There are other con-
siderations, however. If you can see that by taking your trick you will be
able to defeat the contract, you should not play low. You don’t want to duck
with the setting trick and then see it disappear. You also don’t want to let
declarer win a trick too cheaply if you can prevent it. Lay out the following
cards in the club suit:
DUMMY
' A 10 2
YOU PARTNER
'KQJ3 '965
DECLARER
'874
“If declarer leads a low card toward dummy, there is some danger if you
play second hand low, the '3. Declarer just might play dummy’s '10,
winning the trick, since partner has no higher card. To prevent this, you
need to insert the 'J (or the 'Q or the 'K), making sure that declarer
has to play dummy’s 'A to win the trick and to promote your remaining
clubs into winners. This sort of play by second hand is referred to as split-
ting honors. You split your honors to ensure that you get the tricks to which
you are entitled. Now give declarer your 'K and look at the layout:
DUMMY
' A 10 2
YOU PARTNER
'QJ3 '965
DECLARER
'K874
“What should you do if declarer leads a low card toward dummy? (Split
your honors.) To ensure that you get the trick to which you are entitled, you
have to play the 'J (or the 'Q). Otherwise declarer may insert dummy’s
'10 and take all of the club tricks. The purpose of splitting your honors
is to make sure you promote the tricks that belong to your side. If there
is nothing to promote, you should not split your honors, falling back on
second hand low.
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 121
“For example, suppose we put the 'K in dummy:
DUMMY
' A K 10 2
YOU PARTNER
'QJ3 '965
DECLARER
'874
“If declarer leads a low club toward dummy, does it do you any good to split
your honors? (No.) You are not really entitled to any tricks. If you play the
'J, declarer can win with dummy’s 'K. Provided there is an entry back
to declarer’s hand, declarer could lead toward dummy again and trap your
remaining 'Q. Instead, play a low card, second hand low, and let declarer
do all of the work. Not knowing that you have both the 'Q and the 'J,
declarer may well win the first trick with dummy’s 'K (or the 'A). Now,
you will end up with a trick.
“One other time to be careful about splitting your honors is when declarer
has a long suit and partner may have a singleton. Suppose we exchange
partner’s three low clubs for dummy’s 'K:
DUMMY
' A 10 9 6 5 2
YOU PARTNER
'QJ3 'K
DECLARER
'874
“Do you see what will happen if you split your honors when declarer leads a
low card toward dummy? (Your 'J and partner’s 'K will fall on the same
trick.) You do not want your side’s high cards crashing on the same trick, so
you have to play second hand low if you think this might be the situation.
It would be so much less challenging if the rule was to always split your
honors. You will need to look carefully at each situation, however, to see
whether splitting your honors will promote a trick for your side or merely
help declarer out. Let’s look at some more examples.”
122 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Three, declarer leads the 2 toward dummy.
Which card must you play to ensure that your side gets all of the tricks to
which it is entitled?”
1) DUMMY
Q95
YOU PARTNER
J 10 4 A873
DECLARER
K62
2) DUMMY
A96
YOU PARTNER
Q 10 3 874
DECLARER
KJ52
3) DUMMY
KQ9
YOU PARTNER
J 10 4 A753
DECLARER
862
10 (or Jack)
1) ________________ 10
2) _________________ 4
3) ________________
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 123
Follow-up
For a change of pace, discuss this exercise with the group as a whole. Look at the first layout
and have the students predict what could happen if the defender played a low card. (Declarer would
likely play the queen, which partner could take with the ace. Declarer would take only one trick with
the king. Declarer might decide to play dummy’s 9, however, forcing partner to win with the ace and
giving declarer two tricks in the suit.) Now ask what would happen if the defender splits your honors.
(Declarer would play dummy’s queen and partner would take the ace. Declarer takes only one trick.)
The conclusion is that this is a time for the defender to split the honors to make sure a second trick
is promoted for the defense.
The second layout provides an opportunity for the students to see that the honors do not need
to be touching in order to be split. Although it may be unlikely that declarer is planning to put in
dummy’s 9, that possibility can be guarded against by splitting your honors and inserting the 10 (not
the queen!). Emphasize that the purpose of inserting the 10 is to ensure that the queen gets promoted
into a trick.
The final layout is an illustration of when not to split honors. There is no trick to protect since
declarer is theoretically entitled to two tricks in the actual layout. The defender makes things easier
by playing the 10 (or jack) on the first round. Instead, playing second hand low leaves the guesswork
up to declarer, who may well play the queen (or king) on the first round, hoping the ace is on the left.
Then declarer would take only one trick.
Conclusion
“Split your honors on defense, rather than play second hand low, if it will
ensure that you get the tricks to which you are entitled. On the other hand,
if there are no tricks to promote for your side, or if it may cost you a trick
to split your honors, go back to playing second hand low.”
124 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FOUR: Covering Honors
Introduction
“So far you have been second hand to play after declarer leads a low card
from either declarer’s hand or the dummy, and generally it works out best
if you play second hand low. The situation is different if declarer leads a
high card. Now, the guideline cover an honor with an honor comes into
play. The idea behind playing a higher card on top of declarer’s high card
is to promote your side’s lower cards into tricks. After all, your high cards
are put to best use when capturing the opponents’ high cards. Let’s see how
this works by laying out the spade suit as follows:
DUMMY
;Q65
PARTNER YOU
;7432 ; K J 10
DECLARER
;A98
“Suppose declarer leads the ;Q from dummy and you play second hand
low. What happens? (If declarer plays a low card, the ;Q will win the
trick since partner does not have a higher spade. Declarer gets two tricks.)
Instead of playing low, you must cover declarer’s honor, the ;Q, with a
higher honor, the ;K. Look at the difference this makes. Declarer has to
play the ;A to win the trick, and you have got two of declarer’s high cards
for the price of one of yours. The net effect is to promote your ;J and ;10
into winners.
“It is easy to see that covering the ;Q with the ;K promotes winners for
your side when you are looking at the ;J and the ;10, but most situations
will not be so clear-cut. Give your partner the ;J and the ;10 in exchange
for two low spades:
DUMMY
;Q65
PARTNER YOU
; J 10 7 4 ;K32
DECLARER
;A98
“Even though you can't see the ;J and the ;10, the idea is the same. De-
clarer takes two tricks in the suit if you play low. If you cover the ;Q with
the ;K, declarer takes only one trick. Of course, you can't see partner’s
hand and partner may not hold the ;J and the ;10. Even if partner holds
only one of these cards, however, covering the ;Q will work out best. For
example, exchange partner’s ;J for declarer’s ;8:
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 125
DUMMY
;Q65
PARTNER YOU
; 10 8 7 4 ;K32
DECLARER
;AJ9
“If you don’t cover the ;Q when it is led, declarer takes three tricks in the
suit. The ;Q wins the first trick and now your ;K is trapped by declarer’s
;A and ;J when a low spade is led from dummy. If you cover the ;Q,
declarer’s ;A wins the first trick. Declarer takes a second trick with the
;J, but partner’s ;10 wins the third round of the suit. Of course, partner
may not even have the ;10, but then it is unlikely to matter whether or not
you cover. Without knowing what partner has, you have to cover and hope
there is something to promote.
“There is no point in covering an honor with an honor if you can see that
there is nothing to promote for your side. For example, put declarer’s ;J
and partner’s ;10 in the dummy:
DUMMY
; Q J 10 6 5
PARTNER YOU
;874 ;K32
DECLARER
;A9
“Looking at the ;J and the ;10 in dummy, you can see that there is nothing
to promote if you cover dummy’s ;Q when it is led. Instead, play second
hand low and hope to take a trick with your ;K later.”
126 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Four, how many tricks does declarer take
if you cover with an honor when the jack is led from dummy? How many
tricks does declarer take if you do not cover.”
1) DUMMY
J63
PARTNER YOU
10 8 2 Q54
DECLARER
AK97
2) DUMMY
J63
PARTNER YOU
K954 A 10 2
DECLARER
Q87
3) DUMMY
J 10 9 8
PARTNER YOU
Q653 K74
DECLARER
A2
3; 4
1) ________________ 0; 1
2) _________________ 3; 2
3) ________________
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 127
Follow-up
Have the students discuss the exercise in their groups and then go over the answers in a few
sentences. For example:
“On the first layout, partner will get a trick with the 10 if you cover the jack,
and declarer takes only three tricks. If you do not cover, the jack will win
the trick and declarer will win all four tricks.
“In the second layout, covering the jack with your ace prevents declarer from
taking any tricks. Declarer’s queen is now trapped by partner’s king. If you
do not cover, partner can win the first trick with the king, but declarer can
later lead a low card from dummy toward the queen. Whether or not you
now play the ace, declarer ends up taking a trick with the queen.
“On the last layout, there is nothing to promote by covering, since you can
see the lower-ranking cards in dummy. If you cover, declarer can win the
trick with the ace and then drive out partner’s queen, ending up with three
tricks. If you do not cover, declarer takes only two tricks. If declarer wins
the first trick with the ace, you get a trick with the king and partner takes
a trick with the queen. If declarer plays a low card, partner wins the first
trick with the queen and, as long as you do not cover when another card is
led from dummy, you eventually get a trick with the king.”
Conclusion
“When you think you can promote a trick for your side, it is a good idea to
cover an honor with an honor. When it doesn’t look as if there is anything
to promote, you stand a better chance of getting a trick by playing second
hand low.”
128 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FIVE: Covering Second Honors
Introduction
“As you saw in the last layout in Exercise Four, it is best not to cover when
dummy has a sequence of high cards — nothing is left to promote in part-
ner’s hand. However, sometimes you will be presented with a situation in
which there are a couple of touching high cards, with some room left to
promote a lower ranking card. In this case, the general guideline is to wait
until the last high card is led before covering. Let’s see why by laying out
the following cards in the heart suit:
DUMMY
kQJ65
PARTNER YOU
k A 10 9 kK72
DECLARER
k843
“Suppose declarer leads the kQ from dummy. Should you cover? (No.) If
you do cover, your kK will win the trick. Later declarer can lead a low heart
toward dummy and, whether or not partner plays the kA, declarer takes a
trick with dummy’s kJ. If you follow the guideline of waiting to cover the
last high card, partner can win the kQ with the kA. Your kK now traps
dummy’s kJ. Declarer loses three tricks, rather than two.
“Your partner does not need to have the kA. Exchange partner’s kA and
k9 and declarer’s low hearts:
DUMMY
kQJ65
PARTNER YOU
k 10 4 3 kK72
DECLARER
kA98
“Suppose declarer leads the kQ from dummy and you play low. The kQ
wins the trick since partner does not have the kA. When the kJ is led, how-
ever, you can now cover and partner’s k10 is promoted into a winner.
“What if you covered the first honor led from dummy? Declarer would win
the kA and the remaining cards would look like this:
DUMMY
kJ65
PARTNER YOU
k 10 4 k72
DECLARER
k98
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 129
“Now partner’s k10 is trapped. If declarer leads the k9, it doesn’t matter
whether or not partner plays the k10 — declarer takes all of the remain-
ing tricks.
“If you have two higher cards, you don’t need to wait to cover the second
honor. You can cover both the first and the second honor. Put out this lay-
out:
DUMMY
kQJ65
PARTNER YOU
k432 k A K 10
DECLARER
k987
“If the kQ is led from dummy, you cover with the kK (or kA) since you
have another high card left to cover the second honor. That way, you end
up with three tricks in the suit, the kA, the kK and the k10. Now let’s
move on to the exercise.”
130 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Five, should you play your high card
when the jack is led from dummy?”
1) DUMMY
J 10 8
PARTNER YOU
Q97 K642
DECLARER
A53
2) DUMMY
J 10 3
PARTNER YOU
K762 Q95
DECLARER
A84
3) DUMMY
J 10 3
PARTNER YOU
7654 KQ9
DECLARER
A82
No
1) ________________ No
2) _________________ Yes
3) ________________
Follow-up
Discuss the exercise with the students. They may have trouble seeing why they should play low
in the first two layouts and cover in the last layout. You may have to help them out. Show them how
declarer loses two tricks in the first layout, if you play low on the jack and later cover the 10, whereas
declarer would only lose a trick to the queen, if you cover the first honor. The second layout is similar.
Declarer can lead toward dummy’s 10 for a second trick, if you cover the first trick with the queen.
On the last layout, you have enough high cards to cover both honors and thereby promote the 9 into
a winner.
Conclusion
“When there are two or more honors, it is usually best to wait to cover the last honor, unless
you can afford to cover more than one of them.”
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 131
EXERCISE SIX: Putting It All Together
Introduction
“When you are second hand to play and a low card is led, it is generally
best to play a low card. When a high card is led, it usually works out best to
cover with a higher card. Let’s see how we put all of this together.”
Instructions
“Which card do you play in each of the layouts in Exercise Six when declarer
leads the indicated card toward dummy?”
1) DUMMY 4) DUMMY
Q83 Q83
YOU YOU
AJ5 J 10 9 7
DECLARER DECLARER
6 4
2) DUMMY 5) DUMMY
KJ4 K
YOU YOU
Q73 A642
DECLARER DECLARER
5 9
3) DUMMY 6) DUMMY
J84 A 10 3
YOU YOU
K62 K75
DECLARER DECLARER
3 J
5 (low)
1) ___________________ 9 (split)
4)______________________
3 (low)
2) ___________________ Ace (take king)
5)______________________
2 (low)
3) ___________________ King (cover)
6)______________________
132 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
This exercise gives the students a chance to apply the guidelines. It should take only a few min-
utes. It might be a good idea to do it with the entire class. If you decide to let the students discuss
the exercise in their groups, give them only a few minutes.
On the first layout, they should be careful to play low, not the jack, but on the fourth layout, they
should split their honors. The students may have difficulty telling the situations apart. On the fifth
layout, there is no reason to duck, since they can capture the king by playing high. You might choose
this layout to elaborate on the idea of not playing low, if they can see that taking their high card will
defeat the contract. If this layout came up defending a suit contract, they might not get their ace, if
they let the singleton king win in dummy. On the last layout, they should cover, if they can see that
their king will be trapped on the next round anyway. Perhaps they can promote the queen and 9 in
partner’s hand.
Conclusion
“The defenders give themselves the best chance, in situations where they are
uncertain what to do, by playing a low card as second hand, if a low card is
led, and covering an honor with an honor, if a high card is led.”
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 133
EXERCISE SEVEN: Review of Rebids by Opener
Introduction
The introduction may be confusing. It might be more effective to work with the example hand
and to develop a review. You will have to judge the needs of your class.
“Here is a quick review of the general ideas behind opener’s rebid. We don’t
have the time to go into all of the details.
“After opening the bidding at the one level in a suit, opener’s rebid gives
more information to responder about the distribution and strength of opener’s
hand. In choosing a rebid, opener classifies the strength of the hand as
minimum (13 to 15 points), medium (16 to 18 points) or maximum (19 to
21 points) and bids accordingly. As a general guideline, the more strength
opener has, the more (higher) opener bids.
“For example, responder’s raise of opener’s suit to the two level is an invi-
tational bid, showing support and 6 to 9 points. With a minimum, opener
passes. With a medium-strength hand, opener raises to the three level. With
a maximum, opener bids game.
“Similarly, a bid of 1NT by responder is invitational, showing 6 to 9 points
without support for opener’s suit and with no other suit that can be bid at
the one level. With balanced distribution, opener passes with a minimum
or raises to 3NT with a maximum (18-19 HCP). Remember, opener will
not have a balanced 20-21 HCP hand in this instance, since opener would
have opened 2NT with that hand. With an unbalanced hand, opener can take
the following action: (1) bid a second suit, (2) jump shift with a maximum
hand, (3) rebid the original suit at the two level with a minimum hand, (4)
rebid the original suit at the three level with a medium hand or (5) rebid the
original suit at the game level with a maximum hand.
“A new suit by responder is forcing, and opener can’t pass, even with a
minimum hand. Opener makes the most descriptive rebid with support for
responder’s suit by (1) raising to the next level with a minimum hand, (2)
jumping a level with a medium hand and (3) jumping two levels with a
maximum hand. Holding an unbalanced hand, opener can (1) bid a second
suit, (2) jump shift with a maximum hand, (3) rebid the original suit at the
cheapest level with a minimum hand, (4) rebid the original suit by jumping
a level with a medium hand or (5) rebid the original suit by jumping two
levels with a maximum hand. With a balanced hand, opener rebids notrump
at the cheapest level with a minimum hand and jumps a level with a maxi-
mum hand.”
134 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“You open the bidding 1k and your partner responds 1;. What do you
rebid with each of the hands in Exercise Seven?”
1) ; 10 8 4 2 2) ;Q4 3) ;7
kAKJ73 k K J 10 7 3 kQJ9753
lK9 l A 10 4 lJ42
' J 10 'QJ6 'AKJ
2;
1) ________________ 1NT
2) _________________ 2k
3) ________________
4) ;74 5) ;KQ63 6) ;Q2
kAQ642 k A Q 10 7 2 kAKJ8432
lKJ632 l4 lA4
'A 'K94 '95
2l
4) ________________ 3;
5) _________________ 3k
6) ________________
7) ; K 10 8) ;A4 9) ;AJ84
k A J 10 8 2 k K Q 10 7 3 kAKQ75
lKQ9 lK5 l8
'AQ2 'AKJ2 'QJ2
2NT
4) ________________ 3'
5) _________________ 4;
6) ________________
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 135
Follow-up
This is a quick review. Set the stage so that questions can be easily answered in terms of the
general guidelines. For example, you might set the stage as follows:
“On the first hand, you like partner’s suit and have a minimum hand. You
want to show your support for partner’s suit as cheaply as possible. What
do you rebid? (2;.)
“With the second hand, you have a minimum, balanced hand without support
for partner’s suit. How can you describe it with your rebid? (1NT.)
“The third hand is minimum and unbalanced with a lot of hearts, so you’ll
want to rebid them as cheaply as possible. What do you rebid? (2k.)
“The fourth hand is a medium hand (14 HCP and 2 length points). You don’t
have a fit, but you do have a second suit to show. What do you rebid? (2l.)
“With the fifth hand, you’ve moved up to a medium-strength hand. What
would you rebid to show both support for partner’s suit and extra strength?
(3;.)
“The sixth hand is also of medium strength. How can you show your long
suit as well as your strength? (Bid 3k.)
“Hand seven is in the maximum range and balanced. How can you describe
it with your rebid? (2NT.)
“The eighth hand is also in the maximum range and you want to show your
second suit as well as your strength. What do you do? (Bid 3'.)
“On the ninth hand, you have support for partner’s major and a maximum
hand, once you revalue using dummy points. What rebid describes the
hand?” (4;.)
Conclusion
“When making a rebid, opener tries to finish painting a clear picture of the
hand for responder, so that responder can accurately decide on the level and
strain of the contract.”
136 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE EIGHT: Review of Finesses
Introduction
“One way to get extra winners in a notrump contract or eliminate losers in
a suit contract is through the finesse. Declarer generally leads toward the
high card declarer hopes will win a trick. However, declarer can sometimes
afford to lead a high card to try to trap a high card in an opponent’s hand.
Since the defenders now know about covering an honor with an honor,
declarer can lead a high card only if declarer can afford to have it covered.
Otherwise, declarer should lead toward the high card.”
Instructions
“What is the maximum number of tricks declarer can get from each of the
layouts in Exercise Eight, if the missing cards are favorably located? How
would you plan to play the suit?”
DUMMY: QJ7 754 Q J 10 Q74 Q75
DECLARER: 6 4 2 A J 10 A75 AJ6 K86
1 2 3 3
1) __________ 2) ___________ 3) __________ 4)___________ 5) ___________ 2
Follow-up
Discuss the exercise with the entire class since it is mainly a review. Try to lead the students to
come up with the appropriate answer. For example:
“In the first layout, declarer would like to take a trick with either the queen
or the jack. If declarer leads one of the cards from dummy, the opponents
will win the trick with a higher card. How does declarer play the combi-
nation? (Lead twice toward the dummy, hoping either the ace or the king
is on the left.)
“In the second layout, declarer would like to get two tricks rather than one.
How can it be done? (By leading toward declarer’s hand. The plan is to
finesse the 10 if a low card appears. If the first finesse loses, declarer will
repeat the finesse, hoping that either the king or the queen is on the right.)
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 137
“In the third layout, declarer is missing only the king. How can it be trapped?
(Lead a high card from the dummy, since declarer can afford to have it
covered.)
“In the fourth layout, declarer is missing both the king and the 10. Can de-
clarer afford to lead dummy’s queen to trap the king? (No. The defender will
cover with the king, promoting the 10 for the defense.) Is there any hope for
three tricks in the suit? (Yes. Lead low from dummy, finessing the jack. If
the jack wins, declarer then plays the ace.This will give declarer three tricks
if the opponent on the right started with a singleton or doubleton king.)
“In the fifth layout, declarer can promote one trick by driving out the ace.
Is there any chance for two tricks? (Yes, declarer can lead toward one of
the honors. If this wins the trick, it will do no good to lead toward the other
honor. Declarer will have to play a low card from both hands, hoping the
defender started with a doubleton ace.)”
There is some scope in this exercise to discuss the finesse in relationship to the defenders’ guide-
lines. For example, they now know enough to make things more difficult for declarer by covering an
honor, if one is led in the fourth layout, and by playing second hand low in the last layout.
Conclusion
“When declarer can afford to have the high card covered, declarer can use
the finesse to develop extra tricks by leading a high card to trap a missing
card or by leading toward the card declarer hopes will take a trick.”
138 Defense in the 21st Century
SAMPLE DEALS
EXERCISE NINE: Second Hand Low
Introduction
“When you are defending, it is tempting to be too eager to take your tricks.
However, patience is often rewarded. Let’s see how careful management of
your high cards works on the first practice deal.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the first pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #4, Deal 1)
Dealer: North ;K972
kK64
lAQ
'AQJ6
;AJ5 N ; 10 4
k Q J 10 8 kA952
W E
l9753 l J 10 6 4
' 10 8 S '732
;Q863
k73
lK82
'K954
The Bidding
“With a balanced hand, why can’t North open the bidding 1NT? (North
has 19 HCP, too many to open 1NT.) What would North open the bidding?
(1'.) East and West pass throughout. Does South have a suit that can be
bid at the one level? (Yes.) What does South respond? (1;.) How does
North show support for South’s suit and the strength of the hand? (4;.)
How does the auction proceed from there? (Pass, pass, pass.) Who is the
declarer? (South.)”
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 139
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (West.) What would the opening lead be?
(kQ, top of touching high cards.) If declarer plays trumps by leading a low
spade toward dummy, which card should West play? (;5.) Why? (Second
hand low, to keep declarer’s ;Q trapped.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How can declarer avoid losing two
trump tricks? (Declarer can afford only three losers. With two losers in
hearts, declarer must try to avoid losing two trump tricks. Declarer will
have to hope that one opponent has a doubleton ;A. Declarer plans to lead
toward one of the spade honors and, if this wins, play a low card from both
hands and hope that an opponent has to play the ;A.)”
Conclusion
“Second hand low worked to defeat this contract. If West had become too
eager to put high cards on the table, West would have given declarer a chance
to avoid losing two trump tricks.”
140 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TEN: Giving Declarer a Guess
Introduction
“Remember that declarer can’t see your cards. By playing second hand low,
you can keep declarer guessing. Let’s see how it works on the next deal.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the second pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #4, Deal 2)
Dealer: East ;A954
k92
l J 10 9 8 2
' 10 3
;83 N ;KJ
kAK864 W E kQJ75
l64 lK73
S
'AQ84 'KJ95
; Q 10 7 6 2
k 10 3
lAQ5
'762
The Bidding
“What would East open the bidding? (1'.) North and South pass through-
out. What does West respond? (1k.) How does East show support for West’s
suit and the strength of the hand? (Bids 2k.) Does West have enough infor-
mation to place the contract? (Yes.) What does West rebid? (4k.) What is
the contract? (4k.) Who is the declarer? (West.)”
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (North.) What is the opening lead? (lJ, top
of a sequence.) What will South do if a low card is played from dummy? (Play
the l5, since North’s lJ will win the trick.) What must North be prepared
to do, when West leads a spade toward dummy? (Play second hand low to
leave declarer with a guess as to whether to play dummy’s ;J or ;K.)”
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 141
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How can declarer avoid a spade
loser? (Declarer can afford three losers and has two diamond losers and two
spade losers. With the lA in the South hand, there is no way to avoid two
diamond losers after the opening lead. Declarer can plan to eliminate one
of the spade losers, however, by leading a low spade toward dummy’s ;K
and ;J. If North plays a low spade, declarer will have to guess whether
to finesse the ;J, playing North for the ;Q, or finesse the ;K, playing
North for the ;A.)”
Since the success of this contract depends on a pure guess in the spade suit, you may want to
interchange the location of the ;A and ;Q between North and South at some tables. This will more
clearly indicate to the students the nature of the problem faced by declarer and why it is important
that North be prepared to play second hand low whether holding the ;A or the ;Q.
Conclusion
“By playing second hand low, you can keep the declarer guessing and give
declarer a chance to go wrong.”
142 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE ELEVEN: Covering an Honor
Introduction
“When declarer leads a low card, it is usually a good idea for the next de-
fender also to play low. On the other hand, when declarer leads a high card,
it is generally a good idea for the next defender to cover it with a higher
card, in the hope of promoting a winner for the defenders. Let’s see how
the defenders handle the next deal.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the third pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #4, Deal 3)
Dealer: South ; 10 6 4
kKQ73
lJ7
'AKQJ
;Q93 N ;KJ852
k A J 10 8 k54
W E
l9654 lK2
'97 S '6532
;A7
k962
l A Q 10 8 3
' 10 8 4
The Bidding
“South and West pass. What is North’s opening bid? (1NT.) After East passes,
what does South respond? (3NT.) What is the contract? (3NT.) Who is the
declarer? (North.)”
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (East.) What would the opening lead be?
(;5.) Why? (Fourth highest from the longest and strongest suit.) If a low
card is played from dummy on the first trick, which card should West play?
(;Q.) Why? (Third hand high.) If declarer leads a low diamond toward
dummy, which card should East play? (l2, second hand low.) Which card
should East play if declarer leads a diamond honor toward dummy? (lK,
cover an honor with an honor.)”
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 143
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer needs nine tricks and starts with one spade trick, one
diamond trick and four club tricks. The three extra tricks can come from
the diamond suit. Declarer can’t afford to lose a diamond trick to the op-
ponents, however, if the missing spades are divided 5–3. Declarer can hold
up the ;A only one round and must plan, therefore, to take the diamond
finesse, hoping to develop enough tricks in the suit before having to give
up the lead to the opponents. If East has the lK and the missing diamonds
are divided 3–3, declarer will have no problems.)”
Declarer has a problem in the diamond suit, which may not be appreciated by all of the students.
With no outside entry to the dummy, North has to lead the lJ, hoping that East has exactly three
diamonds, including the lK. If there were outside entries to dummy, North should first lead the l7,
catering to a singleton lK in East’s hand. If the lK does not appear but the finesse is successful,
declarer can return to the hand and lead the lJ, now hoping the suit is divided 3-3. On the actual
deal, declarer must lead the lJ, high card from the short side, even though declarer can’t afford to
have it covered if the opponents’l9 gets promoted. The students do not need to delve too deeply
into this situation. The point of the hand is to see if East can play the appropriate card when North
leads either the l7 or the lJ.
Conclusion
“Covering an honor with an honor often helps the defenders promote their
lower-ranking cards into winners.”
144 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWELVE: Waiting to Cover
Introduction
“When the declarer leads from a suit headed by two or more honors, the
next defender to play should wait to cover the last honor led. The purpose
of covering is to promote tricks for the defense. Let’s put this advice to use
on the fourth deal.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the fourth pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #4, Deal 4)
Dealer: West ;KJ5
k 10 8 3 2
lK862
' Q 10
;86 N ;A92
kKJ7 kAQ5
W E
l Q J 10 9 lA73
'9742 S 'AJ63
; Q 10 7 4 3
k964
l54
'K85
The Bidding
“West and North pass. Why does East not open 1NT? (East has too many
points, 19.) What does East open the bidding? (1'.) South passes. Does
West have a suit that can be bid at the one level? (Yes.) What does West
respond? (1l.) North passes. How does East finish describing this strong
balanced hand? (2NT.) South passes. What does West rebid? (3NT.) What
is the contract? (3NT.) Who is the declarer? (East.)”
Lesson 4 — Second-Hand Play 145
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (South.) What would the opening lead be?
(;4, fourth highest.) Which card must North contribute to the first trick?
(;K.) Why? (Third hand high.) Should North cover if a diamond is led from
dummy? (No.) Why not? (There is nothing to promote for the defense.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer needs nine tricks and has one sure trick in spades,
three in hearts, one in diamonds and one in clubs. While declarer could
try developing extra tricks in the club suit, declarer would have to give up
the lead to the opponents, and they would be able to take enough tricks to
defeat the contract. The best chance is the diamond suit. By leading a high
diamond from dummy and taking the finesse, declarer can develop two extra
tricks whenever North has the lK. If North has fewer than four diamonds,
declarer will end up with four tricks in the diamond suit, enough to make
the contract. Of course, if North covers one of West’s diamonds, East will
make the contract, no matter how many diamonds North started with.)”
Conclusion
“While covering an honor is good advice, cover only if there is some pos-
sibility for promoting a trick for your side.”
146 Defense in the 21st Century
LESSON 5
Defensive Signals
General Concepts
General Introduction
Group Activities
Sample Deals
148 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL CONCEPTS
Defense
Defensive Signals
s Attitude
s High cards encourage
s Low cards discourage
s Count
s High-low shows an even number of cards
s Low-high shows an odd number of cards
s Suit preference
s High card asks for the higher-ranking suit
s Low card asks for the lower-ranking suit
Bidding
Review of rebids by responder
s When opener shows a minimum hand
s When opener shows a medium hand
s When opener shows a maximum hand
Play of the Hand
Review of ways to eliminate losers in a suit contract
s Trumping losers
s Discarding losers
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 149
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
This is a comfortable lesson to follow the first half of the course. Most students must put in a lot
of effort to understand the concepts behind second-hand play and third-hand play. This lesson should
be much less taxing for them. It is well-placed, just after the halfway point, and gives the students an
opportunity to catch their breath (if they need to) before trying to put everything together.
“The defenders need to work as a team to try to defeat declarer’s contract.
They work together to get over their main disadvantage — they can’t see
each other’s cards. The defenders try to describe their hands to each other
through the specific card played to each trick. We’ve already seen how this
can work when the opening lead is made. For example, if you lead the queen
against a notrump contract, you tell your partner you have the next lower
card, the jack, but not the next higher card, the king, since you led the top
of your touching cards. The one card you lead gives partner information
about the location of two other cards!
“The type of information defenders want to give each other through the
cards they play falls into basic categories. You might want to tell partner your
attitude toward a specific suit — whether you want partner to continue to
play that suit. You might want to tell partner about your distribution — how
many cards you have in a suit. Or, you might want to tell partner which suit
you would prefer to have played, when partner next gets the opportunity
to lead.
“Giving each other such information will help you plan the defense, over-
coming the difficulty of being unable to actually look into partner’s hand.
The more you know about partner’s hand, the more you can deduce about
declarer’s hand. If you know what declarer holds, you will know which
suits to lead and which suits to avoid; which suits to keep and which to
discard.
“Let’s see how you go about signaling such information to each other without
whispering it across the table.”
150 Defense in the 21st Century
GROUP ACTIVITIES
EXERCISE ONE: Giving an Attitude Signal
Introduction
“We’ll start off by looking at how you can tell partner whether or not you
like a particular suit. Lay out the following cards in the heart suit:
DUMMY
KA84
PARTNER YOU
K Q 10 7 5 2 KK93
DECLARER
KJ6
“Suppose partner leads the K5, fourth best, and declarer decides to play
dummy’s KA. It looks like a good idea to hold on to your KK, since that
card is now a winner. Does it matter which of your remaining low hearts
you choose to play on this trick? If you are of the opinion that one low card
is the same as the next, then you are probably not defeating as many of
declarer’s contracts as you could.
“The low cards represent the defenders’ conveyance for sending messages
back and forth. When partner leads a suit and you have a choice of cards to
play, you can give an attitude signal. If you like the suit (want it continued),
play as high a card as you can afford; if you don’t like the suit, play your
lowest card. High cards are encouraging, low cards are discouraging.
“In our example, do you like the suit partner has led? (Yes, you have the
king.) So which card would you choose to play? (The K9.) If partner regains
the lead before you do, partner knows that the heart suit looks like a good
suit to lead again. What if declarer had played a low card from the dummy
on the first trick? Could you give partner a signal? (No, you have to play the
KK, third hand high.) You can give a signal only when you have a choice
of cards to play, not when you are forced to play a specific card.
“Let’s give declarer the KK:
DUMMY
KA84
PARTNER YOU
K Q 10 7 5 2 K93
DECLARER
KKJ6
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 151
“If partner makes the same lead, the K5, and declarer again chooses to
play dummy’s KA, which card do you play? (The K3.) You want to give
partner a discouraging signal. That does not necessarily stop partner from
leading the suit again, if partner thinks that is best. It merely passes the
message that you do not have any help in the suit. Now, exchange your K3
for dummy’s K8:
DUMMY
KA43
PARTNER YOU
K Q 10 7 5 2 K98
DECLARER
KKJ6
“Which card are you going to discourage with? (The K8.) You don’t al-
ways have a very low card to play when you want to discourage, or a high
card when you want to encourage. You have to do the best you can with the
cards you have available. Partner would generally think that a little card,
such as a 2, 3 or 4, is discouraging, whereas a 7, 8 or 9 is encouraging. But
how might partner be able to tell that you are trying to make a discouraging
signal when you play the K8? (Partner can see the K2, the K3, the K4,
the K5, the K6 and the K7 from the other hands, assuming declarer plays
the K6 on the first trick.) Partner has to interpret your signal based on the
cards that can be seen.
“Sometimes you will have to take some time to think before deciding whether
or not you like a suit. Let’s change the layout:
DUMMY
KA64
PARTNER YOU
KQJ92 K 10 7 3
DECLARER
KK85
“Partner leads the KQ, top of a broken sequence, and a low heart is played
from the dummy. You can see the KA and know that partner doesn’t have
the KK — partner wouldn’t lead the KQ from a suit headed by the KK.
On the other hand, your K10 is a useful card. Unless you can clearly see
something better to do, you probably want to encourage partner to lead the
suit again, so you play your K7. Once declarer’s KA and KK are driven
out, your side will have developed some winners.
“An attitude signal tells partner whether or not you like a particular suit. If
partner knows you like a suit, partner can lead the suit again when given
the opportunity. If partner knows you don’t like a suit, a different suit can
be lead when partner gets the opportunity.”
152 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise One, you are defending against a notrump
contract and your partner leads the king. The 3 is played from dummy. Decide
whether you want to encourage or discourage. Which card do you play?”
1) DUMMY 4) DUMMY
73 3
PARTNER YOU PARTNER YOU
K A82 K A42
2) DUMMY 5) DUMMY
983 43
PARTNER YOU PARTNER YOU
K 642 K 87
3) DUMMY 6) DUMMY
93 63
PARTNER YOU PARTNER YOU
K J74 K A7
8 (encourage)
1) _______________________ 4 (encourage)
4) _________________________
2 (discourage)
2) _______________________ 7 (discourage)
5) _________________________
7 (encourage)
3) _______________________ Ace (unblock)
6) _________________________
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 153
Follow-up
Discuss the exercise. The discussion might include the following:
“On the first layout, you want to encourage since you hold the ace, so play
the 8.
“On the second layout, you have no help for partner, so you would dis-
courage with the 2.
“On the third layout, it looks as though partner is leading the top of a broken
sequence headed by the king, the queen and the 10. The jack is a useful card
for you to hold, so encourage with the 7.
“On the fourth layout, you want to encourage, so play the 4, the highest
card you can afford. Hopefully partner will notice that the 2 is missing and
interpret your 4 as an encouraging card.
“On the fifth layout, the opposite situation arises. You want to give a dis-
couraging signal, so you play your lowest card, the 7. You would prefer a
clearer signal, but those are the cards you were dealt.
“The sixth layout is a bit of a trap. In the lesson on third hand high, the
importance of unblocking was discussed. With a doubleton, you need to
overtake partner’s king with the ace, so that you will have a low card left to
lead back. This is not a signaling situation, since you do not really have a
choice about which card to play.”
Conclusion
“Even if you can’t contribute a card that will win the trick or promote win-
ners for your side, every card you play is important. Partner may not know
whether you like the suit led. Your attitude signal can give the help partner
needs. If you automatically play your lowest card when you can’t win the
trick, partner has to guess whether you like the suit. Naturally, partner would
go wrong about half of the time. Help your partner by signaling your attitude
when you have a choice of cards to play.”
154 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWO: When Partner Signals
Introduction
“You do not give attitude signals only when following suit. You also can give
an attitude signal when discarding another suit. It works the same way. You
can show you like a suit by discarding a high card in the suit. If you discard
a low card in a suit, that tends to be a discouraging signal. Let’s construct
the following hand on the table:
AQ862
K7532
L6
987
“Suppose declarer is taking diamond tricks while you hold this hand. On
the second round of diamonds, you have to discard. How could you tell
partner you like spades? (Discard the 8.) What would you discard to say
you did not like hearts? (The K2.) Suppose you wanted to tell partner you
did not like clubs. Which card would you discard in clubs? (The 7.) This
might look like a high club to partner, so how could you clarify that you do
not like clubs if you have the opportunity to discard a second club? (Play
the 8 or the 9.) By playing a low card and then a higher card, you can
confirm that you are sending a discouraging signal. Similarly, by playing a
high card and then a low card, you are making a clearly encouraging signal.
This is sometimes called an echo.
“On this hand, you could discard the 8, followed by the 2, to show that
you like spades. But suppose you want to hold on to all of your spades. Is
there any way you could tell partner that you like spades without throwing
one away if you have the opportunity to discard three cards? (Yes. Discard
the K2, the 7, and the 8.) If you make discouraging signals in a couple
of suits, partner can draw the inference that you must like something else
— unless you do not like any suit!
“Both partners must cooperate if the messages sent out are to be effec-
tive. One partner must give the appropriate signal — that’s step one — but
partner must be watching for it — that’s step two. If you never look at the
lower cards your partner plays, then the messages are wasted. So, instead
of sending the message, let’s put you on the receiving end.”
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 155
Instructions
“You are defending a notrump contract with the hand shown in Exercise
Two and lead the LQ:
DUMMY
J32
KK74
LA2
KQ974
YOU
K54
K863
L Q J 10 5
853
“What can you deduce about partner’s hand under each of the following
circumstances:
1) Declarer wins the first trick in dummy and partner plays the L3.
2) Declarer wins the first trick in dummy and partner plays the L8.
3) After winning the first trick, declarer starts taking club tricks and partner
discards the 6 on the third round.
4) After winning the first trick, declarer starts taking club tricks and partner
discards the K9 on the third round.”
Dislikes L’s
1) _______________ Likes L’s Dislikes ’s Likes K’s
2) _______________ 3) _______________ 4) _______________
Follow-up
Work with the class as a whole to discuss the exercise. The exercise should not take too long. The
points should be something like this:
“The L3 from partner would be a discouraging signal, indicating that partner
probably does not have the LK. On the other hand, the L8 from partner
would be encouraging, showing that partner probably has the LK or prefers
diamonds to anything else. If partner discards the 6, that is a discouraging
signal in spades. The 6 is partner’s lowest spade. You have the 4 and
5 and can see the 2 and 3 in the dummy. If partner discards the K9,
this is an encouraging signal in hearts.”
Conclusion
“In order for the defenders to be successful, the message sent also has to
be received. When you make a lead, be sure to notice the card your partner
plays. Consider not only the message partner is sending but how you are
going to act on it.”
156 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE THREE: Giving A Count Signal
Introduction
“It is not always necessary to give an attitude signal. Your partner may
already know whether or not you like a particular suit. For example, if
declarer is trying to establish a suit, you don’t have to tell partner that you
are not interested in that suit. If partner can see that declarer holds a lot of
high cards in a suit, partner also will know that you are not likely to want
to give an encouraging signal. Similarly, if your side has bid and raised a
suit, there is not much need to say that you like the suit.
“If there is no point in giving an attitude signal in a suit, another important
message you can give partner is the number of cards you hold in a suit. This
is a useful piece of information. Once partner knows how many cards you
have in a suit, it’s possible to figure out how many cards declarer holds in
the suit. Partner can see the number of cards in the hand and the dummy.
Knowing how many cards declarer holds will help partner defend accurately,
to know how many tricks might come from the suit, whether it’s safe to
discard cards in that suit and so on.
“Telling partner how many cards you have in a suit is called a count signal.
The mechanics of giving a count signal are that a high card followed by a
low card, a high-low, shows an even number of cards. A low card followed by
a higher card, shows an odd number of cards. You can’t tell partner exactly
how many cards you have, but if you show an even number, partner can
usually figure out whether it is two, four, six or eight, based on the cards
partner can see, the way the bidding has gone and the other cards that have
been played. Let’s see how a count signal works. Put out the following cards
in the club suit:
DUMMY
K Q 10 7 5
YOU PARTNER
92 A63
DECLARER
J84
“Suppose you are defending a notrump contract and declarer leads the J,
planning to establish the suit by driving out your partner’s A. This is the
type of situation where an attitude signal does not make much sense. It is
obvious to both you and partner that you don’t like the suit. Instead, you
can give partner a count signal. With an even number of cards, you start by
playing the 9, a high card. If declarer leads the suit again, you will play
the 2, completing your high-low (or echo). Partner will know you started
with an even number of cards and can tell you started with exactly two cards,
since there are eight cards between partner’s hand and the dummy. If you
had four cards, that would leave declarer with a singleton.
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 157
“Note that you don’t always have to complete your high-low. As soon as
you play the 9, partner expects that you are showing an even number.
The 2 later confirms it.
“Of what use is your count signal? Once partner knows you have two cards
in the suit, partner knows declarer has three since the other eight clubs can
be seen. If there is no outside entry to dummy, partner would know to hold
up the A until the third round to strand declarer’s club winners in the
dummy.
“Put declarer’s 4 in your hand:
DUMMY
K Q 10 7 5
YOU PARTNER
942 A63
DECLARER
J8
“When declarer leads the J, which card do you play? (The 2.) By play-
ing your clubs low-high, you show an odd number. Partner can figure out
that you must have three, leaving declarer with only two. This time partner
can win the second round of clubs, knowing declarer’s clubs in the dummy
will be stranded.
“As with attitude signals, you don’t give count signals only when you are
following suit. If partner already knows your attitude toward a suit, you
can give a count signal when discarding the suit. Let’s look at an example
of giving count signals.”
158 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“You are defending a contract of 6NT holding the hand in Exercise Three:
97652
K8753
L 10 6 4
J
“Declarer starts taking tricks in the club suit and you have to discard after
the first round. With no information to give partner other than the number
of cards you have in each suit, which two cards would you discard to give
partner one of the following signals:
1) The number of cards you hold in the spade suit.
2) The number of cards you hold in the heart suit.
3) The number of cards you hold in the diamond suit.”
2 then 5 K8 then K3 L4 then L6
1) ______________________ 2) ________________________ 3) ______________________
(low-high)
______________________ (high-low)
2) ________________________ (low-high)
3) ______________________
Follow-up
Discuss the exercise. The answers should be obvious, if the students have followed the discus-
sion so far.
Conclusion
“If an attitude signal is not relevant, the next priority is to give partner a
count signal, to convey how many cards you have in the suit. A high-low
signal shows an even number of cards. A low-high signal shows an odd
number of cards.”
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 159
EXERCISE FOUR: Interpreting a Count Signal
Introduction
“As with attitude signals, there is no point in using count signals unless
both partners are paying attention. One partner has to give the signal, the
other partner has to receive it. The next exercise gives you the opportunity
to interpret partner’s count signal and put it to use.”
Instructions
“You lead the 4 against a contract of 3NT after an opening bid of 1NT
on your right and see the dummy shown in Exercise Four:
DUMMY
A
K974
L K Q J 10 9
J763
YOU
Q8542
K86
LA83
842
“After winning dummy’s A, declarer starts leading dummy’s diamonds to
drive out your LA. On which round should you take your LA if:
1) Partner plays the L7 and then the L4.
2) Partner plays the L2 and then the L6.
3) Partner plays the L5 and then discards the K2.”
Third
1) ________________ Second
2) _________________ Does not matter
3) _____________________
160 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Involve the whole class in this discussion to keep it on track. You might say something like
this:
“In the first case, what does partner’s high-low in diamonds show? (An
even number of diamonds.) How many must partner have? (Two. Holding
four, declarer would have a singleton.) How many does that leave declarer?
(Three.) How long should you hold up your LA? (Until the third round.)
“In the second case, how many diamonds is partner showing? (Three.) How
many does declarer have? (Two.) When should you win the LA? (Second
round.)
“In the last case, how many diamonds does partner have? (One.) How many
does that leave declarer with? (Four.) When should you play your ace? (It
doesn’t matter, since you can’t strand the suit. Declarer will always have an
entry to the dummy’s established diamonds.)”
Conclusion
“When the defenders are trying to hold up and strand declarer’s long suit,
both partners must cooperate. One partner needs to give a count signal and
the other partner must be paying attention in order to know how long to
hold up.”
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 161
EXERCISE FIVE: Giving Suit Preference
Introduction
“Sometimes, the situation does not call for either an attitude signal or a count
signal. Instead of giving partner information about the suit that is being
played, you may want to tell partner which of the other suits you prefer. You
may be able to give a suit preference signal. A suit preference signal tells
partner which of two suits you prefer. This assumes that there will be only
two obvious suits for partner to choose from. That will often be the case. The
suit you are giving the signal in doesn’t count, and one of the other suits,
perhaps declarer’s trump suit, usually can be discounted. The suit preference
signal works in quite a straightforward manner. A high card says you prefer
the higher-ranking suit, a low card says you prefer the lower-ranking suit.
The trick is to know when the signal applies. Let’s construct a hand to get
the general idea. Put the following hand dummy style on the table:
AK73
K42
L 10 6 3
8652
“Suppose you are defending a contract with hearts as the trump suit, partner
leads the LA and dummy comes down with a singleton diamond. Since
dummy has a singleton diamond, it does not look as though partner will be
too interested in knowing whether or not you like diamonds. Even if you
do, declarer will be able to ruff diamonds in the dummy. Likewise, partner
will not be too interested in how many you have. Instead, partner is more
likely to want to know which suit to lead next. Here is an opportunity to
use a suit preference signal in the diamond suit. Since hearts is declarer’s
trump suit, partner will want to know which of the two remaining suits you
prefer, spades or clubs.
“Which diamond could you play to tell partner that you prefer spades to
clubs? (The L10.) You play a high diamond to say that you prefer the higher-
ranking suit. What if we exchange the clubs and spades?
8652
K42
L 10 6 3
AK73
“Which diamond would say that you prefer clubs? (The L3.) Your lowest
diamond shows preference for the lower-ranking of the ‘obvious’ suits.
Suppose you don’t have a particular preference, which diamond would you
play? (The L6.) A medium-sized diamond says you do not care which suit
partner leads next. Partner will decide based on partner’s holdings in the
other suits and the cards seen in dummy.
162 Defense in the 21st Century
“One useful time to give a suit preference signal is when you are about
to give partner a ruff. Perhaps partner has led a singleton, or you may be
leading a long suit and partner has shown out. After ruffing the next trick,
partner will want to know what to lead next. Partner will want to find an
entry to your hand to get another ruff. Since partner won’t be interested in
either the suit partner is ruffing or the trump suit itself, partner will want to
choose from the other two suits. You can designate which suit you prefer by
the size of the card you lead for partner to ruff. A high card says you prefer
the higher-ranking suit and a low card says you prefer the lower-ranking
suit. This may be easier to see with the aid of an exercise.”
Instructions
“Partner leads what looks like a singleton club against declarer’s contract
of 4K. After winning your A, which club do you lead back for partner
to ruff from each of the hands in Exercise Five?”
1) A 9 6 4 2) 7 6 5 3) 964
K 10 4 K 10 4 K 10 4 3
L765 LA964 L765
A 10 6 2 A 10 6 2 A 10 6 2
10
1)___________ 2
2) _____________ 6
3) ___________
Follow-up
Work with the class as a whole to complete the exercise. If the concept has been understood,
there should be no difficulty. The 10 on the first hand shows preference for spades. The 2 on
the second hand shows preference for diamonds. The 6 on the last hand shows no preference for
either suit.
Conclusion
“When you think the situation is right for a suit preference signal, play a
high card to tell partner you prefer a higher-ranking suit and a low card to
tell partner you are interested in a lower-ranking suit.”
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 163
EXERCISE SIX: Putting It All Together
Introduction
“In the next exercise, we’ll look at the use of all three types of signals: at-
titude, count and suit preference.”
Instructions
“You hold this hand in Exercise Six:
K92
K842
LK763
954
“During the play, you get an opportunity to give partner a signal.
1) Which card would you play to tell partner that you would like a spade led?
2) Which card would you play to tell partner that you do not like clubs?
3) Which card would you play to start to give a count signal in hearts?
4) Which card would you play to start to give a count signal in diamonds?
5) Which club could you play to tell partner that you prefer spades to hearts?”
9 4 K2 L7
1) ____________ 2) ____________ 3) _____________ 4) _____________ 5) ____________ 9
Follow-up
Let the students discuss the questions in groups and then as a whole. The question likely to cause
difficulty is the last one. Suit preference is not easy to understand. You can comfort the students with
the fact that suit preference signals are not as common as attitude and count signals.
Conclusion
“The defenders use their lower cards in a suit to send messages to each other
when they have a choice of cards to play. The first priority is to show partner
your attitude toward a suit. A high card is encouraging and a low card is
discouraging. If it is clear that partner does not need to know your attitude
toward the suit, then you can give a count signal. High-low shows an even
number of cards in the suit and low-high shows an odd number. If attitude
and count don’t apply, then the situation may call for a suit preference signal.
A high card says you prefer the higher ranking of the two most obvious suits
and a low card says you prefer the lower-ranking suit.”
164 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE SEVEN: Review of Rebids by Responder
Introduction
Try to keep the review short. If you do not have much time, refer the students to the summary
review in the textbook or the more detailed explanations in the Bidding in the 21st Century text. Give
a general explanation which could be as simple as this:
“By the time responder is in a position to be rebidding, opener has made two
bids. Responder has an idea of both the strength and distribution of opener’s
hand. Responder puts this information together with what can be seen in
responder’s own hand to decide on the level and strain for the contract. If
responder still needs information from opener, making a forcing bid, usually
in a new suit, will bring forth more information. Let’s look at the examples
together to see how responder makes these decisions.”
Instructions
“Your partner opens the bidding 1L, you respond 1 and partner rebids
1NT. What do you rebid with each of the hands in Exercise Seven?”
1) K 10 8 6 2) Q983 3) J98654
KJ93 K2 KK7
L74 L J 10 7 5 3 L63
Q 10 8 2 K85 J75
Pass
1) ________________ 2L
2) _________________ 2
3) ________________
4) 10 9 7 3 5) K Q 10 7 6 3 6) AQ83
KKQ5 K 10 K93
LJ9 LA97 LKJ852
AJ82 953 75
2NT
4) ________________ 3
5) _________________ 3L
6) ________________
7) Q 10 9 3 8) KJ9752 9) AJ974
KA98 KK6 KKQ642
LK83 LA84 L3
KJ7 65 J6
3NT
7) ________________ 4
8) _________________ 3K
9) ________________
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 165
Follow-up
Lead the students to the answers by making statements which quickly review the bidding for
them. You might say something like this:
“Opener has shown a minimum balanced hand of 13 or 14 points, too weak
to open 1NT. With a minimum hand of 6 to 9 points, responder wants to stop
in the best partscore. On the first hand, with 6 HCP, the best partscore looks
like it would be in notrump. What would you bid? (Pass.) On the second
hand, what looks like the best partscore? (2L.) On the third hand, the ap-
propriate level is also partscore. You know there are at least eight spades in
the combined hands, since partner’s balanced hand guarantees at least two
spades. What is your rebid? (2.)
“With 10 or 11 points, there may be enough for game, if partner is at the
top of the range (13 to 15 points). In this situation opener has rebid 1NT
to show a minimum hand. With 11 points, you want to move toward game
by making an invitational rebid. What would you do with the fourth hand?
(Bid 2NT.) With the next hand, you don’t want to rebid 2, an old suit at
the two level, since that would be a sign-off bid showing 6 to 9 points. What
would you do? (Bid 3, invitational.) Similarly, on the next hand, a rebid
of an old suit at the two level, 2L, would show only 6 to 9 points. How can
you invite opener to game? (Bid 3L.)
“With 12 or more points, you want to be sure the partnership gets to game.
What would you rebid with hand number seven, knowing there is no eight-
card major-suit fit? (3NT.) On the next hand, you know there is an eight-card
spade fit. What would you do? (Bid 4.) On the last hand, there is enough
strength for game, but you can’t be sure what the best strain is. How can
you get more information from partner? (Bid a new suit.) After a rebid of
1NT by opener, many partnerships play that when you bid a new suit at
the two level that is lower-ranking than responder’s first bid suit, it is not
forcing. What can you bid to ensure that opener knows you are making a
forcing bid? (3K.)”
The last example may be a little difficult, and, since some partnerships play 2K as forcing in
this situation, you might accept that answer. The point is discussed briefly in the Bidding in the 21st
Century text, but most students will be happy to treat any new suit by responder as forcing, a satis-
factory approach at this level.
Conclusion
“When responder knows that opener’s hand is minimum, responder puts the
hand into one of three categories and bids accordingly. With a minimum
hand, 6 to 9, responder either passes a 1NT rebid or bids an old suit — a
suit already bid by the partnership — at the two level. With a medium
hand, of 11 points, responder invites to game by rebidding 2NT or an old
suit at the three level. With a medium hand of 10 points, responder can
follow the guidelines for minimum range hands. This is only applicable
when opener shows a minimum hand with a rebid of 1NT. With 12 or more
points, responder bids game or makes a forcing bid (new suit) to get more
information from opener.”
166 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE EIGHT: Developing Tricks in a Suit Contract
Introduction
“When declarer is in a trump contract, one of the key decisions is how
to handle the trump suit. Usually it is a good idea to draw the defenders’
trumps as soon as possible, so that the defenders can’t get tricks by ruffing
declarer’s winners. There are times, however, when there are other priorities.
If declarer has too many losers, it may mean delaying drawing trumps.
“One way for declarer to eliminate extra losers is to ruff them in the dummy.
Declarer has to make sure that there are enough trumps left in dummy for
this task. Another way to eliminate losers is by discarding them on extra
winners in the dummy. If declarer has to lose the lead to the opponents while
drawing trumps, declarer will have to delay drawing trumps if there are too
many quick losers. A quick loser is a trick that declarer will have to lose as
soon as the opponents gain the lead. Declarer often will have to eliminate
them before giving up the lead to the defenders.
“Let’s take a look at some of the considerations declarer has in a trump
contract.”
Instructions
“How would you plan to make your contract of 4 on the hand in Exer-
cise Eight after the opening lead of the Q? Can you draw trumps im-
mediately?”
DUMMY
QJ93
KAK83
L6
9542
LEAD
Q
DECLARER
10 8 6 5 2
KQ2
LAK5
A73
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 167
Follow-up
Go through the hand with the students along the following line:
“Declarer can afford only three losers in a 4 contract. There are two spade
losers, one diamond loser and two club losers. The diamond loser can be
ruffed in dummy and one of the club losers can be discarded on the extra
heart winner in dummy. The spade and club losers are all quick. Since the
lead will have to be lost to the defenders in order to draw trumps, drawing
trumps will have to be delayed until a club loser is discarded.”
Conclusion
“Before declarer can decide whether or not to draw trumps right away, it’s
necessary to consult declarer’s PLAN. Trumps may be needed to ruff losers
in dummy, or declarer may need to discard losers on extra winners in the
dummy before drawing trumps.”
168 Defense in the 21st Century
SAMPLE DEALS
EXERCISE NINE: Giving Attitude
Introduction
“When you tell your partner how you feel about the suit led, it helps partner
decide whether or not it is worth leading that suit again. Let’s look at an
example in the first pre-dealt deal.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the first pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #5, Deal 1)
Dealer: North 10 8 7 3
KAK6
L Q J 10 2
K9
A6 N 42
K 10 9 8 5 W E KQ72
L973 LA64
S
10 7 5 2 A8643
KQJ95
KJ43
LK85
QJ
The Bidding
“What would North open the bidding? (1L.) East and West pass throughout.
What would South respond? (1.) How does North show both the strength
of this hand and support for responder’s suit? (Bid 2.) Does South know
the level at which the partnership belongs? (Yes, game.) Does South know
the strain in which the partnership belongs? (Yes, spades.) What does South
rebid (4.) How does the auction proceed from there? (Pass, pass, pass.)
Who is the declarer? (South.)”
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (West.) What would the opening lead be?
(K10, top of a sequence.) Which card would East play on the first trick if
dummy wins the trick? (K7.) Why? (East wants to encourage partner to
continue leading hearts if given the opportunity.)”
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 169
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer has one loser in each suit. Declarer plans to discard the
heart loser on dummy’s extra diamond winner after driving out the LA.
There is also the possibility that the KQ will drop when dummy’s KA and
KK are played. Declarer will have to draw trumps first, however. Other-
wise, the opponents will be able to ruff the extra diamond winner once it
is established.)”
Declarer might consider ducking the opening heart lead in dummy — in case West is leading
from an interior sequence. Winning the first heart is slightly superior. The defender with the LA
may hold the KQ, making it difficult to drive out declarer’s second heart stopper. The KQ might be
doubleton, or the defenders might switch to another suit. Since the students are unlikely to consider
ducking the first heart, you should skip over this consideration, if no one raises the point.
Conclusion
“When you have a choice of cards to play, a high card tells your partner
that you like the suit led, a low card discourages partner from leading the
suit again. Signals require that one partner give them and the other partner
receive them.”
170 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TEN: Getting a Ruff
Introduction
“You play an encouraging card when you like the suit partner has led. You
may like it because you have strength in the suit. Against a suit contract,
you may like the suit when you have shortness, since you hope to use your
trumps to get a ruff.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the second pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #5, Deal 2)
Dealer: East 10 5
K A 10 4 2
L 10 5
K J 10 9 2
AK83 N Q9642
K7 KKQ65
W E
LQ96 LJ72
AQ865 S 3
J7
KJ983
LAK843
74
The Bidding
“East and South pass. What would West open the bidding? (1.) North
passes. Which suit does East bid at the one level? (Spades.) Why? (Re-
sponder bids the longer suit with a choice of suits at the one level.) South
passes. Counting dummy points, does West have a minimum, medium or
maximum hand in support of partner’s suit? (Medium, 18 points.) What
does West rebid? (3.) North passes. What does East know about West’s
hand? (Spade support and 16 to 18 points.) What does East rebid? (4.)
What is the contract? (4.) Who is the declarer? (East.)”
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 171
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (South.) What would the opening lead be?
(LA, top of touching high cards.) Which card would North play? (L10.)
Why? (With a doubleton, North wants South to continue leading the suit
in order to ruff declarer’s winner.) What will South do next? (Play the LK
and another diamond, based on partner’s encouraging signal.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer plans to trump the heart losers in dummy after driving
out the KA. After the LA is led, declarer appears to have only two diamond
losers. If the opponents don’t lead another diamond, declarer will be able
to drive out the LK after drawing trumps.)”
Conclusion
“By signaling with a high card, you suggest that partner lead the suit again.
You may want to do this in a suit contract when you are hoping to ruff one
of declarer’s winners.”
172 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE ELEVEN: Giving Count
Introduction
“Although giving an attitude signal is your first priority, there are times
when you need to give a count signal. You want to tell partner whether you
have an even or an odd number of cards in the suit. You often give count
when declarer is leading a suit, since you are unlikely to want to show at-
titude in declarer’s suit. It is important to realize how important this may be
to your partner. Looking at two or three seemingly useless cards, you may
think there is nothing you can do to influence the outcome of the deal. On
the contrary, the information you give may make the difference between
declarer making the contract or being defeated.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the third pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #5, Deal 3)
Dealer: South KQJ9
K93
LA76
J 10 6 5
763 N A 10 5
KAK5 K 10 7 2
W E
LQ84 L K J 10 5 2
AKQ3 S 84
842
KQJ864
L93
972
The Bidding
“South passes. What is West’s opening bid? (1.) North passes. What does
East respond? (1L.) South passes. What does West rebid? (2NT.) How does
the bidding proceed from there? (East rebids 3NT which is followe by three
passes.) What is the contract? (3NT.) Who is the declarer? (West.)”
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 173
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (North.) What would the opening lead be?
(K, top of touching honors.) Which card does South play on the first
trick? (2.) Why? (South wants to give a discouraging signal with no
help in spades.) When declarer leads diamonds, which card should South
play? (L9.) Why? (South gives a count signal to show an even number of
diamonds.) Should North win the first diamond trick? (No, North wants to
hold up.) If not, on which round should North win? (Third.) Why? (If South
has two diamonds, declarer must have three.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer has one spade trick, two heart tricks and three club
tricks. Declarer needs to promote diamond winners by driving out the LA
to get enough tricks to make the contract. Declarer should hold up the A
until the third round to try to strand the opponents’ spade winners. With no
outside entry left in the dummy, declarer will have to hope the opponents
win the LA on the first or second round.)”
Conclusion
“The key to defeating this contract was the use of a count signal. The more
information you and partner exchange, the easier the defense becomes.”
174 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWELVE: Giving Suit Preference
Introduction
“When attitude and count don’t apply, a suit preference signal often comes
in handy. Let’s see one in practice on the fourth pre-dealt deal.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the fourth pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #5, Deal 4)
Dealer: West A J 10 7 2
KQ864
L 10 7
AK
Q5 N 84
K9 K A K 10 2
W E
LKJ942 LA853
J9632 S 10 8 4
K963
KJ753
LQ6
Q75
The Bidding
“West passes. What is North’s opening bid? (1.) East passes. How does
South show support for partner’s suit and the strength of the hand? (Bids
2.) West passes. What does South know about the combined strength of
the hands? (There are fewer than 25 combined points since South has 6 to
9 and North has 15.) What does North rebid? (Pass.) What is the contract?
(2.) Who is the declarer? (North.)”
Lesson 5 — Defensive Signals 175
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (East.) What would the opening lead be?
(KA, top of touching honors.) Which card does East play to the second
trick? (KK, since West’s K9 looks encouraging.) Which card does East
play to the third trick? (K10.) Why? (A suit preference signal for diamonds,
rather than clubs.) Which suit does West lead to the fourth trick? (Diamonds.)
Why? (East has shown a preference for diamonds.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer plans to draw trumps by playing the A and the K,
hoping the Q will drop – eight ever, nine never. After the lead of the KA,
declarer hopes to lose only two heart tricks if the suit is divided 3–2 and the
opponents do not get a ruff. If declarer is given a chance, declarer plans to
discard one of the diamond losers on the extra club winner in dummy.)”
Conclusion
“A suit preference signal can be useful when partner is looking for an entry
to your hand. The only difficulty comes in recognizing when attitude and
count signals do not apply.”
176 Defense in the 21st Century
LESSON 6
Developing
Defensive Tricks
General Concepts
General Introduction
Group Activities
Sample Deals
178 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL CONCEPTS
Defense
How the defenders cooperate to take their tricks
s Taking sure tricks
s Promoting tricks
s Establishing long suits
s Finessing
s Trumping
Bidding
Competitive bidding
s Overcalls
s Making an overcall
s Responding to an overcall
s Takeout doubles
s Making a takeout double
s Responding to a takeout double
Play of the Hand
Watching entries
s Preserving an entry
s Creating an entry
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 179
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The first five lessons focused on play by one defender to a specific trick: making the opening lead,
playing third hand, playing second hand. In lesson five, the focus began to widen. With signaling, the
card played to one trick influenced what would happen on subsequent tricks.
Lessons six, seven and eight take a broader look at defense. Lesson six looks at the ways the
defenders cooperate to take all of their tricks in a suit. Lesson seven will look at how the defenders
work together to try to prevent the declarer from taking tricks. The last lesson puts it all together
and focuses on how the defenders make choices when there are two or more possible ways to defeat
declarer’s contract. Students can be told that we are now considering not a single trick, but moving
toward the broader picture.
“So far, we have been considering which card to play to a specific trick. We
looked at the best card to choose when we are making the opening lead.
Then we went across the table and looked at which card to play as third hand.
We considered which card to play when we are second hand and declarer is
leading the suit. In the last lesson, we looked at which card to play to give
a message to partner about a specific suit.
“We’re going to broaden our scope. We’ll start by looking at how the defend-
ers work together to take all of the tricks in a suit to which they are entitled.
The defenders get their tricks in the same way as declarer: they take their
sure tricks, promote winners, establish long suits, finesse high cards and
ruff the opponents’ winners. The defenders need much more imagination
than declarer because they can’t see their combined holding in the suit.
Instead, they have to visualize what partner has from the bidding, the play
and partner’s signals. Let’s see how challenging that can be, starting with
what the defenders have to do just to take their sure tricks.”
180 Defense in the 21st Century
GROUP ACTIVITIES
EXERCISE ONE: Taking Sure Tricks
Introduction
“When declarer is faced with taking sure tricks, even though the suit may
be unevenly divided between the two hands, there is no problem. Let’s look
at an example. Lay out the following cards in the spade suit:
DUMMY
43
PARTNER YOU
K Q J 6 5 2 A7
DECLARER
10 9 8
“Declarer, by following that familiar maxim, ‘play the high card from the
short side first,’ would have no difficulty taking six sure tricks by playing a
low spade to the ace and returning the 7 to the rest of the winners.
“It’s not as easy for the defenders. First of all, let’s suppose that partner has
the lead. What card does partner choose? (The K, top of a sequence.)
What will happen if you let partner’s K win the trick? (The suit becomes
blocked.) Unless partner has an outside entry in another suit, the defenders
end up with only two tricks in the suit instead of the six to which they are
entitled.
“Why is it more difficult for the defenders to start by playing the high card
from the short side than it is for the declarer? (The defenders often lead
the top of a sequence and a high card is already played from the long side.)
What has to happen next if the high card is going to be played from the
short side? (You have to put the A on the K.) By overtaking partner’s
K with the A, you have a low spade left to lead to partner’s winners.
The defenders get the six tricks to which they are entitled.
“Of course, the defenders will not always have enough high cards to play
two on one trick. Let’s make a change to the layout. Give partner’s 6 to
declarer and partner’s 2 to you:
DUMMY
43
PARTNER YOU
KQJ5 A72
DECLARER
10 9 8 6
“This is a good example of how it can cost a trick to play your ace on
partner’s king. How many tricks would the defenders take if you overtook
partner’s lead of the K? (Three tricks: the A, the Q and the J.)
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 181
How many tricks would declarer get? (One, the 10.) There is no need,
however, in this particular layout, to waste a trick by playing your ace on
partner’s king. When you have two low cards along with the ace, there is
no need to unblock on the first trick.
“What should you do instead? (Play the 7, an encouraging signal.) By
giving an encouraging signal rather than playing the A, you avoid wast-
ing the partnership’s combined assets, and you give partner the information
necessary to take all of the tricks in the suit.
“But before we assume that the defense has no further problem taking their
tricks, let’s look at things from partner’s point of view. When the K wins
the first trick, what happens if partner continues by playing the Q or the
J? (The suit becomes blocked.) What does partner have to do to avoid
blocking the suit? (Play the 5 to the A.) By playing a low spade to your
A on the second round of the suit, the defenders can untangle the suit and
take all four tricks without giving a trick to declarer. How does partner know
to play a low spade at trick two? (From the 7, an encouraging signal.) By
combining the use of an attitude signal with the knowledge that the defend-
ers also want to take the high card from the short side first, it is possible for
the defenders to overcome their disadvantage and take their tricks.
“Let’s give the 7 to dummy:
DUMMY
743
PARTNER YOU
KQJ5 A2
DECLARER
10 9 8 6
“Is there anything the defenders can do in this situation to take their four
sure tricks against a notrump contract once the opening lead is the K?
(No.) In this situation, the suit is hopelessly blocked. If you play the 2,
you can win the second spade, but partner’s remaining two spade winners
are stranded. You will need to find an outside entry to partner’s hand. If you
overtake the first spade, declarer ends up getting a trick.”
If the students ask what they should do at the table, point out that they will not be able to see part-
ner’s hand. If they think it is unlikely that partner has an entry in another suit, they should overtake,
hoping partner has the 10 (or the 9). If partner is likely to have another entry, they can win the
second trick and lead back the suit in which they think partner has an entry.
“Would it make a difference if you were defending with hearts as trump
when partner led the K in this situation? (Yes.) You could afford to over-
take with the A, since you will be able to ruff declarer’s winner in the
suit after your side takes the first three spade tricks.
“Let’s look at how the defenders work as a team to take their sure tricks.”
182 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise One, which card would your partner lead
against a notrump contract? How would you work with partner to take all
of your sure tricks?”
1) DUMMY
73
PARTNER YOU
Q J 10 4 AK2
DECLARER
9865
2) DUMMY
64
PARTNER YOU
K Q 10 5 A72
DECLARER
J983
3) DUMMY
87
PARTNER YOU
AQJ92 K4
DECLARER
10 6 5 3
Q; overtake with 2) ______________________
1) ______________________K; encourage Q; overtake with
3) ____________________
A or K and lead ________________________
________________________ with 7 K and lead back
_______________________
other honor
________________________ the 4
followed by the 2
________________________
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 183
Follow-up
Since this is the first time the play of the entire suit has been considered, have the students report
their thoughts, not only on the card led and played to the first trick, but how the whole suit would be
played by the defenders. The discussion might proceed like this:
“On the first layout, partner would lead the queen, top of a sequence. If
you play a low card, the suit will be blocked. Instead, you must overtake
partner’s queen with the king (or ace), take your other high card and return
your carefully preserved 2 to partner’s remaining winners.
“In the second layout, partner would lead the king, top of a broken sequence.
With two low cards, there is no need to overtake partner’s king. Instead, play
the 7, an encouraging signal. Partner must now cooperate by playing the 5
to your ace. You can then lead the 2. Declarer’s jack is trapped by partner’s
queen and 10, and the defenders take all four tricks in the suit.
“In the final layout, partner would lead the queen, top of an interior se-
quence. You must overtake with the king to avoid blocking the suit. When
you lead back the 4, declarer’s 10 is trapped and the defenders take the first
five tricks.”
Conclusion
“The defenders have to work carefully together to take their sure tricks. They
can’t see each other’s cards, so they must work as a team to try to take the
high card from the short side whenever possible to avoid blocking the suit.
This may mean overtaking partner’s honor or giving an encouraging signal,
so one partner can lead a low card to the other partner’s high card.”
184 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWO: Promoting Tricks
Introduction
“Usually the defenders do not have enough sure tricks to defeat the contract
right away and have to develop extra tricks. One of the best ways is through
promotion. Lay out the following cards in the heart suit:
DUMMY
A3
PARTNER YOU
K Q 10 8 J74
DECLARER
9652
“What would partner lead against a notrump contract? (The K, top of
a broken sequence.) If declarer plays the A from dummy, which card
should you play? (The 7, an encouraging card.) Partner has shown the
Q by leading the K, and likely the 10 as well — with only a two-
card sequence partner would probably lead a low card. The J is therefore
a useful card and you want to give an encouraging signal. Suppose you
win the next trick for the defense. Can you return the suit without giving
up a trick? (Yes.) Which card should you return? ( The J, the top of your
remaining doubleton.) When the J holds the trick, you can lead the 4
to partner’s promoted winners. You have taken your promoted winners by
starting with the high card from the short side. What if partner wins the
next trick for the defense? Can the suit be led without giving up a trick?
(Yes.) Partner takes into consideration the encouraging signal you gave on
the first trick and leads the 8 to your assumed J, making sure the high
card is taken from the short side first. You finish things off by leading the
4 to partner’s remaining winners.
“Let’s change the example slightly. Exchange the J and the 9:
DUMMY
A3
PARTNER YOU
K Q 10 8 974
DECLARER
J652
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 185
“The lead is the same, the K, and declarer again plays the A from the
dummy. With that slight change of cards, the defenders will have to play
the suit differently. Which card do you play to the first trick? (The 4, a
discouraging signal.) If you get the lead, should you return the suit? (Yes,
returning partner’s lead.) Which card do you lead back? (The 9, top of a
doubleton.) Since declarer’s J is trapped, the defense can take their three
promoted tricks.
“What if partner is the first defender to regain the lead? Can the suit be led
safely again? (No, declarer would get a trick with the J.) Partner, having
seen your discouraging signal on the first heart trick, can visualize that de-
clarer must hold the J and must wait until you can lead the suit. Instead of
leading a heart, partner should try to find an entry to your hand in another
suit. If you regain the lead in another suit, you will have to realize partner’s
problem and lead the suit to trap declarer’s J.
“Now rearrange the heart layout as follows:
DUMMY
63
PARTNER YOU
K8742 QJ5
DECLARER
A 10 9
“Which card would partner lead against a notrump contract? (The 4, fourth
highest.) When a low card is played from dummy, which card do you play?
(The J, lower of touching cards.) Suppose declarer decides not to hold up
and wins the first trick with the A. If partner regains the lead, should the
K or a low heart be led? (A low heart.) Why? (Partner knows you have
the Q. Declarer would win the first trick with the Q when holding that
card. Partner wants to ensure that the defense wins the next trick in the suit
from the short side, not the long side.)
“Let’s look at some more examples of how the defenders cooperate to pro-
mote their winners and take their tricks.”
186 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“You are defending a notrump contract and lead the indicated card in Ex-
ercise Two. Which card will partner play on the first trick? If declarer wins
the first trick with the ace, which card in the suit will you lead next when
you regain the lead? Why?”
1) DUMMY
54
YOU PARTNER
QJ93 10 7 2
DECLARER
AK86
2) DUMMY
A32
YOU PARTNER
Q J 10 6 5 K7
DECLARER
984
3) DUMMY
75
YOU PARTNER
Q9832 J 10 4
DECLARER
AK6
7; 3
1) ________________ K; J (or 10)
2) _________________ 10; 2 (low)
3) ________________
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 187
Follow-up
Again, help the students follow not just the play to the first trick, but how the defenders work
together to take all of their tricks in the suit. A student may be able to give a complete analysis as a
result of the group’s discussion. If not, you may have to use a series of quick questions to cover the
pertinent points. The questions might be:
“What would you lead in the first layout? (The queen, top of a broken se-
quence.) When a low card is played from dummy, which card would partner
play? (The 7 to encourage, since partner holds the 10.) After South wins the
first trick, which card would you lead when you regain the lead? (The 3.)
Why? (Based on partner’s encouraging signal, you want the high card played
from the short side next, keeping the high cards on your side.) What will
happen eventually? (The defenders will promote two tricks.) What might
happen if you played the jack rather than a low card to the second trick in
the suit? (If declarer wins the trick, the suit would be blocked.)
“In the second layout, when you lead the queen and the ace is played from
dummy, which card would partner play? (The king.) Why? (To unblock.
Partner wants to have a low card left as the last card in the suit.) When you
regain the lead, which card would you play next? (The queen or jack.) Don’t
play a low card to partner. Partner is playing the king either because it is a
singleton or to unblock, letting you take the winners from your side.
“On the last layout, which card does partner play when you lead a low card?
(The 10, lower of touching cards.) When declarer wins the first trick with the
ace or king, which card do you know your partner holds? (The jack.) Why?
(Declarer would win the first trick with the jack if declarer held it, together
with the ace and the king.) Which card do you lead when you regain the
lead? (A low card.) Why? (You want partner’s high card to be played next,
from the short side.)”
Conclusion
“The defenders work together. Each has to imagine what partner holds
from the cards played and the signals given in order to help them promote
their winners.”
188 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE THREE: Establishing Long Suits
Introduction
“Long suits are a wonderful source of tricks for both declarer and the de-
fenders, especially in a notrump contract. When defending against a notrump
contract, the defenders are usually trying to find their longest combined
suit. They have to make an effort to be consistent. For example, put out the
following cards in the diamond suit:
DUMMY
J 10 3
PARTNER YOU
AQ642 75
DECLARER
K98
“Partner leads the 4 against a notrump contract, declarer plays the 3
from dummy, you play the 7 — third-hand high — and declarer wins
the first trick with the 8. Remember, when you are actually defending,
you can’t see partner’s cards, and you might be very disappointed at the
outcome of the first trick. It doesn’t look like a good start for the defense,
when partner leads a suit in which you have a low doubleton, and declarer
wins the first trick with the 8. But you have to think beyond the first trick.
After all, partner did choose to lead the suit.
“Suppose you next gain the lead for the defense. Unless you can clearly see
something better to do, you should return partner’s suit, leading back your
remaining 5. Can you see why? (Partner can take four diamond tricks,
since declarer’s K is trapped.) You need to be consistent and work together
with partner. If you go about trying to develop your own suit, partner may
never take the diamond tricks.
“Notice what would happen if partner has to lead diamonds next for your
side. Declarer can’t be stopped from getting a second trick in the suit.
Worse than that, if partner leads diamonds, giving declarer a second trick
and establishing partner’s remaining diamonds as tricks, you have no low
diamonds left to lead back. Partner’s winners are stranded unless there is
yet another entry to partner’s hand.
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 189
“The defenders have to be very careful to keep an entry to the long suit they
are trying to establish. They want to maintain communication between their
two hands so that, if either partner next gains the lead, they can continue
leading the suit. To see this, rearrange the diamonds as follows:
DUMMY
Q J 10
PARTNER YOU
42 AK753
DECLARER
986
“Suppose you bid diamonds during the auction and partner dutifully leads
one against declarer’s notrump contract. Look at the diamond suit and
consider how you would plan to establish it, if you were declarer and had
no outside entries to the long diamond suit. What would you do? (Duck
a diamond.) By giving up the first diamond trick, you would leave a low
diamond in the other hand to get to the established winners.
“You have to visualize the layout when you are defending and approach the
suit in exactly the same way. Unless you have lots of entries in other suits,
you should not win the first diamond trick, even though it may be tempting
to do so. Which card should you play? (The 7, an encouraging signal.)
By ducking the first diamond, your side is in a position to take all of the
remaining diamond tricks, whichever defender next gains the lead.
“If you had played the A, the K and another diamond to establish the
suit, your winners would be stranded if partner next gained the lead. Just
as declarer often takes losses early, the defenders must be equally willing
to give up a trick at the right time to keep the line of communication open
between the two hands. Let’s look at some examples.”
190 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“In Exercise Three, you are defending a notrump contract, and partner
leads the indicated card in a suit you have bid. If you have no entries in any
outside suit, which card do you play on the first trick? Which card do you
play the second time the suit is led?”
1) DUMMY
Q J 10
PARTNER YOU
94 AK8632
DECLARER
75
2) DUMMY
Q J 10
PARTNER YOU
A53 K9642
DECLARER
87
3) DUMMY
KQJ
PARTNER YOU
10 8 2 A943
DECLARER
765
8; K (or A)
1) _________________ 9; low (2, 4, or 6)
2) ______________________ 9; low (3 or 4)
3) _________________
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 191
Follow-up
Discuss the exercise. The discussion might go like this:
“In the first layout, you duck the first trick, so that partner will still have a
low card left to lead to your winners once they are established. Play the 8,
an encouraging card, to tell partner that you really do like the suit that was
led. Whether you or partner next gain the lead, you can take the remaining
tricks in the suit, starting with your two high cards.
“In the second layout, you play the 9 on the first trick to encourage partner
to lead the suit again. When partner does lead the suit again, however, you
should play one of your low cards, rather than the king, to keep the com-
munication link open to partner. You have to give declarer one trick in the
suit in order to establish it. It is usually best to take your losses early.
“In the last layout, assuming you can see no better option for the defenders,
you can encourage partner to keep leading the suit by playing the 9 on the
first trick. Whether you or partner next gains the lead, you should continue
by playing another low card, giving declarer a second trick in the suit. If
partner is the next defender to win a trick, partner still will have a low card
left to lead. This time, you can take the ace and your established low card
in the suit.”
Conclusion
“Long suits provide a good source of tricks for the defenders, if the defend-
ers are persistent. They will have to visualize the complete layout of the
suit in order to see how best to establish their tricks. The defenders want
to play the suit in the same fashion as declarer would. Like declarer, they
need to watch their entries between the two hands. This often means duck-
ing one or more tricks — taking their losses early — to keep the line of
communication open.”
192 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FOUR: The Defensive Finesse
Introduction
“Taking finesses can be just as great a thrill for the defenders as for declarer.
As a defender, you have to be a bit of an optimist and imagine how you and
your partner will go about trapping some of declarer’s high cards. Both you
and your partner have to be detectives, watching each other’s signals and
looking for other clues to guide you. You then have to cooperate, putting
the information to work. For example, put out the following cards in the
club suit:
Dummy
10 6 3
You Partner
AKJ 9752
Declarer
Q84
“Let’s see how the defenders would go about taking their tricks in this suit.
Suppose you are on lead. This time you are leading against a suit contract.
Which card would you lead? ( A, top of touching high cards.) When you
lead the A, what are you thinking about when you see the dummy? (Who
has the Q?) If partner has it, then you can continue taking your tricks
in the suit. If declarer has that card, it would be better to trap it. How does
your partner help you on the first trick? (By playing the 2.) By giving a
discouraging signal, partner tells you there is no help in the suit. What now?”
There is no need to discuss the more exotic variations such as the possibility of either partner or
declarer holding a doubleton Q. Keep the focus on the basic topic of trapping declarer’s high cards.
“One choice is to take the K anyway — a bird in the hand. If you can
see that two tricks in the club suit will defeat the contract, that may be the
best approach. But, if it looks as though you will need three club tricks,
you will have to give the matter some more thought. Assuming declarer has
the Q, which defender should be leading the suit next? (Partner.) Here
is where you need a little optimism. Visualizing the layout of the club suit,
you have to hope partner has an entry in another suit in order to get in and
lead a club.
“Suppose you decide to bide your time and lead another suit. Let’s look at
the problem from partner’s perspective. If partner subsequently wins a trick,
what should partner do? After all, you stopped playing the club suit. Partner
also will have to visualize the possible layout of the club suit and realize that
the reason you did not continue leading the suit was that you wanted to trap
declarer’s Q. Coming to this conclusion, partner can lead the suit back,
trapping declarer’s Q and giving the defense the tricks to which they are
entitled. A lot of cooperation is required by the defenders.
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 193
“Look at how much easier it is for declarer, who can see immediately that
it’s necessary to take a finesse in the club suit. The defenders have to rec-
ognize the possibility and then work together to take their tricks. Let’s look
at more examples of trapping declarer’s high cards.”
Instructions
“Which card would you lead against a suit contract in each of the layouts
in Exercise Four? Which card would partner play to the first trick, if a low
card is played from dummy? Which defender must lead the suit next, if the
defenders are to take all of the tricks to which they are entitled?”
1) DUMMY
A54
YOU PARTNER
K Q 10 8762
DECLARER
J93
2) DUMMY
732
YOU PARTNER
QJ95 864
DECLARER
A K 10
3) DUMMY
K65
YOU PARTNER
Q J 10 7 A83
DECLARER
942
K; 2; Partner
1) ________________ Q; 4; Partner
2) _________________ Q; 8; You
3) ________________
194 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
The students should be familiar enough with the idea of finesses that one person from each group
can give a report of the group’s discussion. The following points should be covered.
“In the first layout, you would lead the king, top of touching high cards. If
a low card is played from dummy, partner would play the 2, a discouraging
card, since partner doesn’t have the jack. You must wait for partner to lead the
suit next, trapping declarer’s jack and giving two tricks to the defenders.
“On the second layout, you would lead the queen, top of your broken se-
quence. Again, partner would play a discouraging card, the 4, since partner
doesn’t hold either the king or the 10. If the defenders are to get their trick
in the suit, you want the suit led from partner’s side next, trapping declarer’s
10.
“On the last layout, you lead from the top of your sequence, the queen. If
declarer plays a low card from dummy, partner can play the 8, an encour-
aging card. You can lead the suit again from your side, trapping dummy’s
king and giving the defense three tricks.”
Conclusion
“The defenders can use the finesse just as effectively as declarer. They need
to be alert to each other’s signals and try to imagine what cards partner
might have that would prevent partner from leading a suit — even though
partner wants the suit to be led.”
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 195
EXERCISE FIVE: Leading through Strength
Introduction
“To help the defenders visualize finessing opportunities, a useful guideline
is to lead through strength and lead up to weakness. To see where this comes
from, lay out the following cards in the heart suit:
NORTH (Dummy)
A Q 10
WEST EAST
983 KJ42
SOUTH (Declarer)
765
“If the defenders want to get all of their tricks in this suit, which defender has
to lead the suit? (West.) Even though East has both the length and strength
in this suit, East needs West to lead the suit so that dummy’s high cards will
be trapped. Essentially, West must lead through dummy’s strength and up
to declarer’s weakness in order to help partner out. If East is on lead, East
would be leading through declarer’s weakness and up to the strength in the
dummy, not at all the best way to capture declarer’s high cards.
“Notice that West must lead the suit for partner more than one time. Sup-
pose West leads the suit initially and declarer finesses dummy’s 10, los-
ing to East’s J. East can’t lead the suit again without giving up a trick.
It’s necessary to wait until West is on lead again and can lead through the
strength in the dummy. What does East do in the meantime? (East should
be looking for ways to help partner by leading through declarer’s strength
in another suit, up to weakness in the dummy.) Let’s look at other examples
which show how the defenders help each other out.”
196 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“Will you or partner need to lead the suit in order for the defenders to get all
of the tricks to which they are entitled in each layout in Exercise Five?”
1) DUMMY
753
YOU PARTNER
K842 J 10 9
DECLARER
AQ6
2) DUMMY
A J 10
YOU PARTNER
973 KQ64
DECLARER
852
3) DUMMY
872
YOU PARTNER
AQ94 10 6 3
DECLARER
KJ5
Partner
1) ________________ You
2) _________________ Partner
3) ________________
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 197
Follow-up
The discussion should cover the following points:
“On the first layout, your partner needs to lead the suit in order to trap declar-
er’s queen and take all of the tricks to which the defenders are entitled.”
If you have the time and the students are following along well enough, you might delve into the
consideration of what happens after partner leads the jack. The defenders will have to react differently
depending on whether declarer plays the 6, the queen or the ace on the first trick.
“In the second layout, you will need to lead the suit through the strength
in dummy. If declarer wins the first trick with dummy’s ace, you will need
to lead the suit only once for partner. If declarer finesses the 10 or the jack
on the first round, losing to partner’s queen, you will need to lead the suit
again later to establish another trick for the defense.
“On the last layout, partner will need to lead the suit if the defenders are
to take all of their tricks. Partner will need to lead the suit twice through
declarer’s strength.”
Conclusion
“To help visualize finessing situations on defense, it helps to keep the
guideline lead through strength and up to weakness in mind. Each partner
wants to help the other out by leading the suit their partner can’t lead from
their side of the table.”
198 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE SIX: Ruffing Declarer’s Winners
Introduction
“Another way the defenders can take tricks is by ruffing declarer’s winners.
This also requires cooperation between the partners, one player trying to
get the ruff and the other trying to give it. To get more than one ruff, you
may need entries to partner’s hand. This also requires cooperation, and the
suit preference signal often comes in handy. Let’s look at the next exercise
to review how it works.”
Instructions
“On each deal in Exercise Six, how will the defenders cooperate to defeat
declarer’s 4 contract after the opening lead of the 3?”
1) Contract: 4 DUMMY
Lead: 3 10 9 6 2
K63
KQJ
KJ7
YOU PARTNER
J85 N 3
10 7 5 2 W E J84
3 S A 10 9 6 2
Q9865 A432
DECLARER
AKQ74
AQ9
8754
10
2) Contract: 4 DUMMY
Lead: 3 10 9 6 2
K63
AKQ
K 10 7
YOU PARTNER
A85 N 3
10 7 5 2 W E AQ4
3 S 10 9 7 6 4 2
Q9865 J42
DECLARER
KQJ74
J98
J85
A3
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 199
Follow-up
Give the students some time to look at both deals and then discuss the key points with them to
see that they understand how the defenders cooperate.
“On the first deal, why would West lead a singleton diamond? (Hoping East
can give West a ruff.) Does East know for certain that partner has a singleton
diamond? (No, West could be leading low from three or four diamonds.) How
does East know for sure that partner does not have a doubleton diamond?
(West would have led the top card from a doubleton.) Why might East hope
that West’s lead is a singleton? (There doesn’t appear to be a much better
chance of defeating the contract.) If East decides that partner’s lead is a
singleton, what does East lead back? (The 2, suit preference for clubs.)
On ruffing the diamond, what does West do next? (Leads a club, based on
East’s suit preference signal.) What does East do? (Wins the A and gives
partner another diamond ruff.)
“It looks easy enough to defeat the contract when all four hands are in front
of you. Notice, however, how the defenders must cooperate carefully in order
to defeat the contract when they can’t actually see each other’s hands.
“The defenders must also be on their toes on the second deal. Why does West
lead a singleton diamond? (Again, it looks like the best chance to defeat
the contract. Even if partner can't win the first diamond trick, West has the
A. Declarer can't draw trumps before the defenders get another chance
to get their ruff.) Would East suspect that partner’s lead was a singleton?
(Yes, looking at East’s length.) Which card should East play to the first trick?
(The 10.) Why? (East obviously does not like diamonds and this is not
a count situation, so this must be a suit preference signal for hearts.) After
winning a trick with the A, which suit does West lead? (Hearts, based on
East’s suit preference signal.) After winning a heart trick, what does East
do? (Returns a diamond for West to ruff.) After ruffing, what does West do?
(Leads another heart.) After winning a second heart trick, what does East
do? (Returns another diamond to give West a second ruff.) By defending
perfectly, the defenders defeat the contract by two tricks. If they slip along
the way, declarer might end up making the contract.”
Conclusion
“The defenders must cooperate when trying to ruff declarer’s winners. Both
need to be aware of what is going on, and they must work together to ef-
fectively use any entries available between the two hands.”
200 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE SEVEN: Review of Competitive Bidding
Introduction
“When the opponents have opened the bidding, there are two ways in which
you can compete. With a five-card or longer suit, you can make an overcall.
When making a vulnerable overcall, or if the overcall has to be made at the
two level, you need approximately the same strength as for an opening bid.
When the overcall is made at the one level in a suit, you do not need quite
as strong a hand (8 to 16 HCP or 10 to 17 total points). The better your
suit, the safer it is to overcall, since it is unlikely that the opponents will be
able to double you for penalty. You can overcall 1NT with a balanced hand
and the same strength as for an opening 1NT bid. Since the opponents are
likely to lead the suit they bid, however, it is usually a good idea to have
some of your strength (stoppers) in that suit.
“When partner makes an overcall, you can bid with 8 or 9 total points, and
you need 10 or more to bid a new suit at the two level. With support for
partner’s suit, you can raise to the two level with 8 or 9 points. With a limit
raise (10 or 11 points) or better hand, begin with a cuebid of the opponent’s
suit. You can bid game, if you have enough points opposite a minimum
overcall from partner.”
Keep the discussion as simple as possible. You might point out that you tend to give partner a
little more leeway when overcalling at the one level, especially non vulnerable, but the guidelines
should serve for now. You might suggest that your students review the material in the “Learn to Play
Bridge” program.
“If your hand is not suited for an overcall, you can consider making a
takeout double to get partner to choose the suit. To make a takeout double,
you need support for the unbid suits (those not bid by the opponents) and
approximately the values for an opening bid. Since partner is being asked
to choose the suit, you probably will be the dummy and can, therefore,
value your hand using dummy points, rather than length points. You count
5 for a void, 3 for a singleton and 1 for a doubleton.
“In addition, there is one other type of hand with which you can make a
takeout double – a hand with 18+ total points, making it too strong for a
simple overcall.
“Partner will recognize your double is for takeout, rather than penalty,
under these circumstances: (1) if it is a double of a partgame contract,
and (2) neither you nor partner has made a call other than pass. A penalty
double usually occurs when you (1) double a game contract or (2) double
after partner has opened the bidding or made an overcall and the opponents
continue to compete. This tells partner that the opponents have overreached
themselves.
“Following a takeout double, the advancer must bid unless the opponent on
the right takes the advancer off the hook by bidding first. With a minimum
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 201
hand of anywhere from 0 to 8 points, bid a suit at the cheapest available
level. You should prefer to bid a four-card major suit rather than a minor
suit. The partnership is still looking for a Golden Fit in a major suit. With 9 to
11 points, you want to tell partner you have some interest in game. (Partner
may have a bare minimum of 13 or 14 points for the takeout double.) To
invite partner, you jump one level in your best suit, again preferring a major
suit to a minor suit. With 12 or more points, you want to make certain the
partnership gets to game. You also can cuebid the opponent’s suit to ask the
doubler for assistance in finding the best game contract.
“The takeout doubler has to exercise caution when the advancer takes
minimum action. Remember that the advancer is forced to bid and could
have a hand with no points. The takeout doubler would pass with a
minimum hand (13 to 15 points), raise one level with a medium hand (16
to 18 points) and jump raise with a maximum hand (19 to 21 points).
“Advancing partner’s overcall or takeout double into a notrump contract is
subject to specific ranges. Please review them in the text or the “Learn to
Play Bridge” computer program.
“If your hand is not suitable for either an overcall or a takeout double, you
should pass. You do not have to bid just because you have the strength for
an opening bid. If the opponents have bid your best suit, pass and await
further developments. Remember that partner always can enter the auction,
or you may get another opportunity at a later point in the auction.”
Instructions
“The opponent on your right opens the bidding 1 . What do you do with
each of the hands in Exercise Seven?”
1) K Q 10 8 6 2 2) Q 10 8 3 3) 54
J3 2 7
AJ4 A Q 10 3 A J 10 6 3
92 KQ75 AKJ75
1
1) ________________ Double
2) _________________ 2
3) ________________
4) J3 5) K763 6) 83
KQ5 — AQJ93
KQJ9 A9752 852
AJ92 KJ93 AK5
1NT
4) ________________ Double
5) _________________ Pass
6) ________________
202 Defense in the 21st Century
7) Q93 8) AJ92 9) J4
QJ8 83 A J 10
J8743 A854 Q J 10 8 3
A7 A65 AQJ
Pass
7) ________________ Double
8) _________________ 1NT
9) ________________
Follow-up
Discuss the exercise. The discussion can be kept fairly brief.
“In the first hand, overcall 1 , your six-card suit.
“The second hand is a classic takeout double, asking partner to pick a suit
other than hearts.
“In the third hand, you would overcall 2 . With a choice of five-card suits,
bid the higher ranking.
“The fourth hand is a 1NT overcall.
“On the fifth hand, you can make a takeout double. Even though you have
only 11 HCPs, don’t forget to count dummy points when considering a
takeout double. Give yourself 5 points for your heart void and you have
more than enough to double.
“Pass with hand number six. The opponents have bid your best suit. You
can’t double, since that would be a takeout double, not a penalty double.
“Pass with hand number seven. You are not strong enough to overcall in
diamonds, especially since you would have to bid the suit at the two level.
“The eighth hand is another takeout double. It is the most descriptive bid,
even though you would prefer to have an extra club. You hope partner will
bid hearts or diamonds. If partner bids clubs, partner may well have five
or more of them.
“The last hand is a 1NT overcall. Don’t forget to check to see if you have
a balanced hand before overcalling your five-card suit.”
Conclusion
“When the opponents open the bidding, the two most popular ways of
competing in the auction are with an overcall or a takeout double. When
you overcall, you show partner a five-card or longer suit. When you make
a takeout double, you ask partner to pick the suit.”
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 203
EXERCISE EIGHT: Watching Your Entries
Introduction
“As we have seen in this lesson, the defenders must be careful to use their
entries wisely. Of course, declarer also must be careful with entries. De-
clarer preserves entries by playing the high card from the short side first
and by ducking tricks to the opponents when necessary. At times, it will
be necessary to create an entry to the opposite hand, either by promoting a
winner, leading toward a high card or using long suits. Let’s review, with a
few examples, how declarer creates entries.”
Instructions
“How many sure entries to the dummy can you get from each of the suits
in Exercise Eight? How many entries might you get if the missing cards
are favorably placed?”
DUMMY: AKJ AQJ Q763 9742 AQ93
DECLARER: Q 7 3 432 AK AKQ3 8742
3; 3 2; 3 0; 0 0; 1
1) __________ 2) ___________ 3) __________ 4)___________ 5) ___________ 1; 3
Follow-up
This is a quick review. Make sure that the basic methods of creating entries are understood.
“In the first layout, there are three sure entries to the dummy, the ace, the
king and the jack, since you hold the queen. In the second layout, there are
two sure entries, the ace and one from promotion, using the queen and the
jack. If the king is on your left, however, you will end up with three entries
to the dummy. On the third layout, there are no entries. Even though dummy
has the queen, you have no low card in your hand to cross to it. On the fourth
layout, you will get one entry to the dummy if the missing cards divide 3–2.
You will be able to use your 3 to get to dummy, provided you kept a higher
card in the dummy. The last layout could provide three entries. The ace is a
sure entry. The queen may be an entry if the king is on your left. If the suit
divides 3–2, your length will provide an entry as well, provided you keep a
higher card in dummy than the last low card in your hand.”
Conclusion
“Both declarer and the defenders must be careful with their entries, and
use them wisely.”
204 Defense in the 21st Century
SAMPLE DEALS
EXERCISE NINE: Taking Tricks
Introduction
“Once the defenders have established tricks in a suit, they must still be
careful when taking them. They need to play the high card from the short
side first and must sometimes lead the suit from the appropriate side in
order to trap declarer’s high cards. We’ll see how all of this applies in the
following deal.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the first pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #6, Deal 1)
Dealer: North K 10 7 5 3
J64
KQ9
A8
J964 N A
AK7 W E Q85
AJ8 542
S
642 K Q J 10 7 5
Q82
10 9 3 2
10 7 6 3
93
The Bidding
“What would North open the bidding? (1 .) How can East compete in
the auction? (Overcall 2 .) South passes. West knows that partner has the
values for an opening bid to overcall at the two level. At what level does the
partnership belong? (Game.) What Golden Game does West bid? (3NT.)
How does the auction proceed from there? (Pass, pass, pass.) Who is the
declarer? (West.)”
You will probably need to go over the bidding with the students to ensure that they reach a con-
tract of 3NT played by West. Otherwise, the defensive point of the hand will be missed. West should
be able to find the 3NT response to partner’s 2 overcall. You may have to guide them to make that
bid, pointing out that it will usually be easier to take nine tricks in notrump than 11 tricks in clubs.
West’s spade holding would be sufficient to stop North from running the spade suit on most layouts
(e.g., if North held both the K and the Q or South the 10). Declarer is a little unfortunate in
the actual layout. A contract of 5 can’t be made either (provided North is careful).
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 205
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (North.) What would the opening lead be?
(The 5, fourth highest.) Which card would South play on the first trick?
( 8.) Why? (Holding the Q, South wants to give an encouraging signal.)
How will this help North? (After regaining the lead, North can lead a low
spade to South’s Q.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer needs nine tricks and starts with five sure tricks:
one in spades, three in hearts and one in diamonds. Five more tricks can be
developed in the club suit through promotion. Declarer can’t hold up the
A, however, and will have to hope that the opponents can’t take too many
spade tricks when they gain the lead with the A.)”
Conclusion
“When developing tricks, the defenders can combine the use of an attitude
signal with the necessity for taking the high card from the short side first. It is
also important for South to be able to lead a spade to trap declarer’s J.”
206 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TEN: Maintaining Communications
Introduction
“The defenders must be careful to keep the lines of communication open
between their hands whenever possible. They can do this by being careful
with their entries.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the second pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #6, Deal 2)
Dealer: East AQ8
KQ7
Q J 10
Q 10 7 3
KJ6 N 9432
98 65432
W E
AK8752 93
84 S A6
10 7 5
A J 10
64
KJ952
The Bidding
“East and South pass. What would West open the bidding? (1 .) How can
North describe this hand? (Overcall 1NT.) East passes. How does South
advance following partner’s overcall? (3NT.) How does the bidding pro-
ceed? (Pass, pass, pass.) What is the contract? (3NT.) Who is the declarer?
(North.)”
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (East.) What would the opening lead be?
( 9, top of a doubleton in partner’s suit.) Which diamonds does West know
that partner does not hold? (the Q, the J and the 10. East leads the
top card when holding a doubleton and a low card with three or more.)
Which card would West play? ( 8.) Why? (West has to duck a trick to
keep an entry to the winners if East later wins a trick. West also wants to
play an encouraging card, so that East will lead the suit again if East gets
the lead.)”
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 207
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer needs nine tricks and has one sure trick in spades
and three in hearts. Declarer will get one trick through promotion from the
diamond suit and could get an extra trick in the spade suit using a finesse if
West holds the K. Declarer will need to promote tricks in the club suit,
however, in order to make the contract. The club suit can produce four win-
ners, provided the opponents can’t take too many winners when they get
the lead with the A.)”
Conclusion
“The defenders need to give up tricks to declarer when establishing their
long suits in the same way that declarer has to give up tricks to the defenders.
Like declarer, it is usually best for the defenders to take their losses early,
whenever possible, preserving the entries they need.”
208 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE ELEVEN: Partnership Cooperation
Introduction
“The defenders must cooperate when defending in order to take all of the
tricks to which they are entitled. This is especially true when trying to trap
declarer’s high cards with finesses. The defenders must make sure that they
lead the suit from the appropriate side.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the third pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #6, Deal 3)
Dealer: South 643
94
K643
Q652
10 9 7 2 N Q85
AJ76 K Q 10 8 2
W E
AQ52 J 10
9 S A 10 4
AKJ
53
987
KJ873
The Bidding
“What is South’s opening bid? (1 .) With no five-card suit to overcall, but
support for all of the unbid suits, how does West compete? (By making a
takeout double.) What does North do? (Pass. Raising to 2 is a possibility.
North has only 5 HCP, however, and would prefer to have five-card support
when raising a minor suit in case partner has only a three-card suit.) How
many points does East have? (12 HCP plus 1 length point for a total of 13.)
At what level does the partnership belong? (Game.) How does East advance
the bidding? (4 .) How does the bidding proceed from there? (Pass, pass,
pass.) What is the contract? (4 .) Who is the declarer? (East.)”
You may have to lead the students through the bidding since an auction involving a takeout double
will generate a lot of confusion. Remind West of the requirements for a takeout double, especially
the use of dummy points when valuing the hand. Whether or not North raises to 2 after the double
will not materially affect the outcome of the auction. East may have trouble jumping all of the way
to 4 , and may need to be reminded of the strength promised by partner, as well as the support for
the unbid suits.
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 209
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (South.) What would the opening lead be?
( A, top of touching high cards.) Which card does North play on the first
trick? ( 3.) Why? (North wants to give a discouraging signal since North
does not hold the Q.) What does South do next? (Switches to another
suit. Leading a diamond through the strength in dummy is probably a better
choice than leading a trump or a club away from the K.) If North wins
a trick, which suit should North lead? (Spades.) Why? (It looks as though
South discontinued leading the spade suit, because South knows that the
suit must be led from the other side of the table.)”
You may need to direct the defense a little. The opening lead of the A is not clear-cut (since
West has indicated spade length with the takeout double), but it has the advantage of letting South
look at the dummy before deciding what to lead next. It does not matter which suit South shifts to
after North’s discouraging signal, as long as South does switch.
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer can afford three losers. There are three spade losers, one
diamond loser and two club losers. The two club losers can be ruffed in the
dummy. The diamond loser may be eliminated with the help of a successful
finesse. Even if the diamond finesse fails, declarer may be able to discard
one or more of the spade losers on dummy’s extra diamond winners after
the K has been driven out.)”
Conclusion
“When trying to trap declarer’s high cards, the defenders must work together.
By using signals, they can often get the clues they need to determine which
partner can safely lead the suit and which partner can’t. They must then try
to get the suit led from the appropriate side of the table.”
210 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWELVE: Putting Signals to Work
Introduction
“The defenders often need to use signals when trying to determine what
to do next. Here is an example when they are trying to get enough trump
tricks to defeat declarer’s contract.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the fourth pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #6, Deal 4)
Dealer: West KQJ5
K963
10 6
K 10 7
2 N A 10 7 6 4 3
Q 10 4 72
W E
AQ853 K9
A982 S 654
98
AJ85
J742
QJ3
The Bidding
“What is West’s opening bid? (1 .) Can North compete in the auction?
(Yes.) How? (By making a takeout double. North has 13 dummy points.)
What does East respond to partner’s opening bid? (1 .) Does South have
to bid? (No, because East bid.) Should South bid? (Yes, if possible, since
North wants to compete in the auction. With 9 HCP, South doesn’t want to
let the opponents buy the contract too cheaply.) What does South do? (Bids
2 .) How does the auction proceed from there? (Pass, pass, pass.) What is
the contract? (2 .) Who is the declarer? (South.)”
As with all competitive auctions, the bidding could actually go a number of ways at the table.
You may have to steer the students to the appropriate contract in order to pose the defensive problem.
West has just enough strength to open the bidding and North has just enough for a takeout double.
What to do when partner’s opening bid has been doubled for takeout has not really been discussed,
but the students can bid as though nothing happened. East can make the natural response of 1 .
The students may be reluctant to bid with South’s hand. Point out that North and South may well
have the majority of points, and they don’t want to let East and West buy the contract too cheaply.
West should have been planning to rebid 2 , but after South’s 2 bid, point out that West no longer
has to rebid and can pass. With a minimum hand for a takeout double, North should pass. It is now
up to East. Have East pass at the table. East has only a minimum hand, and with partner showing a
Lesson 6 — Developing Defensive Tricks 211
minimum hand by passing, it looks as though the hand belongs in partscore. East might want to try
for a partscore in spades, but North is likely to have four of them for the takeout double, making that
contract unattractive. East can pass and defend 2 .
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (West.) What would the opening lead be?
( 2.) Why? (Spades is partner’s suit and there is the possibility of ruffing
some of declarer’s winners by leading the singleton.) How does East know
partner’s lead is a singleton? (The 2 is the lowest missing spade. Partner
would lead the top card from a doubleton.) After winning the first trick,
which card does East play to the second trick? (The 10, showing a prefer-
ence for diamonds, partner’s suit, rather than clubs.) Why? (East knows that
partner can ruff this trick and wants to tell West where the entry is likely to
be.) What does West do next? (West ruffs the spade and leads the A and
another diamond, based on partner’s suit preference signal.)”
The defenders will need to do everything right to defeat the contract. After a spade to the A and
a spade ruff, the A and a diamond to the K, East will need to lead another spade to allow West
to take a trick with the Q. The A then defeats the contract. Another diamond lead may actually
defeat the contract by two tricks if declarer does not ruff high at some point. If the defenders give
declarer an opportunity to draw trumps, declarer may make the contract.
You can point out that this type of hand often occurs during a bridge game. The competitive auc-
tion may result in a variety of contracts, and the way the defense and the play go could result in a
different number of tricks being made. This is part of what makes the game exciting.
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer can afford five losers. There is one spade loser,
one heart loser, four diamond losers and one club loser. Declarer may be
able to avoid a trump loser with a successful finesse if the suit divides 3–2.
Declarer normally plans to finesse with eight cards in the combined hands,
but the bidding indicates that the finesse is likely to lose. Declarer may
choose to play the A and the K, hoping the Q is doubleton. Two of
declarer’s diamond losers can be ruffed in dummy, or one can be ruffed in
dummy and one discarded on the extra spade winner in dummy after the
A is driven out.)
“The defenders will likely remove most of the options before declarer ever
wins a trick. Declarer should still be planning ways to make the contract
as the play progresses.”
Conclusion
“The more the defenders start to work together and use their signals wisely,
the more frequently they will be able to defeat declarer’s contract when the
opportunity arises.”
212 Defense in the 21st Century
LESSON 7
Interfering
with Declarer
General Concepts
General Introduction
Group Activities
Sample Deals
214 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL CONCEPTS
Defense
Making it difficult for declarer to take tricks
s Defending against suit establishment
s The defensive hold-up play
s Attacking entries
s Defending against declarer’s low cards
s Discarding
s Defending against finesses
s Ducking
s Covering
s Defending against declarer’s trumps
s Leading trumps
s Overruffing
s The uppercut
Bidding
Review of slam bidding
s The strength required to bid a slam
s The strain in which to play slam
s Inviting slam
Play of the Hand
The hold-up play
Avoiding the dangerous opponent
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 215
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
In the previous lesson, the focus was on how the defenders work together to take their tricks
through promotion, suit establishment, finessing and ruffing declarer’s winners. This lesson has a
different focus. The defenders also try to make it difficult for declarer to take tricks. They have to
visualize what declarer is planning to do and then try to prevent declarer from carrying out the plan.
This is much more adventuresome than automatically following the guidelines such as second hand
low or cover an honor with an honor.
“In this lesson, we will take a look at how the defenders can make it dif-
ficult for declarer to take the tricks necessary to make the contract. The
defenders have to imagine what declarer might be planning to do and then
try to find an appropriate countermeasure. As when taking their own tricks,
the defenders will have to work together as a partnership to prevent declarer
from taking undeserved tricks. Let’s look at some of the techniques that are
available to the defenders.”
216 Defense in the 21st Century
GROUP ACTIVITIES
EXERCISE ONE: The Defensive Holdup
Introduction
“Declarer often needs to establish tricks in a suit. Having established win-
ners in a suit, declarer needs an entry to get to them. The defenders can’t do
anything about the cards declarer has been dealt, but they can try to prevent
those cards from being used to declarer’s best advantage. Let’s look at an
example. Lay out the following cards in the spade suit:
DUMMY
; Q J 10 9 6
PARTNER YOU
;732 ;A84
DECLARER
;K5
“Suppose declarer has no other entries to the dummy and needs to develop
extra tricks from the spade suit to make the contract. The defenders have
to work as a team. This may seem surprising because your partner, at first
glance, doesn’t seem to have anything to contribute. On the contrary, partner
is a key player.
“Declarer leads the ;K. Now partner has to be careful to give you the in-
formation that you need. Partner plays the ;2, the start of a low-high signal
to show an odd number of cards in the suit. You can see five spades in the
dummy and three in your hand, a total of eight. By playing low, partner is
starting to show an odd number of cards — one, three or five. It is impos-
sible for partner to have five, since that would leave declarer with none. If
partner has only one card, then declarer has four, you can’t prevent declarer
from driving out your ;A, using dummy’s spades. If partner has three,
however, declarer has only two spades. You will be able to strand dummy’s
winners by holding up your ;A.
“You can’t be sure what the situation is yet, but you don’t have to take the
;A on the first round of the suit. Instead, you hold up, letting declarer win
the first trick. Declarer leads another spade and now partner plays the ;3
(or the ;7), confirming that partner started with three spades. You are now
confident that declarer only has two spades and you can win the second trick
with your ;A, stranding the remaining winners in dummy.
“It is interesting to note that if you play your ;A on the first round, declarer
takes four spade tricks, since declarer still has an entry to dummy. If you
wait until the third round, declarer takes two tricks. Only by playing the
;A on exactly the second round can you limit declarer to the minimum of
one trick in the suit.
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 217
“Let’s change the layout slightly. Give the ;2 to declarer:
DUMMY
; Q J 10 9 6
PARTNER YOU
;73 ;A84
DECLARER
;K52
“Declarer again plays the ;K. This time partner plays the ;7, starting a
high-low to show an even number of cards in the suit. You can’t be certain
at this point whether partner has two or four — or even a singleton. Again
you can wait to find out — duck the first trick. When declarer leads another
spade and partner contributes the ;3, the layout becomes clear. If partner
has two spades, declarer must have three. You can’t afford to take the ;A on
the second round because declarer will still have one left to get to dummy’s
established winners. You hold up one more round, and declarer is limited
to the minimum possible number of tricks, two, on this layout. If you take
your ;A on the first or second round, declarer will take four tricks.
“You might find that you need to hold up winning a trick even when you
have two winners. Lay out both the spade and heart suits as follows:
DUMMY
; Q J 10 9 6
kA73
PARTNER YOU
;832 ;AK4
k985 k J 10 6 2
DECLARER
;75
kKQ4
“We know that in order for declarer to profit from the winners promoted in
a long suit, declarer has to be able to get to them. Let’s assume that declarer
has the kA as an outside entry to the dummy. Unless you help out, that still
won’t be enough to establish all of the spade winners.
“Declarer starts by playing a low spade to dummy. It would seem reasonable
for you to play one of your high cards, since you have two of them. Suppose
that’s what you do, winning the first trick with the ;K. Let’s see what is left:
DUMMY
; J 10 9 6
kA73
PARTNER YOU
;83 ;A4
k985 k J 10 6 2
DECLARER
;7
kKQ4
218 Defense in the 21st Century
“You can lead a heart, but declarer wins in hand and leads another spade
to dummy. It is too late to hold up. If you don’t win with the ;A, declarer
is in dummy and can lead another spade. The kA is still in dummy as an
entry to the established winners. Declarer ends up with three tricks from
the spade suit.
“Put back the original cards and let’s suppose you hold up with both the ;A
and the ;K on the first round of the suit. Declarer leads a second spade,
driving out your ;K. Now this is the position:
DUMMY
; 10 9 6
kA73
YOU
;8 ;A
k985 k J 10 6 2
;—
kKQ4
“Suppose you lead a heart. Declarer is helpless. If the trick is won in declar-
er’s hand, another spade can’t be led to establish the suit. If declarer wins
with dummy’s kA, another spade can be led to establish the suit, but there
is no entry left to the spade winners. Instead of getting three tricks from the
spade suit, you limit declarer to one trick by holding up on the first round.
“Before we try our first exercise, let’s consider one more example. Lay out
the following cards in the spade suit:
DUMMY
; A Q J 10 9 6
PARTNER YOU
;73 ;K84
DECLARER
;52
“Suppose declarer leads a low spade, partner plays the ;7 to start showing
an even number, and declarer finesses dummy’s ;Q ( or ;J, etc.). If you
take the first trick with your ;K, declarer still has a low spade left to use
as an entry to the five winners in dummy.
“Look what happens if you refuse to win the first trick. Declarer can take
the ;A and lead the suit again to drive out your ;K, but unless declarer
has an outside entry to the dummy, you have limited declarer to two tricks,
rather than five.
“Since the finesse ‘worked’ the first time, declarer may well return to the
hand in another suit and try a second finesse. When you take your ;K,
declarer is limited to only one trick in this suit!
“Now let’s try our first exercise.”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 219
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise One, declarer has no entries to dummy
other than the cards in the suit shown. To limit declarer to the minimum
number of tricks, which cards would you and partner play on the first trick
if declarer leads the 10? Which cards would you play on the second trick if
declarer leads a low card to dummy’s queen?”
1) DUMMY
KQJ98
PARTNER YOU
73 A42
DECLARER
10 6 5
2) DUMMY
KQJ98
PARTNER YOU
A42 763
DECLARER
10 5
3) DUMMY
AQJ92
PARTNER YOU
86 K743
DECLARER
10 5
7 & 2; 3 & 4
1) ________________ 2 & 3; A & 6 (7)
2) ___________________ 8 & low; 6 & K
3) __________________
220 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Have a student report on the discussion in each group. Make sure that the cards played by both
defenders are included. The discussion might go like this:
“In the first layout, partner starts by playing the 7, to show an even number.
You play a low card, letting declarer win the trick. When declarer leads the
suit again, partner plays the 2, confirming two cards in the suit. You play
your remaining low card, holding up until the third round.
“In the second layout, partner plays the 2 on the first trick and you play the
3, to show an odd number. On the second trick, partner plays the ace and you
play the 6 or 7. Partner can safely win the ace on the second trick knowing
that you have an odd number of cards in the suit. If you have a singleton,
it doesn’t matter when partner wins the trick. But if, as seems more likely,
you have three, partner doesn’t need to hold up until the third trick.
“On the last layout, partner gives you a count signal by playing the 8 on the
first trick. You play a low card, letting declarer win. If declarer leads a second
card to dummy’s queen, repeating the finesse, partner plays the 6 and you
win the king. Declarer’s winners are stranded. This is another advantage of
ducking the first trick. Declarer may not know that you have the king and
will end up with only one trick from the suit!”
Conclusion
“The defensive hold-up play is one technique that can be used to try to pre-
vent declarer from getting any undeserved tricks. The basic idea is for the
defenders to take their winner when declarer plays the last card in the suit.
If there is no other entry to the dummy, the winners are stranded.”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 221
EXERCISE TWO: Attacking Entries
Introduction
“Declarer may have an entry in another suit which will serve as a means
of transportation to get to the established winners. The defenders want
to eliminate that entry before declarer is ready to use it. Let’s construct a
complete deal on the table:
DUMMY
;A5
k742
lJ54
' K Q J 10 9
PARTNER YOU
; 10 6 4 N ;KQ93
k J 10 9 8 W E kA5
l963 S l 10 8 7 2
'862 'A75
DECLARER
;J872
kKQ63
lAKQ
'43
“The contract is 3NT and your partner leads the kJ. Let’s look at things
from declarer’s point of view. Declarer has a sure trick in spades and three
sure tricks in diamonds with at least one trick from the heart suit, especially
now that your side has led hearts. The main source of tricks will be the club
suit. Declarer plans to promote four tricks in the club suit by driving out
the 'A, and dummy has the ;A as an entry to the clubs, even if you hold
up the 'A.
“Now let’s look at things from your point of view. Your partner has led the
kJ and a low heart is played from dummy. You take the first trick with the
kA. After all, partner might be leading from an interior sequence, and
you don’t want declarer to get a trick with the kQ if partner has the kK.
Your natural inclination is to return partner’s lead and try to develop tricks
in the heart suit for your side. But, looking at the long club suit in dummy,
there is a more pressing task. Even without seeing declarer’s hand, you can
visualize what declarer is planning to do.
“Your priority must be to get the ;A off the dummy before the clubs are
promoted. You can do that by leading the ;K (or the ;Q). Even if declarer
refuses to win the first spade trick, you can lead another spade and get rid
of dummy’s ;A before declarer is ready to use it. Your primary objective is
not to develop spade tricks when you lead the ;K. You are trying to prevent
declarer from taking club tricks.
222 Defense in the 21st Century
“Your task is not completely finished after the ;A is removed. When de-
clarer leads a club from dummy, you must hold up the 'A. On the first
round of clubs, partner plays the '2, showing an odd number. Hoping that
the '2 isn’t a singleton, in which case you can’t prevent declarer from es-
tablishing the club suit, you win the second round of clubs. Declarer is held
to one trick in the club suit once you have removed the entry from dummy.
No matter what, declarer can’t take more than eight tricks.
“Notice that it was very important for you to play a spade right away. If
you returned a heart, partner’s suit, declarer would win with the kK (or
the kQ) and play a club. Now holding up the 'A wouldn’t do any good.
Suppose you take the second club trick and lead a spade. It is too late. The
clubs have been promoted and the ;A is an effective entry to them.
“Partner cooperated on the defense by giving you a count signal in the club
suit. The defenders would have to cooperate even more if the cards were
distributed a little differently. If partner, rather than you, held the 'A, it
would not be as easy to see that it was necessary to lead a spade. Nonetheless,
that would be the winning defense. It would also be more difficult to lead a
spade if you did not hold the ;Q as well as the ;K, or if partner held the
;K rather than you. However, the defenders would still need to cooperate
in the same fashion to defeat the contract.
“Preventing declarer from getting to dummy is often an important defensive
tactic. Let’s look at some more examples.”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 223
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Two, you are on lead. Which card would
you lead to prevent declarer from later using this suit as an entry to the
dummy?”
1) DUMMY
A7
PARTNER YOU
10 8 3 KJ42
DECLARER
Q965
2) DUMMY
K73
PARTNER YOU
10 9 8 4 A62
DECLARER
QJ5
3) DUMMY
KQ2
PARTNER YOU
875 A J 10 4
DECLARER
963
King
1) ________________ 2 (or 6)
2) _________________ Jack
3) ________________
224 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Discuss the answers, drawing attention to the key points. For example:
“On the first layout, lead the king to drive out dummy’s ace. You can see
that declarer also gets a trick with the queen, since neither you nor partner
holds that card. Sacrificing your king in this manner may be worthwhile if
it prevents declarer from reaching dummy later. It may not even cost a trick.
After all, declarer could always lead toward the queen to get a trick with
it. Notice, also, that declarer can’t prevent you from driving out dummy’s
ace prematurely. If declarer ducks the first trick, you can continue with a
low card.
“In the second layout, you can’t drive out dummy’s king. If you want to
prevent declarer from using it to get to dummy later, however, you can’t af-
ford to play your ace right away. Play a low card (or a card in another suit),
keeping the ace to play when declarer plays to dummy’s king.
“In the last layout, declarer doesn’t have an immediate entry to dummy but
may be able to create one later by leading up to dummy’s queen (or king).
You can’t afford to lead the ace, since dummy will now have two entries,
but you can lead the jack (or 10). Declarer can win with one of dummy’s
high cards, but now you have the remaining high card trapped. Declarer
will not be able to use this suit to get to dummy at a later point in the play.
You force declarer to use this entry prematurely.”
Conclusion
“When you can see that declarer is planning to develop a long suit and may
have some entry problems, it is often a good idea to try to drive out any
entries in the hand with the long suit before declarer has established the
winners. You also must be careful not to create an entry to the long suit by
playing your high cards prematurely.”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 225
EXERCISE THREE: Watching Your Discards
Introduction
“You may think your 2’s and 3’s in a suit are of no value, and you may tend
to discard them without much thought, preferring to hold on to your higher
cards in other suits. Those low cards, however, can sometimes make the
difference between success and failure for the defenders. Let’s lay out the
following cards in the diamond suit:
DUMMY
lK9
YOU PARTNER
l7432 l J 10 8
DECLARER
lAQ65
“You may feel that your l2 is not an important card, and you may even want
to discard it as an attitude signal to tell partner that you are not interested
in the suit. If you discard the l2, however, it presents declarer with a trick
on the actual layout. Declarer will play dummy’s lK and then the l9 to
the lA and the lQ. All of a sudden, the l6 will be left as a winner, since
you no longer have a diamond left. You can’t afford to discard even one of
your diamonds, no matter how low.
“Notice that your partner, who appears to have a stronger holding, could
actually discard a diamond without presenting declarer with an extra trick.
The example is a little extreme, perhaps, but the general idea is that at least
one of the defenders must guard each suit, whenever possible, to prevent
declarer from getting undeserved tricks. You and partner will usually have
to share the responsibility, since it is difficult, if not impossible, for one
defender to look after all of the suits.”
There is no need to go into the concept of squeezes at this point. The students will be pseudo-
squeezed far more often than they will be legitimately squeezed. The concept of guarding a suit,
however, is important. As they play more and more, the students will continually find themselves
pressed to find discards. Even when they make mistakes, they will at least be able to see what they
conceptually should have done.
“How do you know which suits you have to guard? Sometimes, it is obvious, when you can
see the cards in dummy. For example, rearrange the diamonds as follows.
DUMMY
lAKQ32
YOU PARTNER
l J 10 7 4 l95
DECLARER
l86
“Looking at the diamonds in dummy, it becomes apparent that you can’t afford to discard one
— otherwise declarer will be able to take all five tricks in the suit.
226 Defense in the 21st Century
“The situation is more complicated when declarer holds the length in the
suit. This is where your imagination has to come into play. You have to
visualize the layout of the suit based on the clues you have from your own
hand, the bidding, partner’s signals and the cards that have been played. For
example, if declarer has bid diamonds during the auction, you can visual-
ize at least four diamonds in declarer’s hand. If you and partner have bid
and raised a suit, showing eight or more cards, and there are two or three
cards in the dummy, declarer can’t have much length in the suit. There are
usually enough clues.
“Let’s look at some examples to help you visualize the types of situations
where you may have to hold on to all of your cards in a suit and those where
you can afford to discard some of your low cards.”
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Three, how many tricks does declarer
take if you discard a low card in the suit? How many tricks does declarer
take if you don’t discard any cards in the suit?”
1) DUMMY
AK73
PARTNER YOU
J9 10 6 4 2
DECLARER
Q85
2) DUMMY
A972
PARTNER YOU
QJ 10 6 3
DECLARER
K854
3) DUMMY
KQ4
PARTNER YOU
62 J 10 9 5 3
DECLARER
A87
4; 3
1) ________________ 4; 3
2) _________________ 3; 3
3) ________________
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 227
Follow-up
Discuss the layout, making sure the students have the basic idea. For example:
“In the first layout, declarer will take all four tricks if you discard a low
card. If you hold on to all four of your cards, keeping the same length as
dummy, declarer can take only three tricks.
“In the second layout, a discard will allow declarer to take all four tricks,
because partner can’t protect the suit. You must hold on to your low cards
to restrict declarer to only three tricks from the suit.
“In the last layout, it is safe for you to discard any of the cards in the suit.
This is the type of suit you want to look for when you have to make a dis-
card. The more cards you start with, the less likely discarding one will give
declarer a trick.”
Conclusion
“A card as low as a 2 can have as much power as an ace. When discarding,
try to keep the same length in a suit as you can see in the dummy or as you
imagine or know from the bidding that declarer has in hand. The partners
have to share the responsibility for guarding all of the suits. You don’t want
to be left with all of your high cards in one suit while declarer is taking
tricks with low cards in another suit in which you made discards.”
228 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FOUR: Practicing Counting
Introduction
This exercise has to be carefully handled since there is the possibility that many of the students
will find it too difficult. Watch your class. If you see blank faces, move on to the next exercise.
“In order to know which cards to keep and which cards to discard, you
have to try to visualize how many cards are in the hidden hands, partner’s
and declarer’s. Since you can see the number of cards in your hand and the
dummy, and since there are only 13 cards in each suit, you can deduce how
many cards are in one of the hidden hands once you know how many cards
are in the other. Partner can help out by giving a count signal whenever
possible. You get clues about declarer’s holding from the auction or when
declarer shows out in a suit.
“It will take practice to keep track of more than one suit at a time. Let’s see
the type of thinking you have to do. Lay out the following hands: one as
dummy and one as your hand:
DUMMY
;975
kAK3
lK65
'9542
YOU
;8432
k J 10 9 5
lJ873
'8
“Suppose the bidding was opened 1NT on your left and responder bid 3NT.
Do you have any clues about declarer’s distribution from the auction? (Yes.
Declarer has a balanced hand and is unlikely to have a six-card suit.) Sup-
pose that partner leads the ;K. Does that tell you anything? (Yes. Partner
is likely to have at least four spades since the lead usually comes from
the longest suit.) After looking at dummy, how do you think the missing
spades are distributed, given the clues so far? (Partner probably has four
and declarer two.)”
It is a good idea to have the students distribute the cards face down in front of partner and declarer,
with four spades for partner and two for declarer, to help visualize the distribution as it builds up.
“Suppose declarer ducks the first spade, holding up, and then wins the sec-
ond round with the ;A. Now declarer leads a low heart to dummy’s kK,
on which partner plays the k2. What information does that give you about
the heart suit? (Partner has played a low card, suggesting the start of a low-
high to show an odd number.) Declarer now leads a club from dummy and
plays the 'Q. Partner wins with the 'A. Does that tell you anything about
the club suit? (Declarer likely holds the 'K, since partner could have won
the trick with that card if partner held it.) Partner now leads another high
spade and declarer discards a club. What information does that give you?
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 229
(Partner definitely started with four spades and declarer with two. It looks
as though declarer started with at least three clubs.) Partner now leads the
last high spade and a club is discarded from dummy and declarer’s hand.
What does that tell you about declarer’s distribution? (It looks as though
declarer started with four clubs.) How many cards is declarer likely to have
started with in hearts and diamonds? (Seven.) How might you expect them
to be distributed? (Four in one suit and three in the other.)
“So far, you have been able to comfortably follow suit each time a card was
led. Now partner leads back the 'J. You have to find a discard from one of
your remaining suits. Since you know that declarer must have four cards in
one of them, it could be fatal for the defense if you pick the wrong card to
discard. Do you have enough information to pick the right discard? (Yes.
Partner’s k2 indicated three hearts. That means declarer started with only
three hearts and must have four diamonds. It is safe to discard a heart. You
must hang on to all four of your precious diamonds.)
“You can see how much work you have to go through just to decide which
low card to discard when you started with only two jacks. Your reward,
however, will be defeating declarer’s contract. You would be unhappy to
have to discard your heart on the last trick while declarer wins the trick
with a low diamond.
“Let’s do another exercise to get used to counting out the missing hands.”
Instructions
“You can see the cards shown in Exercise Four in dummy and your own hand:”
DUMMY
; 10 7 5 3
kA62
lK962
'75
YOU
;K86
kJ873
l 10 3
'Q962
1) How many spades does declarer have if partner shows out (discards) on
the second round?
2) If partner is known to have one spade, five hearts and four diamonds,
how many clubs does partner hold?
3) Given partner’s distribution as above, what is declarer’s exact distribution?
4) From the above information, which suit should you be careful not to
discard from?
Five
1) ______________ Three 5-1-3-4
2) _____________ 3) ______________ 4) ______________ Clubs
230 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
You hope that the students will be able to piece together the answers. Don’t drag the exercise on
if some of the students are having difficulty counting out the hands. Point out that it takes a lot of
practice. Many experienced players have never learned the secret.
“If partner discards on the second round of the spade suit, partner must have
started with a singleton, leaving five in declarer’s hand.
“If it turns out that partner has one spade, five hearts and four diamonds,
that leaves room for only three clubs.
“If partner has one spade, declarer has five. If partner has five hearts, de-
clarer can have only one. If partner has four diamonds, declarer must have
three. Declarer is left with exactly four clubs (5–1–3–4).
“If you have to discard, it looks as if you should be careful to hang on to your
clubs. It should be safe to discard hearts, since partner can guard that suit.”
Conclusion
“Keeping track of the number of cards in each suit is hard work, but the
effort will often pay off handsomely. You will learn which suits to hold on
to and which cards you can discard. There will be a dramatic increase in the
number of tricks you save and the number of contracts you defeat.”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 231
EXERCISE FIVE: Defending against Finesses
Introduction
“One of the ways declarer gets the extra needed tricks is by finessing. De-
clarer hopes to take a trick with a high card when you have a higher card
— a card will usually be led toward the card declarer hopes will take a trick.
You may think there is nothing you can do about this, but let’s look at some
examples. Lay out the following cards in the club suit:
DUMMY
'KJ
YOU PARTNER
' A 10 7 4 'Q9532
DECLARER
'86
“We have already seen this situation in the lesson on second hand low.
Suppose declarer needs to take one trick with this combination and leads
a low card toward the dummy. If you play your 'A, then declarer plays
the 'J and is guaranteed to take a trick with the 'K. Instead, you play a
low club. It is true that declarer could play the 'K and take the trick, but
declarer might play the 'J, ending up with no tricks. After all, declarer
doesn’t know which of you holds the 'A and which the 'Q. If you held
the 'Q, declarer would be correct to finesse dummy’s 'J. So this is one
way you make life difficult for declarer when trying to take a finesse — leave
declarer guessing!
“Suppose we exchange dummy’s 'J for the 'Q and the '2:
DUMMY
'KQ2
YOU PARTNER
' A 10 7 4 'J953
DECLARER
'86
“This time, declarer doesn’t have to guess. It is still best for you most of the
time to play low, however, because it makes it more difficult for declarer
to take two tricks in the suit. If you take the 'A right away, dummy’s 'K
and 'Q will both be winners, and declarer will have an entry to them. By
ducking, you create a problem for declarer. To get a second trick from the
suit, declarer will have to find an entry back in order to lead toward dummy
again. Even then, you can win the second trick and the winner might be
stranded in dummy. There are many angles involved in giving declarer a
difficult time taking tricks.
232 Defense in the 21st Century
“Now let’s give the 'A to your partner and give partner’s '3 to the de-
clarer:
DUMMY
'KQ2
YOU PARTNER
' 10 7 4 'AJ95
DECLARER
'863
“This is a very interesting situation. When declarer leads a low club toward
dummy, the finesse is destined to lose since partner has the 'A. Partner
is not forced to win the first trick, unless winning the trick will defeat the
contract immediately. When dummy’s 'Q (or 'K) is played, partner can
play a low club, ducking the 'A. This doesn’t cost anything and may lead
declarer astray. Thinking that you have the 'A, declarer may take the trouble
to come back and lead toward dummy’s remaining high card. This time it
will be unsuccessful and a wasted effort. The entry to declarer’s hand might
have been put to better use.
“You must sometimes duck to give declarer a legitimate problem. Let’s
change the club layout again, giving you the 'J and dummy the '10:
DUMMY
' K Q 10 2
YOU PARTNER
'J74 'A95
DECLARER
'863
“If declarer leads a low club toward dummy’s 'Q and partner wins the
'A, declarer may decide to finesse you for the 'J the next time clubs are
lead toward dummy. This time declarer will be successful. If partner plays a
low card on the first round, however, declarer will be left with a guess later.
When declarer comes back and leads another low club toward dummy, it
will not be clear whether to play dummy’s 'K or '10.
“The general idea is to look for opportunities to make declarer’s life as dif-
ficult as possible by not revealing the location of your high cards until you
have to. Let’s look at some more examples.”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 233
Instructions
“In each of the layouts in Exercise Five, you are defending a notrump
contract and declarer leads a low card toward dummy’s jack. Which card
should partner play and which card should you play to give declarer the
most difficulty in the suit?”
1) DUMMY
KQJ7
PARTNER YOU
A943 10 6 2
DECLARER
85
2) DUMMY
AQJ2
PARTNER YOU
10 8 7 K63
DECLARER
954
3) DUMMY
A J 10 9 4
PARTNER YOU
85 KQ
DECLARER
7632
3; 2
1) ________________ 7; 3
2) _________________ 5; Q (or K)
3) ________________
234 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Let the students work together to figure out what declarer is likely to do in each case and how the
defenders can avoid giving declarer any help. Make sure the key points are covered. For example:
“In the first layout, declarer will get three tricks from the suit if partner plays
the ace on the first round. Both you and your partner should therefore play
low cards on the first trick. If declarer leads a high card from dummy, partner
can take the ace and restrict declarer to two tricks. If declarer comes back
and leads another card toward dummy, partner can play low again. Declarer
is held to two tricks in the suit and is forced to use up an entry.
“In the second layout, partner can play a low card to show an odd number
of cards in the suit. When declarer takes the finesse, you should play a low
card, also. Declarer, thinking the finesse has been successful, may come
back to repeat it. This time, you will give declarer a surprise.”
It would be a bit much to discuss the possibility of ducking a second time in this situation.
“In the last layout, partner should play a low card, and you can win with
either card when declarer plays dummy’s jack. It may seem like a good
idea to always win with the king to make declarer think you don’t have the
queen. That might lull declarer into repeating the finesse. But if you make
it a habit to always win with your higher card in this type of situation,
declarer may expect you to have the queen as well when you win the first
trick with the king. Instead, win with the queen some of the time. Keep
declarer guessing.
“Note that partner should keep declarer guessing as well. If partner always
plays high-low to show an even number of cards, declarer will probably
figure out the situation and not repeat the finesse. By playing low-high,
declarer may think that partner started with three cards and try a second
finesse, losing two tricks in the suit.”
Conclusion
“Keep declarer guessing about how to play a suit. Don’t reveal any infor-
mation that will help declarer decide how to play the cards in a particular
suit unless you have to. The more guesses you create, the more opportunities
for declarer to go wrong.”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 235
EXERCISE SIX: Defending against Trump Suits
Introduction
“One of the advantages declarer gets from playing in a trump suit is the
opportunity to ruff your winners. Declarer often plans to ruff losers in the
dummy. Naturally the defenders want to thwart declarer’s plans whenever
possible. If it looks as though declarer is about to utilize dummy’s trumps, it
may be a good time to remove some of dummy’s trumps. On the other hand,
if declarer plans to draw your trumps, you may want to use them beforehand
to ruff some of declarer’s winners.
“When declarer zigs, you want to zag, and vice versa. Let’s look at an ex-
ample.”
Instructions
“On the deal in Exercise Six, how can the defenders defeat declarer’s 2;
contract after West leads the kQ?”
DUMMY
Contract: 2; ;J73
Lead: kQ k52
lK972
'K643
YOU PARTNER
;K95 N ;64
k Q J 10 8 W E kAK6
lQ86 S l J 10 5 3
'J97 ' A 10 8 2
DECLARER
; A Q 10 8 2
k9743
lA4
'Q5
236 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Lead the students through the deal, covering the key points. For example:
“First let’s look at the deal from declarer’s perspective. How many losers are
there? (Six — one spade, four hearts and one club.) How does declarer plan
to eliminate some losers? (Declarer plans to ruff heart losers in the dummy.)
How can the defender stop declarer from ruffing two heart losers in dummy?
(By leading trumps.) When will they have to lead trumps? (Right away.)
Which defender should lead trumps? (East, through declarer’s strength, so
that West can take a trick with the ;K.) How can the defenders arrange to
have trumps led by East? (East will have to overtake the first heart and lead
a spade.) If declarer takes the spade finesse, what will West do? (Win the
;K and lead another spade.) If declarer wins the second spade in dummy
and leads the remaining heart, what should East do? (Play low to let West
win the trick and lead another trump.) With careful defense, the defenders
end up with one trump trick, four heart tricks and the 'A.”
Conclusion
“The defenders must try to visualize how declarer plans to use the trump
suit. They must then work together to see if they can stop declarer from
making the contract.”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 237
EXERCISE SEVEN: Review of Slam Bidding
Introduction
“Let’s quickly review what we know about slam bidding. A small slam is a
contract for 12 of the 13 tricks. A grand slam is a contract for all 13 tricks.
Why do you want to bid a slam when you have enough strength? (There are
large bonuses in the scoring for bidding and making a slam.) How many
combined points are required for a small slam? (33 or more.) How many
for a grand slam? (37 or more.) When there is enough combined strength
for game, you prefer to play in one of the Golden Games — 3NT, 4k or
4;, — rather than 5' or 5l, because fewer tricks are required to make
the contract. Is the same thing true of a slam contract? (No. No matter what
the strain is, all slam contracts require the same number of tricks.) If you
can find an eight-card or longer fit, you usually want to play with that suit
as trump. If not, you can play the slam in notrump.
“If you know there is more than enough strength for game, but are not sure
if there is enough combined strength for slam, how can you invite partner to
bid slam? (By bidding one level beyond a Golden Game.) For example, to
invite partner to a slam in notrump, you can raise to 4NT, one level beyond
3NT. What does partner do when you invite slam? (With a minimum hand
for the point range already promised, partner passes, rejecting the invitation.
With a maximum hand for the point range, partner accepts the invitation
by bidding slam.)
“There are more sophisticated methods, but we will leave some of these
until the next lesson series. For now, this ‘quantitative’ approach should
suffice. Let’s try some examples.”
238 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“Your partner opens the bidding 2NT, showing a balanced hand of 20 to 21
HCP. What do you respond with each of the hands in Exercise Seven?”
1) ;862 2) ; A 10 8 3) ;AJ2
kKJ3 k962 kJ73
lA842 lK63 l J 10 6 3
'962 'KQ75 'AQ5
3NT
1) ________________ 4NT
2) _________________ 6NT
3) ________________
4) ;AQ3 5) ;763 6) ; K 10 9 8 6 3 2
kKQ5 kQ k 10 9
lQJ9 lAQ9752 l52
' K 10 9 2 'K97 'Q5
7NT
4) ________________ 6l
5) _________________ 3k, a Jacoby transfer bid
6) ________________
7) ;KQ93 8) ;92 9) ;KJ84
kK8 kAQJ432 k A J 10 3
lJ874 lA8 lJ83
'A73 '765 'Q2
3'
7) ________________ 3l,
(Stayman) 8) _________________
a Jacoby 3' (Stayman)
9) ________________
transfer bid
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 239
Follow-up
Discuss the exercise with the class as a whole.
“On the first hand, you have 8 HCP. Even if partner has 21 HCP, there won’t be
enough combined strength for slam. Settle for game by responding 3NT.
“On the second hand, you have 12 HCP. If partner has a minimum, there
will be only 32 combined points. If partner has more than a minimum, there
will be enough for slam. With no apparent eight-card fit, invite partner to
slam by raising to 4NT.
“On the third hand, you have 13 HCP, enough to raise directly to 6NT.
“On hand number four, you have 17 HCP. Even if opener has only 20 points,
there are at least 37 combined points, enough for a grand slam. Bid 7NT.
“On the fifth hand, you have 11 HCP plus 2 points for the six-card suit.
That’s enough for a small slam. With a six-card suit, you know there is at
least an eight-card fit. Jump to 6l.
“On the sixth hand, you have 5 HCPs plus 3 points for the seven-card suit.
“On the seventh hand, you have 13 HCP, enough to bid slam. Before jumping
right to slam, you should investigate whether or not you have a Golden Fit
in a major suit. You can do that by bidding 3', the Stayman convention. If
partner rebids 3;, you can jump to 6;; otherwise to 6NT.
“On the eighth hand, you again want to be in slam. Bid 3l, a transfer to
your six-card suit, and then raise to 6k.
“On the ninth hand, you have 12 HCP, enough to invite opener to slam. Start
off by bidding 3', Stayman, to find out if you have a Golden Fit. If partner
rebids 3l, you can invite slam by bidding 4NT. If partner bids 3k or 3;,
you can invite slam by raising that suit to the five level.”
Conclusion
“With 33 or more points, the partnership should reach the six level. With
37 or more points, the partnership should contract to take all of the tricks.
Always decide the strain in which you are going to play before bidding a
slam. If you are uncertain about whether there is enough strength for slam,
you can make an invitational bid by bidding beyond the game level.”
240 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE EIGHT: Watching Out for the Opponents
Introduction
“The defenders try to make things difficult for declarer. When declarer
makes a plan, it’s important to keep an eye on the damage the opponents
can do if they get the lead. Declarer wants to avoid giving the lead to one
opponent if that opponent is more dangerous than the other. For example,
one opponent may be waiting with winners to take or be in a position to
trap declarer’s high cards. If you have to lose the lead, you want to try to
lose the trick to the non-dangerous opponent. Of course, sometimes both
opponents are equally dangerous. Then you want to avoid giving up the
lead unless you have to.
“Just as defenders can make things difficult for the declarer by using the
holdup play, so declarer can try to neutralize one of the opponents by hold-
ing up. Let’s look at an example.”
Instructions
“You are declarer on the deal in Exercise Eight in a contract of 3NT. West
leads the k5 and East plays the kK. Where are your extra tricks going to
come from? What is the danger? Which card do you play on the first trick?
Why?”
DUMMY
Contract: 3NT ; K Q J
Lead: k 5 k 10 8 4
l Q J 10 7
'A96
;93 N ; 10 8 6 4 2
kJ9752 kK6
W E
lA63 lK8
'J53 S 'Q742
DECLARER (YOU)
;A75
kAQ3
l9542
' K 10 8
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 241
Follow-up
Lead the students through the deal, covering the necessary points. Include the following ideas:
“You start with three spade tricks, two heart tricks (after the opening lead)
and two club tricks. The extra two tricks can come from the diamond suit.
The danger is that you will have to let the opponents in the lead twice while
promoting your diamond winners. There is the possibility that they will be
able to establish enough winners in the heart suit to defeat the contract. You
should play your k3 on the first trick, letting East win the trick with the kK.
You are holding up your winners in the suit to try to strand West’s winners.
If you were to win the first trick and East won the first diamond trick, East
would have a heart left to lead and would drive out your remaining heart
winner while West still had the lA. The defenders would get three heart
tricks to go with their two diamond tricks. If you hold up your winners on
the first round, East will have no hearts left to lead, if they divide 5–2 after
winning the first diamond trick.
“If East had a heart left to lead, then the suit would have been divided 4–3,
and the defenders could take only two heart tricks, not enough to defeat
the contract.”
Conclusion
“Declarer must watch out for the opponents. One way to do this is by using
the hold-up play to try to strand one defender’s winners. That defender then
becomes the dangerous opponent. If a trick must be lost, you try to make
it the non-dangerous opponent who gains the lead.”
242 Defense in the 21st Century
SAMPLE DEALS
EXERCISE NINE: The Defensive Holdup
Introduction
“Let’s move on to the practice deals. On this first deal, we’ll see if the de-
fenders can use the hold-up play to their advantage.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the first pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #7, Deal 1)
Dealer: North ;J62
kAK75
lQ4
'AK63
;Q95 N ; K 10 7 4
kQ94 kJ832
W E
lK65 l83
' Q 10 8 2 S 'J75
;A83
k 10 6
l A J 10 9 7 2
'94
The Bidding
“What would North open the bidding? (1NT.) East and West pass through-
out the auction. At what level does South know the partnership belongs?
(Game.) Is there a Golden Fit in a major suit? (No.) What does South re-
spond? (3NT.) How does the auction proceed? (Pass, pass, pass.) Who is
the declarer? (North.)”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 243
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (East.) What would the opening lead be?
(;4, fourth highest.) Which card would West play on the first trick if a low
card is played from dummy? (;Q, third hand high.) What would West do
next? (Return the ;9, top of the remaining doubleton in partner’s suit.)
Which card would West play if the first trick is won in dummy? (;9,
encouraging.) Which suit must the defenders try to stop declarer from es-
tablishing? (Diamonds.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer has one spade trick, two heart tricks, one diamond trick
and two club tricks. The remaining three tricks needed must come from the
diamond suit. Declarer plans to lead the lQ, taking a finesse. If East has the
lK, declarer may be able to take all six diamond tricks. Even if the finesse
loses on the first round, five diamond tricks will be established in dummy.
One danger is that the opponents may be able to take too many spades if they
win a diamond trick. Declarer should duck the first spade trick, holding up.
The second danger is that the diamond winners could be stranded if West is
able to hold up the lK after dummy’s ;A has been driven out.)”
Conclusion
“There was the danger that declarer would be able to establish a long suit in
the dummy. The defenders first had to remove the sure entry to dummy and
then use the hold-up play to prevent declarer from capitalizing on dummy’s
long suit.”
244 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TEN: Discarding Carefully
Introduction
“As we have seen earlier, the defenders must be careful not to let declarer
get undeserved tricks with low cards by discarding carelessly. The defenders
must work together to try to guard all of the suits. They must listen to the
bidding and watch the cards that are played to gather the clues they need
when they have to find a discard.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the second pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #7, Deal 2)
Dealer: East ;J974
kA5
l 10 7
'J9542
;865 N ;AKQ3
kKQJ k742
W E
lAQ83 lK52
' K Q 10 S 'A76
; 10 2
k 10 9 8 6 3
lJ964
'83
The Bidding
“What would East open the bidding? (1NT.) North and South pass through-
out. What does West know about the minimum combined strength of the
partnership hands? (There are at least 32 combined points.) At what level
does the partnership belong? (Slam, if opener has 16 or 17 HCP.) Is there
any known Golden Fit? (No.) What does West respond? (4NT.) How does
the auction proceed from there? (East should accept the invitation and bid
6NT, followed by three passes.) What is the contract? (6NT.) Who is the
declarer? (East.)”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 245
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (South.) What would the opening lead be?
(k10.) Which suit must South guard? (Diamonds.) Which suits can North
guard? (Spades and clubs.) How can North get clues as to which cards to
discard and which cards to keep? (By watching the cards partner and de-
clarer play.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (After the kA is driven out, declarer has three sure spade tricks,
two heart tricks, three diamond tricks and three club tricks. The 12th trick
can come from either the spade suit or the diamond suit, if either suit divides
3–3 or the defense errs while discarding.)”
Conclusion
“Each defender had to take responsibility for guarding one suit in order to
prevent declarer from making the contract. One defender had to be especially
careful to guard the right suit by watching the cards that were played.”
246 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE ELEVEN: Making Declarer Guess
Introduction
“The defenders must try not to give declarer any help when finessing for
missing cards. We’ll see how they can present an opportunity for declarer
to go wrong on the next deal.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the third pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #7, Deal 3)
Dealer: South ;AJ862
kKQ7
lAQ
'A85
;9 N ; 10 3
kJ83 W E kA654
l J 10 9 6 3 l8542
S
'9642 ' J 10 3
;KQ754
k 10 9 2
lK7
'KQ7
The Bidding
“What is South’s opening bid? (1;.) East and West pass throughout. How
many points does North have in support of South’s suit? (21, 20 HCP plus 1
for the doubleton heart.) At what level does the partnership belong? (Slam.)
In which strain does the partnership belong? (Spades.) What does North
respond? (6;.) How does the bidding proceed from there? (Pass, pass,
pass.) What is the contract? (6;.) Who is the declarer? (South.)”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 247
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (West.) What would the opening lead be?
(lJ.) Holding the kA, what possibilities can East see for a second defensive
trick? (Partner might have a heart trick or a club trick.) What does East plan
to do if a heart is led to dummy’s kK or kQ? (Duck, if it appears that
declarer doesn’t have a singleton.) Why? (Declarer might have a guess in
the heart suit as to which opponent holds the kA.) Which suit must West
avoid discarding? (Hearts. West must keep the kJ guarded.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer can afford only one loser. The only two possible losers
are in the heart suit. Declarer plans to lead toward dummy’s hearts, hoping
that West has the kA. If East has the kA, declarer can hope that West has
the kJ and lead the k10 for a finesse.)”
Conclusion
“The defenders often want to conceal the location of their high cards in
order to lead declarer astray. Declarer will not always go wrong, but the
defenders can at least provide that opportunity.”
248 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWELVE: A Trump in Time
Introduction
“Sometimes listening to the auction warns the defenders that declarer is
about to use dummy’s trumps to ruff losers. At other times, the defenders
don’t find out until after the dummy comes down. Even then, it may not be
too late to interfere with declarer’s plan.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the fourth pre-dealt hand. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #7, Deal 4)
Dealer: West ;743
kQJ75
l K Q 10 6
'K9
;KJ952 N ; Q 10 8
kA8 W E kK963
l982 lJ5
S
'A75 'J642
;A6
k 10 4 2
lA743
' Q 10 8 3
The Bidding
“What is West’s opening bid? (1;.) North and South pass throughout the
auction. Can East support partner’s suit? (Yes.) What does East respond?
(2;.) How does the auction proceed from there? (Pass, pass, pass.) What
is the contract? (2;.) Who is the declarer? (West.)”
Lesson 7 — Interfering with Declarer 249
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (North.) What would the opening lead be?
(lK, top of touching high cards.) Which card would South play on the
first trick? (l7.) Why? (An encouraging signal.) After seeing the dummy,
what does North do next? (Leads a trump.) Why? (To stop declarer from
ruffing a diamond in the dummy.) How can South cooperate? (By winning
the ;A and leading another spade.) What must South be careful to do if
declarer leads a second diamond from dummy? (Play a low diamond, not
the lA.) Why? (South wants North to be able to win the trick and lead
another trump. South has no trumps left to lead.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer can afford five losers and has one spade loser, three
diamond losers and two club losers. Declarer may be able to eliminate
a diamond loser by ruffing one in dummy. Declarer plans to give up two
diamond tricks before drawing trumps.)”
Conclusion
“The defenders must work together to prevent declarer from getting any
undeserved tricks. They will have to visualize how declarer is planning to
make the contract and do their best to disrupt those efforts.”
250 Defense in the 21st Century
LESSON 8
Making A Plan
General Concepts
General Introduction
Group Activities
Sample Deals
252 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL CONCEPTS
Defense
The defenders’ PLAN
s Step One — The objective
s Step Two — Counting tricks
s Step Three — The alternatives
s Step Four — Putting it all together
Before the opening lead
s Defending a notrump contract
s Defending a suit contract
After suit preference
s Using the PLAN
s Working together
s Overriding the guidelines
Bidding
Competitive bidding
s When an opponent overcalls
s The penalty double
s When an opponent makes a takeout double
s Competing for partscore
Play of the Hand
Handling the trump suit
s Drawing trumps
s Delaying drawing trumps
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 253
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
For those students who have taken the Bidding in the 21st Century, Play of the Hand in the 21st
Century and Defense in the 21st Century courses, this will be their twenty-fourth lesson. Up to this
time, they have played approximately four deals per lesson. Following this course, they should be
practicing what they have learned with the two play courses for advancing players*. This will help
the students pick up the speed at which they bid and play. This lesson is a good place to start the
transition. In this lesson, there are eight deals for the students to play. Although it might seem that
by this time they have played a lot of bridge, it is possible that many of them are still participating
very passively. Even if they have attended all of the lessons and played all of the deals, each of the
students will have been declarer only a little over twenty times, and with a lot of guidance most of
those times.
The emphasis in this lesson is on the defenders’ PLAN. It is similar in structure to declarer’s
PLAN. The aim is to encourage the students to think how they might defeat the contract, rather than
to focus on the play of an individual suit, and to follow the guidelines such as second hand low or
third hand high.
“In previous lessons, we have looked at various techniques the defenders
can use. We saw how they can work with one another to take their tricks
and interfere with declarer’s PLAN for taking tricks. We have developed a
number of guidelines to help handle situations in which you are not sure of
the best play. Now we will put everything together and see how the defenders
go about making an overall PLAN to defeat declarer. Having a PLAN will
help you decide when to apply the guidelines and when to ignore them.
“The defenders ideally want to make their PLAN in the same fashion as
declarer. They go through the same four steps:
1. Pause to consider your objective
2. Look at your winners and losers
3. Analyze your alternatives
4. Now put it all together
“In the defenders’ terms, the first step is to determine how many tricks are
required to defeat the contract. For example, if declarer is in a contract of
4k, what is the defenders’ objective? (To take four tricks.)
*Play Course for Advancing Players – I
*Play Course for Advancing Players – II
254 Defense in the 21st Century
“The second step is to see how many tricks you have to start with. Since
you can’t see your combined holding in every suit, this is usually difficult
to determine. You can start by making an estimate and then revise it as you
get more information. When you are on lead against a notrump contract,
you may be able to see some sure tricks. When you are defending a suit
contract, your aces may not take a trick unless they are in the trump suit.
However, the auction will usually give you some idea of which cards may
take tricks.
“In the third step, Analyze your alternatives, you have to bring your
imagination into play. You have seen most of the techniques for developing
tricks — promotion, finesses and so forth. You will often have to visual-
ize the possible layout of the suit to see the opportunities for tricks. As the
play progresses, the alternatives will become clearer. Partner’s signals and
declarer’s line of play may give you the clues you need.
“In the last step, you have to Now put it all together. For example, you may
be able to get a trick from a suit, provided it is led from partner’s side of
the table. You will have to plan how to bring that about. You also have to
work with your partner, so that you are both headed in the same direction.
While your initial plans may differ, they should merge into one as the hand
is played out.”
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 255
GROUP ACTIVITIES
EXERCISE ONE: Before Dummy Comes Down
Introduction
“Although the defenders can’t see each other’s hands, the idea of making a
PLAN is important. The defenders, however, have to be more flexible than
declarer. Their PLAN will change as the play progresses and they get more
information.
“For example, before the opening lead is made, a defender is looking at only
13 cards and has only those cards and the auction as a guide. Pausing to
consider the objective is straightforward enough. You know what the contract
is and can work out how many tricks you will need to defeat it. Determining
the number of tricks you have is much more difficult when you are looking
at only one hand. You will have to make your best initial estimate.
“Analyzing where you will get your tricks is a very creative exercise since
you have so little to go on, but it helps to make some preliminary assessment.
Thinking about where tricks might come from may influence your opening
lead, drawing you away from the old standbys. Putting everything together is
difficult, but you can at least get the ball rolling before dummy appears.
“Let’s see how you go through the planning steps before making an open-
ing lead.”
Instructions
“You (West) are on lead with the hand in Exercise One:
; 10 9 8 3
kK5
lAQ3
'J642
“The auction has gone:
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
(DUMMY) (PARTNER) (DECLARER) (YOU)
1k Pass
2' Pass 2l Pass
2k Pass 4k Pass
Pass Pass
“How do you plan to defeat the contract? What is your opening lead?”
256 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Go through the steps of the PLAN with the group to show how they can be applied.
“Before deciding on your opening lead, go through the steps of the PLAN
to see if it can point you in some direction beyond the general guidelines.
The first step is Pause to consider your objective. You need four tricks to
defeat declarer’s 4k contract.
“The next step is Look at your winners and losers. The kK will be a trick
if the kA is in declarer’s hand, where you might expect it to be. The lA
is likely to be a trick unless one of the opponents is void. Since declarer
bid diamonds, there is no reason to suspect a void or to believe that dummy
will be unusually short of diamonds. You can’t determine much more with
any degree of certainty.
“The third step is Analyze your alternatives. Where can you get the ad-
ditional tricks you need? The lQ has definite potential. Since diamonds
were bid, declarer is likely to have the lK and it will be best to wait until
partner or declarer leads that suit. The club suit is not too promising since
your left-hand opponent bid that suit. Spades is the unbid suit. There is some
possibility that partner may have a trick in that suit.
“The final step is Now put it all together. You are not exactly sure where all
of your tricks will come from, but it looks as though the best lead is a spade.
You are hoping that partner will have a trick in that suit and will be able to
lead a diamond, trapping declarer’s lK. Together with the kK, prospects
are not too bad. You will lead the ;10, top of touching high cards, and wait
to see dummy. After seeing dummy, you may want to revise your plan, but
that is the best you can do for now.”
Conclusion
“Although your PLAN will be very rough until you have seen dummy, it is
still worthwhile going through the process. You start to form a picture of
the missing hands and avoid stepping off in the wrong direction with your
opening lead. The details will be clarified as the play progresses, but you
are starting from a sound basis.”
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 257
EXERCISE TWO: After Dummy Comes Down
Introduction
“After the opening lead has been made, you have more information on which
to base your PLAN. You see your hand, the dummy and the cards partner
and declarer play to the first trick. This is usually enough to formulate a
sound plan. Of course, there will still be some unknowns. You will need to
be flexible and willing to modify your PLAN as you go along.
“Both partners are formulating their PLANs. As the play progresses, the
two individual plans should start to merge into a single, unified effort. Let’s
look at an example.”
Instructions
“You (East) are defending a contract of 4; after the bidding has gone:
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
(DUMMY) (YOU) (DECLARER) (PARTNER)
1l Pass 1; Pass
1NT Pass 4; Pass
Pass Pass
“Partner leads the k2 and dummy is put down as in Exercise Two:
DUMMY
Contract: 4; ;K5
Lead: k2 k 10 7 5
lKQJ7
'AJ73
LEAD YOU
k2 ;842
kA964
lA
' 10 8 6 5 2
“How do you plan to defeat the contract?”
258 Defense in the 21st Century
Follow-up
Again, lead the students through the planning steps.
“While it is tempting to follow the guidelines and play third hand high and
then return partner’s suit, you should first formulate your PLAN. When
you Pause to consider your objective, you know that you need four tricks.
When you Look at your winners and losers, you see two aces. When you
Analyze your alternatives, there is some potential in the heart suit. If partner
has the kK, that should be a third trick for the defense. It is possible that
partner may be able to take two heart tricks, but that is unlikely. If partner
has four hearts, declarer has only two and will be able to ruff the third round.
The spade and club suits do not look too promising. If you look further,
however, you can see the potential for getting a trump trick through a ruff
in the diamond suit. That looks like the most promising plan.
“Now put it all together. Take the first trick with the kA. This is in line
with the third hand high guideline. But rather than immediately returning
partner’s suit, your PLAN calls for leading the lA next. Now you return
partner’s suit, leading back the k4 to partner’s hoped-for kK. Even if
partner does win the third trick with the kK, it is not all over. Partner’s
PLAN has to agree with yours. Obviously, partner wasn’t planning to give
you a ruff in diamonds originally — otherwise a diamond would have been
led. Partner didn’t have the advantage of seeing the dummy, nor your hand.
Now that the defense has taken this sudden turn, you will have to hope that
partner can visualize what you are up to. If so, your PLAN will merge with
partner’s PLAN and a diamond will be led back for you to ruff. A lot of
planning, some cooperation and a fortunate lie of the cards can combine to
defeat the contract.”
Conclusion
“After dummy appears, you have more information to go on when making
your PLAN. Be sure to look at the whole picture before automatically fol-
lowing a guideline such as returning your partner’s lead. Focus on how you
can get enough tricks to defeat the contract.”
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 259
EXERCISE THREE: Competitive Bidding
Introduction
“Sometimes you and your partner can have an orderly exchange of informa-
tion with no interference from the opponents. At other times, the opponents’
bidding can get in the way. In many cases, even though the opponents bid,
your side still can get to the best contract.
“If both sides are competing, you will sometimes have a difficult decision
to make. You can pass and let them play in their contract, hoping you can
defeat them. Or you can bid on, perhaps overreaching yourself or perhaps
pushing the opponents higher still. Competitive bidding is part of what makes
the game so exciting. There are lots of challenges on the way to reaching
the appropriate contract.
“If an opponent makes a takeout double, no bidding room is taken up. You
can continue to bid as though nothing has happened. In the More Commonly
Used Conventions course, we will look at the use of the redouble, but for
now, natural bidding will suffice to keep you out of trouble.
“When an opponent overcalls, this bid may interfere with what you were
planning to do. If it does, you will have to do the best that you can. Some-
times a suitable alternative will be available. If not, you may have to pass and
await further developments. Remember that your partner will get another
chance to bid when an opponent intervenes in the auction.
“An additional possibility is the penalty double. Once partner has made a
bid, a double is no longer for takeout. If you are sure the opponents have
overreached themselves, you can double for penalty to increase your score
when you defeat them. Make sure you have enough to defeat them before
doubling. It can be quite expensive if they end up making their contract.
“Let’s look at some examples of how you handle the bidding when an op-
ponent overcalls.”
260 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“Your partner opens the bidding 1k and the opponent on your right overcalls
2'. What do you bid on each of the hands in Exercise Three?”
1) ;A93 2) ;J642 3) ; A 10 7
kK86 k84 kK6
l 10 7 6 2 lQ72 lAJ874
'J94 'J863 '942
2k
1) ________________ Pass
2) _________________ 2l
3) ________________
4) ;J62 5) ; K 10 3 6) ; A J 10 7 3
kKQ72 k43 k 10 3
l A 10 7 6 2 l Q 10 6 2 lAQ874
'4 'AQJ9 '9
3' (4k)
4) ________________ 3NT
5) _________________ 2;
6) ________________
Follow-up
Since the focus is on playing, we want to quickly review this aspect of the bidding. Make a state-
ment that can help the students come up with a quick answer. For example, you might say:
“On the first hand, has the opponent’s bid interfered with your normal re-
sponse? (No. You were planning to raise to 2k anyway.)
“On the second hand, what were you planning to respond if there was no
interference? (Pass.) What do you do? (Pass.)
“On the third hand, what would you have responded if your right-hand
opponent had passed? (2l.) Is there any reason to change your intended
bid? (No.)
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 261
“On the fourth hand, what were you planning to bid? (2lbefore raising to
game.) After the 2' overcall, you can cuebid 3' to force partner to bid
(planning to raise to 4k). In many partnerships, the partners agree to play
their jump raises as limit (or weaker) bids in competition, so a jump to 4k
would be preemptive in nature.
“On hand number five, you were planning to bid clubs, but the opponent beat
you to it. What can you do? This is a perfect hand for a penalty double — lots
of cards in their suit and shortness in partner’s suit. Even if the opponents
bid another suit, you can be fairly confident of defeating them. But what
if you are vulnerable and the opponents are not? The penalty you collect
might not compensate for a vulnerable game. (Bid 3NT.) In Lesson 9, you
will be introduced to a convention called the Negative Double. You will be
shown how negative doubles and penalty doubles work together.
“On the last hand, what were you planning to respond originally? (1;.)
What can you do now that the opponents have intervened? (Bid 2;.) With
a choice of two five-card suits, bid the higher-ranking.”
Conclusion
“When both sides are in the bidding, it is important to listen to the bids
made by the opponents, but make it your priority to listen to partner’s bid
and respond accordingly. Try not to let the opponents’ bidding interfere with
your natural exchange of information. Many times a bid by the opponent is
a nuisance, but it should not prevent you from getting to the best contract
— unless you let it.”
262 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FOUR: Drawing Trumps
Introduction
“Declarer goes through the same planning steps as the defenders. When it
comes to putting it all together, one of the critical decisions in a suit contract
is whether or not to draw trumps. Declarer usually wants to draw trumps
as quickly as possible to prevent the opponents from ruffing any winners.
Declarer may have to delay drawing trumps, however, if there are other
priorities. Trumps may be needed for ruffing losers or as entries between
the two hands. Or declarer might have too many quick losers and be unable
to draw trumps without giving up the lead. In that case, declarer will have
to take care of some of the losers first.
“Let’s look at an example of how declarer plans to handle the trump suit.”
Instructions
“How do you PLAN to play the hand in Exercise Four in a contract of 6'
after an opening lead of the kK?”
DUMMY
;K9
kA964
lAQ7
' 10 9 6 3
LEAD
kK
DECLARER
;AQJ5
kJ7
l8
'KQJ852
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 263
Follow-up
Work with the whole group and go over the four steps in declarer’s PLAN.
“Your first step is Pause to consider your objective. You need 12 tricks and
so you can afford only one loser. Next, Look at your winners and losers.
You have one heart loser and one trump loser, one too many. Analyze your
alternatives. You can’t do anything about the trump loser, so you will have
to eliminate the heart loser. Your only option is to discard it on an extra
winner in dummy. There are no sure winners available, but you may be able
to create one with the help of a successful diamond finesse. That play risks
the contract being defeated by two tricks, but it is worth the risk if you can
make your slam contract.
“Now put it all together. Can you afford to draw trumps first? (No. You will
have to let the opponents in with the 'A and your heart loser is quick — the
opponents will take it right away.) You must take the diamond finesse first
and discard your loser. After winning the kA, you are in the wrong hand
to take a finesse. You will have to cross to your hand using the spade suit as
an entry. Then lead a diamond — and cross your fingers!”
Conclusion
“Handling the trump suit is declarer’s most important task. Declarer’s PLAN
helps lead declarer in the right direction. On this deal, by consulting the
PLAN, declarer can see that it’s necessary to delay drawing trumps until a
loser has been eliminated.”
S
264 Defense in the 21st Century
SAMPLE DEALS
EXERCISE FIVE: Making A Plan
Introduction
The last eight exercises are pre-dealt deals and the students get to put their PLANs into practice.
There are different ways you can handle this. Because the idea of making a PLAN is still relatively
new, it may be a good idea to turn up all of the cards and go over the bidding, defense and play
outline before actually playing out the deal. If this seems too easy, you might discuss two or more
deals together before letting them play the deals out. For most classes, this will still be challenging
enough. You may want to guide them through the bidding. Otherwise, some of the defensive ideas
may get lost when the students end up in an unusual contract.
“Now we will play some deals. This week, we will play twice as many
as before. We will try to get you used to playing more deals at a slightly
faster rate. This is in preparation for playing a ‘real’ game of competitive
bridge.
“On each deal, try to make an appropriate PLAN, whether you are declarer
or a defender. Let’s see who comes out on top.
“The first deal shows the importance of making a defensive PLAN and not
merely following your trusty guidelines.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the first pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #8, Deal 1)
Dealer: North ;8
k J 10 9 2
lA862
' A 10 4 3
; 10 7 6 3 N ;AKQ942
k853 kAQ6
W E
lKQ l43
'KQJ7 S '86
;J5
kK74
l J 10 9 7 5
'952
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 265
The Bidding
“North and South pass throughout the auction. What would East open the
bidding? (1;.) How does West plan to show support for partner’s major
with 12 dummy points? (West begins with 2', planning to jump to 4;
after East’s rebid.) How does the auction proceed? (East rebids 3;, and
West rebids 4;, followed by three passes.) What is the contract? (4;.)
Who is the declarer? (East.)”
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (South.) What would the opening lead be?
(lJ.) After seeing the dummy, how does North plan to defeat the contract?
(The defenders need four tricks. North has two tricks. The other tricks will
have to come with partner’s help. Neither diamonds nor clubs looks promis-
ing. The heart suit is the best possibility. North plans to lead a heart rather
than return partner’s suit.)”
You may need to discuss the variations with the students, depending on whether declarer plays
the kA or kQ when North leads a heart. Whatever declarer does, it should make no difference to
the final outcome.
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer has four losers and can afford only three. Declarer can’t
do much about the missing 'A and lA, but there are two possibilities
for eliminating losers in the heart suit. One is to discard them on dummy’s
extra club winners after the 'A has been driven out. The other is to take a
finesse. If the defenders are cooperative, declarer plans to draw trumps and
then establish the club suit.)”
Conclusion
“North needed to formulate a PLAN — otherwise North might miss the
necessity to switch to hearts rather than blindly return partner’s suit.”
266 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE SIX: Finding a Shift
Introduction
“On the next deal, it is the opening leader who must be careful to make a
PLAN and revise it later. The opening lead is easy enough, but this defender
must make use of the new information available as the play progresses.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the second pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #8, Deal 2)
Dealer: East ; 10 6
k A K Q 10
l 10 7 3
'9743
;AQJ953 N ;K8
kJ8 k9654
W E
lK6 lAQJ5
' J 10 6 S 'K82
;742
k732
l9842
'AQ5
The Bidding
“What would East open the bidding? (1l.) North and South pass through-
out. What does West respond? (1;.) What does East rebid? (1NT.) What
level does West know the partnership belongs in? (Game.) Is there a Golden
Fit? (Yes, in spades.) What does West rebid? (4;.)”
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 267
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (North.) What would the opening lead be?
(kA.) What is North’s original PLAN? (The defenders need four tricks.
North plans to start by taking as many heart tricks as possible and probably
finding partner with some help in another suit. North may be able to see
what to do more clearly after seeing the dummy.) What further information
does North have after the second trick? (Declarer’s kJ and partner’s low-
high signal seem to confirm that declarer started with two hearts and partner
with three.) Which cards might partner hold to defeat the contract? (Partner
might have a trump trick and a club trick, or two club tricks.)”
It may be difficult for North to find the club switch, but all of the clues point in that direction.
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer has two heart losers and two potential club losers. When
declarer gets the lead, the plan is to draw trumps and then discard two clubs
on dummy’s extra diamond winners. If the opponents lead a club early on,
declarer has the possibility of a successful club finesse, by guessing whether
North has the 'A or the 'Q.)”
Conclusion
“This deal again shows the importance of making a defensive PLAN. On
seeing the dummy and partner’s first card, the situation becomes a lot clearer,
and the PLAN should be modified accordingly. It may not provide all of the
answers, but it can point you in the appropriate direction.”
268 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE SEVEN: Making Use of Signals
Introduction
“It is natural to encourage when you like a suit and discourage when you
do not like the suit. The overall PLAN takes priority over an individual suit,
however, and you must be careful to use your signals wisely, as the next
deal illustrates.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the third pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #8, Deal 3)
Dealer: South ;AK
k K J 10 6 5
l Q 10 3
'KQJ
; J 10 9 6 3 N ;Q82
kA93 k742
W E
l74 lAKJ9
'952 S '764
;754
kQ8
l8652
' A 10 8 3
The Bidding
“South and West pass. Why can’t North open 1NT? (The hand is too strong.)
What does North bid? (1k.) East passes. Without support for opener’s suit
and no suit to bid at the one level, what does South respond? (1NT.) West
passes. How does North show maximum strength and balanced distribution?
(Rebids 3NT.) How does the bidding proceed from there? (Pass, pass, pass.)
Who is the declarer? (South.)”
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 269
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (West.) What would the opening lead be?
(;J, top of a sequence in the longest suit.) Does East like the suit partner
led? (Yes.) How does East plan to defeat the contract? (If West can get the
lead and lead a diamond through dummy’s lQ, the defenders will have
four diamond tricks and the kA for down one. This looks like a better
alternative than trying to establish the spade suit.) What signal does East
give on the first trick? (;2, discouraging. East wants partner to switch to
a diamond when gaining the lead.)”
West may not find the diamond switch when in the lead with the kA, but all of the signals are
there — if West is paying attention.
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (With two sure tricks in spades and four in clubs, declarer plans
to promote tricks in the heart suit to make the contract. In putting the PLAN
together, declarer plans to start by leading a heart to the kQ, high card
from the short side first.)”
Conclusion
“This deal shows the importance of defensive signals in the overall PLAN.
You make an encouraging or discouraging signal based on the message you
want to send partner, not necessarily your particular holding in the suit.”
270 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE EIGHT: The Lesser of Evils
Introduction
“This next deal continues the theme of the previous deal. The defenders
must use their signals to accomplish their objective. This may require some
thought.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the fourth pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #8, Deal 4)
Dealer: West ;K6
kA9542
lA43
'K64
;J9742 N ; A 10 3
k6 kK73
W E
lJ72 l 10 9 8 6
' J 10 9 3 S 'A85
;Q85
k Q J 10 8
lKQ5
'Q72
The Bidding
“West passes. What is North’s opening bid? (1k.) East passes. How
does South show a strong hand and support for partner’s major? (South
plans to bid game after making a temporizing bid of 2'. This is not an
ideal bid for South, bidding a three-card suit, but all other bids are more
unsuitable.) West passes. What does North rebid? (2NT.) How does the
auction proceed from there? (South rebids 4k, followed by three passes.)
Who is the declarer? (North.)”
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 271
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (East.) What is East’s PLAN? (The defenders
need four tricks. East has potential tricks in spades, hearts and clubs. One
more trick needs to be found. It is not clear where it will come from, but it
does not look as though there is any need for panic. East plans to make a
normal opening lead. After seeing the dummy, East will have a better idea of
how to proceed. What would the opening lead be? (l10, top of a sequence.)
Does West like the suit partner has led? (Not particularly. It’s clear that the
defenders have no tricks in that suit.) Does West prefer another suit? (No.)
Which card would West play on the first trick? (l7.) Why? (West does
not want to discourage partner and influence partner to try another suit.)
When East regains the lead, how does East plan to defend? (To lead another
diamond.) Why? (Partner has made an encouraging signal in diamonds. It
doesn’t appear that West wants East to shift to another suit.)”
This is a difficult deal for the defenders. The basic idea is to defend passively, waiting for their
tricks. If East leads a spade or club early on, declarer can make the contract. It may be difficult for
West to see why East should be encouraged to continue leading diamonds. You may have to explain
it as the “lesser of evils.”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer has one spade loser, one heart loser and two club
losers. Declarer hopes the heart finesse will eliminate the loser in that suit.
Otherwise, declarer may have to find an opponent with a doubleton 'A and
lead toward one of the high cards, ducking on the way back. If the defenders
can be induced to lead either the ;A or the 'A, however, declarer will
end up with only one club loser. If the ;A is led, declarer will be able to
discard a club loser on dummy’s ;Q.)”
Conclusion
“A defender must be careful to look at the overall picture of the hand before
making a signal. There may be times when you have to encourage partner to
keep leading a worthless suit to avoid having something worse happen.”
272 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE NINE: Third Hand not so High
Introduction
“Sometimes the defenders may be able to defeat the contract only by
using the trump suit against declarer and getting a ruff. This always will
require some cooperation between the defenders. Both defenders will
have to be basing their decisions on the same PLAN.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the fifth pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #8, Deal 5)
Dealer: North ;84
k972
lA863
'KQ86
; K 10 9 5 ;QJ73
N
kAQ3 kKJ8
l Q 10 4 W E lKJ75
'954 S 'AJ
;A62
k 10 6 5 4
l92
' 10 7 3 2
The Bidding
“North and South pass throughout. What would East open the bidding?
(1NT.) At what level does West know the partnership belongs? (Game.) Is
there a Golden Fit in a major suit? (Maybe, in spades.) How can West find
out? (By bidding 2', the Stayman convention.) What does East rebid?
(2;.) What does West rebid? (4;.) How does the auction proceed from
there? (Pass, pass, pass.) What is the contract? (4;.) Who is the declarer?
(East.)”
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 273
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (South.) How might South plan to get a sec-
ond trick from the trump suit? (South might be able to get a second trump
trick by ruffing a diamond.) What would the opening lead be? (l9.) How
does North know that partner is unlikely to have a singleton diamond? (De-
clarer has shown a balanced hand with a four-card spade suit and is unlikely
to have a five-card diamond suit as well.) How does North plan to defeat
the contract? (North has a diamond trick and a likely club trick. North can
hope that South can win a trump trick before trumps are drawn. North may
then be able to give South a diamond ruff.) Which card would North play
on the first trick? (l8.) Why? (North wants to encourage South to lead
another diamond if South gets in with a trump early in the play. North can
then give South a ruff.)”
The defense is very difficult and requires careful cooperation between the partners. South may
have to be directed to lead a diamond to get the defenders off on the right foot. Persuading North to
duck the first diamond also will be a challenge.
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer has one spade loser, one diamond loser and one club
loser and plans to draw trumps as quickly as possible, since the only danger
is that the defenders will be able to ruff one of the winners.)”
Conclusion
“This deal requires close cooperation between the defenders. They must
both visualize the possibility of a diamond ruff and merge their plans to
bring about the desired result.”
274 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TEN: Working Together
Introduction
“Working together on the same PLAN has to become a habit for the de-
fenders. The next deal is another case where both defenders must be on the
same wavelength.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the sixth pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #8, Deal 6)
Dealer: East ; Q J 10
kK32
l Q 10 7 5
'K94
;K8652 N ;A93
k 10 6 4 k985
W E
l83 lA62
'J86 S ' 10 5 3 2
;74
kAQJ7
lKJ94
'AQ7
The Bidding
“East and West pass throughout. What does South open the bidding? ( 1NT.)
What does North respond? (3NT.) How does the auction proceed from
there? (Pass, pass, pass.) What is the contract? (3NT.) Who is the declarer?
(South.)”
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 275
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (West.) How does West plan to defeat the
contract? (West wants to establish enough winners in the spade suit to de-
feat the contract.) What would the opening lead be? (;5, fourth highest.)
Which card does East play to the first trick? (;A, third hand high.) How
does East plan to defeat the contract? (By helping partner establish winners
in the spade suit, the defenders hope to get four spade tricks to go with the
lA.) Which card does East return? (;9, top of the remaining doubleton.)
Which card does West play? (;2 or another low spade.) Why? (West needs
to keep the ;K as an entry to the spade winners once they are established.)
Does East plan to hold up if declarer leads diamonds? (No. This is not a
hold-up situation. There are plenty of entries to dummy. East wants to use
this entry as soon as possible to lead another spade.)”
The defenders must again cooperate closely. If there is any deviation in the PLAN, declarer can
make the contract. For example, if East holds up once in the diamond suit, declarer can take nine
tricks.
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer starts with four heart tricks and three club tricks and
will get a spade trick if the defenders continue to lead the suit. Declarer
needs to develop one more trick, and this can come from the diamond suit,
through promotion.)”
Conclusion
“To establish a long suit and then take the winners, both defenders will have
to be working on the same PLAN. The initial lead will often dictate what
the general PLAN is. From that point on, the defenders should be working
together.”
276 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE ELEVEN: Trump Promotion
Introduction
“The trump suit often presents opportunities for the defenders as well as
declarer. They usually want to stop declarer from ruffing losers in the dummy.
But the overall PLAN may call for the exact opposite.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the seventh pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy
style at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #8, Deal 7)
Dealer: South ; 10 9 8 6 5 2
k642
lKQ
'KQ
;J73 N ;4
kAQ85 k J 10 9 7
W E
l 10 8 3 l9764
'A75 S '9842
;AKQ
kK3
lAJ52
' J 10 6 3
The Bidding
“What is South’s opening bid? (South has too many points to open 1NT
with this balanced 18 HCP hand. South should start by bidding 1l and
plan to jump in notrump for the rebid.) East and West pass throughout.
What does North bid? (North begins by bidding 1; and awaits South’s
rebid to make any further determination about the hand.) How does the
bidding proceed from there? (South jumps to 2NT. North now knows that
South has a balanced hand with 18 or 19 HCP. With this information, North
knows there is a Golden Fit in spades and rebids 4;.) What should happen
then? (Everyone should pass.) What is the final contract? (4;.) Who is the
declarer? (North.)
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 277
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (East.) What would the opening lead be?
(kJ.) How many defensive tricks can West see? (Three, provided declarer
does not have a singleton heart — two heart tricks and the 'A.) What
possibilities are there for defeating the contract? (East may have a second
club trick or, remotely, a diamond trick. Or West may be able to get a trick
with the ;J if West can force dummy to ruff.) What is West’s plan? (After
taking three sure tricks, West plans to lead another heart, unless East gives
an encouraging signal on the 'A. West hopes that North started with three
hearts and will have to ruff in dummy.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make
the contract? (Declarer has one potential spade loser, two heart losers and
one club loser. A heart loser may disappear if the kA is in the East hand.
There will be no spade loser if the ;J appears under one of declarer’s high
trumps.)”
Conclusion
“The defenders had to be quite ingenious to find the winning defense on
this deal. Making a PLAN, however, helps focus the defenders’ attention
on what to be looking for.”
278 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE TWELVE: Second Hand High
Introduction
“The defenders’ PLAN is the overall guiding principle. It takes precedence
over the general guidelines, as we will see on the last deal.”
Instructions
“Turn up the cards on the final pre-dealt deal. Put each hand dummy style
at the edge of the table in front of each player.”
(E-Z Deal Cards #8, Deal 8)
Dealer: West ; 10 8 3
k Q J 10 7 3
lJ72
'K7
;AK5 N ;Q62
k9652 kAK
W E
lAK6 l 10 5 3
' Q 10 4 S 'J9852
;J974
k84
lQ984
'A63
The Bidding
“What is West’s opening bid? (1NT.) North and South pass throughout the
auction. What does East respond? (3NT.) How does the auction proceed
from there? (Pass, pass, pass.) What is the contract? (3NT.) Who is the
declarer? (West.)”
Lesson 8 — Making A Plan 279
The Defense
“Who makes the opening lead? (North.) What would the opening lead be?
(kQ, top of a sequence.) How does South plan to defeat the contract? (From
North’s opening lead, South hopes the defense can establish enough heart
tricks to defeat the contract and get in to take them.) What does South plan
to do when in the lead? (Lead another heart.) If declarer leads a club, which
card should South play? ('A.) Why? (South wants to get in as quickly
as possible to establish North’s heart tricks before any entry North has is
driven out.)”
The Play
“Review the steps in declarer’s PLAN. How does declarer plan to make the
contract? (Declarer has three sure tricks in spades, two in hearts and two in
diamonds. The two extra tricks required can come from promotion in the
club suit, once the 'A and 'K are driven out.)”
Conclusion
“Guidelines such as second hand low are useful only when you are in doubt
as to what is the best play. When you make a PLAN, your doubts may disap-
pear. You make the best play to defeat the contract, ignoring the guideline
if necessary.”
280 Defense in the 21st Century
LESSON 9
Negative Doubles
General Concepts
General Introduction
Group Activities
Sample Deals
282 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL CONCEPTS
The Negative Double
This lesson covers the use of the negative double by responder when there is an overcall of partner’s
opening suit bid. The students should be familiar with two other doubles – the takeout double and the
penalty double. This lesson introduces a third use for the double. For most students, understanding
the concept of the negative double should not be difficult.
During the lesson, it’s important to emphasize the flexibility of the double and the necessity
for firm partnership agreements to avoid confusion. While the negative double has become one of
the most commonly used and misused conventions, it is a “must-have” convention in our Standard
American/five-card major system.
Bidding
The Negative Double
Applies only after a one-level suit opening bid by partner and an overcall in another suit by
the next opponent.
Shows support for the two unbid suits.
The double should always promise four-card support for an unbid major.
A negative double of a one-level overcall promises at least 6 points.
A negative double of a two-level overcall promises at least 8 total points.
Responder’s Bids
The negative double is used to look for 4–4 fits.
A suit bid tends to show a five-card or longer suit.
After a 1 overcall of a minor suit opening, responder bids 1 with a five-card spade suit
and makes a negative double with a four-card spade suit.
Without the strength to introduce a five-card suit at the required level, responder starts with
a negative double, planning to bid the suit at the next opportunity.
Negative Double through what level?
SAYC (Standard American Yellow Card) says negative doubles apply through 2 .
Negative doubles can be used through much higher levels.
The level is ultimately decided through partnership agreement.
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 283
Doubling for Penalty
As soon as you introduce the negative double, students want to know what happens when they
want to make a penalty double of the overcall. This is actually the most challenging part of the lesson,
since it involves a reopening (balancing) double. Many of the students may not have heard of this
type of double. The key to a proper balancing double is shortness in the opponent’s suit. The student
text, as well as the Learn to Play Bridge 2 program, provides a number of guidelines to determine
the best action in the balancing position.
Opener’s Rebid
Opener assumes responder has support for both unbid suits and enough strength to compete
based upon the level required for opener’s minimum rebid.
With a minimum-opening bid, rebid at the cheapest available level.
With a medium-strength hand, jump a level.
With a maximum-strength hand, go to game.
Responder’s Rebid after Making a Negative Double
With a minimum hand (6 to 9 total points),
Pass opener’s minimum rebid.
Give a simple preference to opener’s original suit, or
Bid a new suit without a jump.
With an invitational-strength hand (10 or 11 total points)
Bid again to invite opener to game.
With a maximum hand of 12 or more points,
Bid game.
Play & Defense
Negative doubles in action
The deals in this lesson show the negative double in action. Since the bidding concepts may be
new, the emphasis is on the auction and getting to the appropriate contract. It will be difficult to
control the actual final contract when the students find themselves in a competitive situation. The
format is different — suggesting bids and plays — since the students will begin to use judgment
and may achieve different results. Be sure to review the bidding carefully and discuss the play and
defense only after everyone is assumed to be in the appropriate final contract.
Challenging play concepts
Handling suit combinations
Trump management
Dummy reversal
284 Defense in the 21st Century
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
“So far you have learned two uses for a double. The first is a penalty double
– you don’t believe your opponents can make their contract, so you double
them and hope to collect a nice penalty. The second double is the takeout
double – your opponent has opened the bidding, and you double, asking
your partner to bid.
“Today we will learn another use for a double which is officially called the
negative double.”
GROUP ACTIVITIES
EXERCISE ONE: The Negative Double
Introduction
“Listen to this auction. North opens the bidding with 1 , East overcalls
with 1 , and South says “double.” Historically, this “double” signified
penalty. In the 1950’s, Alvin Roth and Tobias Stone said there was a better
use for the double in this situation. Originally called the Sputnik Double, the
convention they created is known as the negative double and is one of the
most popular and effective conventions ever devised. The negative double
now has replaced the penalty double at low levels in standard bidding. Let’s
see how it works.
“Open a deck of cards at the table, and everyone take a suit. Let’s put the
following hand on the table and make it South’s hand.”
Call the cards by saying, “In spades, give South two small cards, etc.” Remember that it is the
high cards and distribution that matter in this lesson. As the bidding examples are plentiful, you may
want to have your students use bidding boxes so they can follow the lesson more easily.
South’s hand: 72
AQ85
853
Q 10 9 7
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 Pass 1
“Let’s suppose North opens the bidding with 1 . What do you plan on
bidding? (1 .) South doesn’t have much, just eight high-card points, but
game is still possible if North has a good hand. The auction would proceed
until a final contract is reached.
“Let’s change the bidding just a bit. This time after North opens the bid-
ding, East makes an overcall of 1 . What are South’s options now over
this interference?
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 285
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 ?
“With eight high-card points, South cannot bid a suit at the two-level and
cannot bid 1NT without a spade stopper. Another possible call is to pass,
but this would not give North any indication of South’s strength and desire
to compete for the final contract. This is the situation where we will use
the negative double.
“A negative double is similar to a takeout double in that it is rare to want
to double an opponent’s one-level or two-level bid for penalty. Responder’s
double of an opponent’s low-level overcall is for takeout and shows support
for the unbid suits with enough strength to compete.
“Following this definition, we can see with the hand on the table that South
has four cards in each of the unbid suits – hearts and clubs – and enough
strength for the partnership to compete to the two level. South has the per-
fect negative double.
“Let’s change the bidding once again.
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 3 ?
“This time East overcalls 3 . There is an upper limit of 2 for an overcall
if responder’s double is to be defined as negative. This is the established
upper-level limit in Standard American bidding. However, there is nothing
to prevent a partnership from playing negative doubles through higher levels
of the bidding. If the overcall is at a higher level than agreed upon by the
partnership, then the double would be for penalty.
“Let’s change the bidding again.
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 2 ?
“This time East overcalls with 2 . Can South still make a negative double?
(Yes.) You can see that South is forcing North to bid at the three level (un-
less North decides to rebid notrump), so the South hand needs to have at
least eight total points. A negative double of a one-level overcall promises
at least six total points. A negative double of a two-level overcall, as in this
instance, promises at least eight total points.
“Let’s change the hand a bit. Add the Q and 8 and take away the Q
and 10.
South’s hand: Q872
AQ85
853
97
“This time North opens the bidding with 1 and East overcalls with 2 .
286 Defense in the 21st Century
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 2 ?
“Again, South can make a negative double to show both majors. In fact, a
negative double promises at least four cards in all of the unbid major suits.
When there are no unbid major suits, a negative double suggests at least
four cards in both minor suits.
“Once again, let’s make a change to South’s hand. Take away the 7 and
2 and replace them with the J and 4. Take away the A and Q
and replace them with the A and J.
South’s hand: Q8
85
AJ853
J974
“This time North opens the bidding with 1 and East overcalls with 1 .
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 ?
“You have nine total points and cannot bid on the two-level, but this hand
is perfect for a negative double. Again, don’t forget you need support for
both unbid suits – the minors in this case.
“Let make some changes to this hand. Add the K and J and take away
the A and J.
South’s hand: Q8
KJ85
853
J974
“This time the bidding goes like this. North opens the bidding with 1 and
East overcalls with 1 .
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 ?
“Remember, negative doubles promise four cards in each major. For the
responder to bid a new major suit at the one-level, all responder needs is at
least four cards in the suit and at least six total points. Regardless of whether
an overcall or a takeout double is made, the bid of a new suit at the one level
by the responder has the same requirements it would have over a pass by
the opponents. So, South’s bid is 1 .
“Let’s remove this hand from the table and create a totally new hand. Give
South the following cards:
South’s hand: AQ85
83
QJ7
K953
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 287
“North opens the bidding with 1 . When you hear North’s bid, you know
your partnership has enough total points for game. The question is what is
the correct strain? However, East interferes and overcalls 1 .
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 ?
“Again, your hand is perfect for a negative double. As we established before,
there is a minimum point requirement for making a negative double, but
there is no maximum point requirement. So, making a negative double with
an opening hand is totally appropriate.
“Let’s change this hand slightly. Take away a small diamond and add another
small spade.
South’s hand: AQ854
83
QJ
K953
“With the same bidding – 1 by North and a 1 overcall by East – the
overcall has provided a unique opportunity for South to show partner a hand
that has five spades. South does this by bidding 1 instead of making a
negative double. In other words, the heart overcall allows South to tell North
whether the hand has a four-card or a five-card spade suit.
“So, after hearing partner open a minor suit followed by an overcall of 1
by the opponents, you make a negative double with four spades and bid 1
with a five-card suit.
“Let’s change the hand once again. Switch the cards in the spade and heart
suits.
South’s hand: 83
AQ854
QJ
K953
“This time North opens 1 and East overcalls 1 . What should South
bid now? (2 .)
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 ?
“South should bid 2 . After an overcall, a new suit bid at the two-level or
higher shows at least 11 total points. If the new suit is a major, the responder
must have at least a five-card suit to take this action. If the responder’s hand
is appropriate for bidding a new major suit at the two level or higher, the
responder should make the bid and not use the negative double. This is an
important adjunct to our guidelines for using negative doubles. But what if
South doesn’t have the required 11 total points?
288 Defense in the 21st Century
“Take away the K and replace it with a small club. Replace the J with
a small diamond.
South’s hand: 83
AQ854
Q2
9532
“Now what do you bid? (Double.) Given the same auction with North open-
ing 1 and East overcalling 1 , you do not have enough points to freely
bid 2 . You must begin with a negative double, and perhaps you will get
an opportunity to show your five-card suit later in the bidding.
“Once again let’s change the hand. Take away a small club and add the J.
Take away a small diamond and add the J.
South’s hand: J83
AQJ854
Q
953
“North opens with 1 , and East overcalls 1 . It looks like South would
like to make the rare penalty double of a one-level overcall.
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 ?
“When you want to make a penalty double of an opponent’s overcall, you
should pass! When a partnership is using negative doubles and an opponent’s
overcall is passed around to the opener, the bidding should be reopened with
a double if the opener is short in the opponent’s suit. This would be a reopen-
ing double, which also is called a balancing double, because if the opener
should now pass, the bidding would have ended. It is beyond the scope of
this lesson to delve into balancing doubles per se, but please consult your
text for the guidelines that will help you understand further how negative
doubles and balancing doubles work together.”
Instructions
“Open your textbook to Exercise One in Chapter Nine. What would East
respond with each of the following hands after the auction starts:”
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 ?
1. A842 Double. With support for both unbid suits, the best action
85 is to begin with a negative double.
KQ87
10 9 8
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 289
2. KQ853 Bid 1 . When you bid spades over an overcall of 1 you
42 promise five spades. This is the perfect hand to show your
A J 10 8 five-card spade suit.
74
3. A73 Bid 1NT. The 1NT bid describes East’s hand accurately.
KJ8
J 10 9 8
743
4. K 10 5 4 Double. Although East doesn’t have support for diamonds,
94 East can support clubs if West picks diamonds and not
J4 spades.
KJ832
5. AQ42 Bid 3NT. Do not think of trying to double for penalties.
A Q 10 East’s hand has strong hearts, but not enough cards in the
Q74 suit. Settle for game.
854
6. 84 Pass. A double would be for takeout. East’s best chance to
K J 10 9 8 4 2 get a good score is to pass and hope that West will reopen
K9 with a double. East then will convert the double to penalty
Q3 by passing.
Follow-up
Go through each of the hands, making sure your students understand how negative doubles fit
into their bidding structure.
Conclusion
“When partner opens the bidding with one of a suit and the next player
overcalls in another suit through the 2 level, a double by responder is a
negative double. This bid is meant as takeout and not penalty.
“A negative double shows at least four cards in all of the unbid major suits.
When there are no unbid major suits, the negative double suggests at least
four cards in both minor suits.
“After a 1 or 1 opening and a 1 overcall, a negative double shows
exactly four spades and a 1 response promises at least five spades.
“A negative double of a one-level overcall promises at least 6 total points.
290 Defense in the 21st Century
“A negative double of a two-level overcall promises at least 8 total points.
“If responder doesn’t have enough strength to introduce a five-card suit at
the required level, responder starts with a negative double, planning to bid
the suit at the next opportunity.
“When there is an overcall followed by two passes, opener reopens (balances)
the bidding with shortness in the opponent’s suit, even with a minimum-
strength hand. This essentially is a takeout double, but responder can now
pass for penalty with length and strength in the opponent’s suit.”
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 291
EXERCISE TWO: Opener’s Rebid after a Negative Double
Introduction
“When responder makes a negative double, the opener has easy guidelines
to follow to determine the proper rebid. With a minimum-strength hand,
opener chooses a rebid at the cheapest available level. Actually, opener may
pass if the next opponent bids or redoubles after the negative double.
“With a medium-strength hand, opener jumps a level or bids further in
competition. With a maximum-strength hand, opener makes sure the part-
nership gets to game – even employing a cuebid of the opponent’s suit if
necessary.
“Let’s see how this all fits together by placing the following hand on the
table.
North’s hand: 43
KQ84
A4
A 10 9 8 7
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double
Pass ?
“North opens the bidding with 1 . East interferes with an overcall of 1
and South says “Double.” West passes. What would North rebid? (2 .) In
this sequence, North’s rebid of 2 is not a reverse. South’s bid implies that
South has at least four hearts.
“Let’s change the hand. Take away a small club and replace it with the K.
Again, the bidding remains this same, but does your rebid remain the same?
(No, you should rebid 3 with this medium-strength hand.)
North’s hand: 43
KQ84
A4
A K 10 9 8
“Let’s make another change. Take away a small diamond and replace it
with the K. Now what should North’s rebid be? (4 with this maximum
hand.)
North’s hand: 43
KQ84
AK
A K 10 9 8
292 Defense in the 21st Century
“Now take away a small heart and the K and replace them with the K
and a small spade. When you saw this hand, you were planning on open-
ing 1 and jumping a level in notrump to show your 19 HCP hand. But
remember how the bidding has gone:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double
Pass ?
North’s hand: K432
KQ8
AK
A 10 9 8
“So what will you bid? (2NT.)
“Take away North’s hand and put a new hand on the table.
North’s hand: A954
83
A Q 10 9 4
K6
“The bidding now goes:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 2 Double
Pass ?
“The higher the level of competition, the more opportunity there is to de-
feat the opponent’s contract. Remember, responder needs to be stronger to
make a negative double at the two-level. However, the negative double is
still meant as a takeout bid. What should North rebid? (With a minimum
hand, North should rebid 2 .)
“Let’s keep the hand the same, but let’s change the bidding.
“The bidding now goes:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double
2 ?
“Does North’s rebid of 2 stay the same? (Yes.) Bidding at the cheapest
level doesn’t promise extra values. With a stronger hand, North could jump in
the bidding. If opener’s right-hand opponent bids after responder’s negative
double, opener no longer has to bid. Passing essentially means that opener
has nothing valid to say.
“Let’s do an exercise. Will each table please work together as a team to try
to display a hand for North that would have to pass given this same bid-
ding.”
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 293
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double
2 ?
This may be a difficult but fun task for your class. Remember to look and evaluate each table.
Depending on the size of your class, you may want to have the students from each table get up and
look at the hands at the other tables.
“Let’s change the bidding a bit.
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 2 Double
Pass ?
“This time, class, work at each table to create a hand for North that would
pass South’s negative double, converting the double to a penalty double.”
Your students should have fun with this. Get them up and moving around and discuss the hands
your students display. Don’t expect them to be accurate. They should remember one of the key things
in converting a negative double to a penalty double is vulnerability. They don’t want to get 300 points
for a two trick set, if the opponents are non vulnerable and they can make a vulnerable game.
Instructions
“Open your text to Exercise Two in Chapter Nine. What does West rebid
with each of the following hands after the auction begins?”
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 2 Double Pass
?
1. A8432 2 . East has promised the unbid suits. Bid the heart suit
KJ95 at the lowest level with this minimum-strength hand.
A7
J8
2. KQ843 3 . East promised diamonds in addition to hearts. You
K4 prefer diamonds and have a medium-strength hand. A re-
A K J 10 bid of 2 would show a minimum-strength hand.
83
3. A J 10 5 4 2NT. West doesn’t have a fit with either of East’s suits, but
K3 does have clubs stopped. Bidding notrump at the cheapest
J93 available level shows a minimum-strength hand.
K Q 10
294 Defense in the 21st Century
4. A K J 10 4 3 2 . Opener tends to rebid a suit if that’s what opener
Q4 always planned on doing
K83
72
5. KQJ94 4 . West has a maximum-strength hand in support of
AQJ9 hearts and needs to jump to game.
AK9
8
6. AKQ53 Pass. This is the type of hand that West needs to hold in
5 order to convert a negative double to a penalty double.
84
K Q J 10 8
Follow-up
Make sure your students understand the bidding in the exercise examples.
Conclusion
“When you open the bidding and the opponent’s interfere with an overcall,
partner can make a negative double to show the other two suits. Your rebid
should be based on whether or not you have a fit with partner, as well as
the strength of your hand.
“With a minimum-strength hand, opener chooses a rebid at the cheapest
available level. Opener may pass if the next opponent bids or redoubles after
the negative double.With a medium-strength hand, opener jumps a level or
bids, even if there is further competition.With a maximum-strength hand,
opener gets the partnership to the game level, cuebidding the opponent’s
suit if in doubt about the best contract.
“Remember, opener rarely passes to convert a negative double into a penalty
double, unless opener holds considerable strength in the opponent’s suit.
Responder’s double is meant for takeout.”
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 295
EXERCISE THREE – Responder’s Rebid after a Negative Double
Introduction
Now, you and your students are getting into more complicated auctions with several bids and
rebids. This exercise will have both the North and South hands on the table.
“Let’s discuss responder’s rebid after a negative double. Give the following
hand to North:
North: A5
10 4
AQ743
K987
“Now give the following hand to South.
South: Q 10 7 3
852
86
A J 10 6
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double
Pass 2 Pass Pass
Pass
“North is the opener. What would North bid? (1 .) East makes a 1
overcall. What does South’s bid? (Double). South has enough to compete
over the overcall.
“West passes. What is North’s rebid? (2 .) With a minimum-strength open-
ing, North bids clubs at the cheapest available level.
“After East passes, what is South’s call? (Pass.) With a minimum for the
negative double, North passes opener’s minimum rebid. The partnership
stops in partscore in its best fit.
“Let’s change the South hand. Replace a small diamond with the K.
South: Q 10 7 3
852
K8
A J 10 6
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double
Pass 2 Pass 3
Pass Pass Pass
“Again North opens the bidding with 1 followed by a 1 overcall by
296 Defense in the 21st Century
East. South still has a negative double, but this time South has a medium
hand. After North rebids 2 , South makes a game try by bidding 3 . North
would pass the game try with this minimum hand.
“Let’s change the South hand again. Take away J and a small club and
add two small diamonds. Replace the Q with the J.
South: J 10 7 3
852
K865
A 10
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double
Pass 2 Pass 2
Pass Pass Pass
“Again North opens the bidding with 1 followed by a 1 overcall by East.
Does South still have a negative double without support in clubs? (Yes.)
If so, why? (Because South can go back and support diamonds.) South’s
simple preference back to opener’s first suit doesn’t promise anything extra,
so North passes, leaving the partnership in partscore.
“This time in the North hand, replace a small heart with the A. Also in
the North hand, replace the A with the J. In the South hand, replace the
J and a small spade with the A and Q. And, replace a small diamond
with the J.
North: J5 South: A Q 10 7
A 10 852
AQ743 K86
K987 A J 10
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double
Pass 2 Pass 2
Pass 2NT Pass 3NT
Pass Pass Pass
“Again North opens the bidding with 1 and East makes a 1 overcall.
What does South know about the level of the final contract for the partner-
ship? (They belong in game.) Should South begin with a negative double?
(Yes. South still wants to know if there is a spade fit.)
“When North rebids 2 , what should South bid? (2 .) South has discov-
ered that the partnership doesn’t have an eight-card spade fit, but still isn’t
certain what the best game contract would be. With no strength in hearts,
South doesn’t want to bid notrump, but South needs to find a forcing bid.
A jump to 3 would be invitational, so the only choice left is to cuebid the
opponent’s suit with a 2 call. Cuebidding the opponent’s suit is forcing
to game and gives South a chance to hear another bid from North before
deciding what to do.
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 297
“When South rebids 2 and West passes, what should North do next? (2NT).
North has already shown diamonds and clubs. With a semi-balanced hand,
what should South say now? (3NT.) South knows that North has something
in hearts and can put the partnership in game in notrump.
“Let’s change the hands once again. From South, take away the A and Q
and replace them with the Q and J. Take away the K and replace it
with a small spade. Take away the J and replace it with a small heart.
North: J5 South: 10 7 2
A 10 QJ8532
AQ743 86
K987 A 10
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
Pass 1 1 Double
Pass 2 Pass 2
Pass Pass Pass
“This time after North opens 1 , East overcalls with 1 . What is South’s
call? (Double.) South doesn’t have enough points to bid 2 . South could
pass and hope to get an opportunity to bid hearts later, but that might not
happen. Instead, South can start with a negative double.
“West passes, and North again rebids 2 to show a preference for clubs
over hearts. East passes. What should South now do? (2 ). This bid shows
a five-card or longer heart suit without enough strength to bid 2 directly
over 1 . Remember that after an overcall, a new suit bid at the two-level
or higher shows at least 11 total points.
“After West passes, what should North do? (Pass.) Since South has shown
five or more hearts but only enough strength to compete, South should pass
and leave the partnership in partscore. With these hands, 2 looks like the
correct level and strain.”
Instructions
“Open your text to Exercise Three in Chapter Nine. What does East call
with each of the following hands after the auction has started?”
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double Pass
1 Pass ?
1. 10 9 8 7 Pass. East has described this hand with the double. West’s
84 minimum rebid does not put game in sight. East should be
KQ94 willing to compete with 2 if necessary.
K82
298 Defense in the 21st Century
2. QJ96 3 . East has an invitational hand and should jump a
95 level inviting West to bid game
AQ94
J 10 9
3. AK82 4 . East always had enough points to bid game, and,
8 now that a spade fit has been uncovered, East knows the
AQ82 proper strain.
8764
Follow-up
The Introduction to this exercise may have been fairly intense for your students, but the exercise
was fairly simple. Make sure your students understand the use of the cuebid by responder.
Conclusion
“Remember the following responses for responder’s rebid:
“With nothing extra, responder passes opener’s minimum rebid. Responder
can give a simple preference to opener’s original suit or bid a new suit
without a jump.
“With an invitational-strength hand of 10 or 11 points, responder can bid
again. A raise of opener’s second suit, a jump preference of opener’s first
suit and 2NT are all invitational bids. After an overcall, the responder should
not bid notrump without a stopper in the suit that was overcalled.
“With 12 or more points, responder should get the partnership to the game
level. If responder still isn’t sure about the best contract after hearing opener’s
rebid, responder can cuebid the opponent’s suit. The cuebid is forcing to
the game level.”
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 299
EXERCISE FOUR – More Practice with Negative Doubles
Introduction
“When playing negative doubles, you also need to know what to do if both
opponents decide to compete. Listen to this auction:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double 2
Pass Pass ?
“East has a number of options – pass, support clubs, cuebid or bid a new
suit. The decision should be based upon the strength of East’s hand and the
length of the club suit. Put a hand on the table that your group feels would
qualify as a 2 rebid by East.”
The hand that your students display should be at least 4-3 (preferably 4-4) in the majors with four
club cards and no more than 9 points.
“You now know the basic convention for negative doubles. For more prac-
tice, along with additional information regarding negative doubles, please
download Learn to Play Bridge 2 and check out the chapter on ‘Bidding
– Conventions for Competitive Auctions.’ Remember when learning a new
convention, the more practice you have, the better.”
300 Defense in the 21st Century
Instructions
“Open your textbook to Exercise Four in Chapter Nine and let’s practice
more bidding using negative doubles. What call does South make in each
of the following situations?”
1. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH K4
1 2 Double Pass K J 10 9 5 3
2 Pass ? 83
753
2. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH AQ854
1 3 K73
Double Pass ? A J 6 5
9
3. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Q J 10 5 4
1 2 AQJ4
Pass Pass ? K93
8
4. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH KJ73
1 2 ? AQ84
QJ63
4
5. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH A K 10 9
1 2 KQJ8
Double Pass ? KQ74
5
6. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH K8
1 2 7
Double Pass ? AJ953
K Q 10 8 7
7. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH AQ853
1 1NT AJ97
Double Pass ? K6
54
8. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 9
2 2 83
Double Pass ? A K J 10 8 4
Q853
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 301
Answers to Exercise Four
1. 2 . East did not have enough points at first to bid 2 . After beginning with a negative
double, East can finish describing the hand.
2. Pass. West’s double of the 3 overcall is penalty, assuming you have agreed to play negative
doubles through the 2 level.
3. Double. With shortness in the opponent’s suit, East should reopen with a double. It is quite
likely that West has length and strength in clubs and wants to penalize the overcall. If that is the case,
West will pass the reopening double. If not, West will bid something.
4. 3 . After a major suit opening and an overcall by the opponents, the responder should prefer
a cuebid over a negative double when the hand is suitable for either action. A direct raise to 4 is a
preemptive call and not suitable for this hand.
5. 3 . A game contract is certain and a slam might be possible if West has more than a minimum
negative double. The problem is that East does not know which major suit will make the best trump
suit. By cuebidding, East is able to bring partner’s judgment into play. West will bid the longer and
stronger major at the three-level and East can raise that suit to game.
6. Pass. West’s negative double was for the major suits. However, East wants to defend against
2 doubled. East should pass and expect to collect a reasonable penalty.
7. Pass. After a 1NT overcall, a double is for penalty. It is not a negative double.
8. Pass. Negative doubles are used only after opening suit bids at the one level. West’s double
is for penalty. East should pass.
Follow-up
Go through the examples slowly to make sure your students understand the applications of the
negative double.
Conclusion
“The negative double has become an integral convention in modern bidding.
Make sure you practice them even more with the Learn to Play Bridge 2
program.”
302 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE FIVE: Dummy Reversal
Deal 1
Dealer: North
KQ84
8
A 10 4 3
KJ98
976 N 32
QJ7 A K 10 5 3
W E
8765 K92
432 S Q 10 7
A J 10 5
9642
QJ
A65
Suggested Bidding
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1 Double
Pass 1 Pass 4
All Pass
North opens the bidding with 1 , the higher-ranking of two four-card minors. East has a good
heart overcall. South has enough points to bid game, but does not know the proper strain in light of
East’s overcall. Using negative doubles, South can show a four-card spade suit by saying “double.”
When North bids 1 , South now shows the proper level and strain by rebidding 4 .
Suggested Opening Lead
East is on lead and starts with the A.
Suggested Play
With both the North and the South hands each having four spades, North has the ability to make
either hand the master hand. When the declarer decides to make the dummy the master hand, this
technique is known as a dummy reversal. On this hand, when North sees both hands together, it seems
likely that the opponents will play a forcing defense – in other words, make North ruff hearts. With
this is mind, North should consider making the dummy the master hand.
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 303
The play is interesting because North will ruff the second round of hearts, but cannot draw all
of the trumps at this time. North first must try the diamond finesse. North can get to the South hand
(dummy) with a club to take the diamond finesse, which loses. If East leads another heart, North can
ruff in hand and then finish drawing trumps, ending in the South hand (with the North hand discard-
ing a club). After playing the J from the dummy, North goes back with the K. On the A and
10, North gets rid of dummy’s last heart and a losing club. North’s remaining card is a club, and
the dummy’s remaining card is a trump. The contract makes with an overtrick – losing only the A
and Q. North does not need to try the club finesse when a losing club from the South hand can be
pitched on a good diamond.
If East returns a spade after winning the K, North should win the trick in the South hand with
the J or 10 and then ruff a heart. North then should finish drawing trumps and end up in the
dummy (South). Again, North plays the J and goes back to the hand with the K. On the A
and 10, North gets rid of dummy’s last heart and a losing club.
If North waits to try the diamond finesse until after drawing trumps and the diamond finesse loses,
North will not have any trumps left when East leads hearts. The contract will be down one trick.
Suggested Defense
The defense must hope that North plays the spade suit early. If that is the case, the forcing defense
(forcing North to continuously ruff the heart suit) will be successful. The key is not to set up the
dummy’s 9. West must make sure to signal with the Q when East plays the A. On the next
trick, East will lead a low heart to West’s known J. If East and West cooperate in this play, the suit
will not be blocked, and the 9 will not become a winning card.
304 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE SIX: Trying to Cut the Opponent’s Communication
Deal 2
Dealer: East
J76
J5
987532
94
Q 10 9 4 N A52
Q987 32
W E
A KQJ6
A 10 8 3 S QJ76
K83
A K 10 6 4
10 4
K52
Suggested Bidding
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1 1
Double Pass 2 Pass
3NT All Pass
West has a difficult bidding decision to make after East rebids 2 . West was hoping that East
held four spades, but that did not happen. West knows that the partnership has enough points for a
Golden Game. There is also the possibility of a game in clubs. However, West’s diamond shortness
in a suit East is known to have is not a good thing. Plus it takes 29 total points to make a game in a
minor suit. West doesn’t know if the partnership has that many points. Therefore, West settles into
3NT despite holding a singleton in partner’s diamonds. East is happy to pass.
Suggested Opening Lead
North is on lead and leads the J in partner’s overcalled suit.
Suggested Play
West counts winners – one spade, four diamonds and one club. The heart suit should provide the
stopper promised with the 3NT bid, and the club suit has the potential to provide at least two, pos-
sibly three, more tricks. If the club suit provides three total tricks, there will be nine tricks. There are
10 tricks if the club finesse is on.
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 305
South should play the 6 on the J, an encouraging card. West must be very careful and very
lucky when able to win the first trick with the Q. If the defense gets in again, they have four heart
tricks to cash. West must make the contract before letting the opponents back in. After winning the
Q, West must unblock the A and then go to the dummy with the A. West cashes the good
diamonds and then leads the Q for the finesse. If the finesse works, West continues with the J.
After winning the first 10 tricks, West can concede the remaining tricks. If the finesse loses, North
still has a heart to lead back to South, and the defense will defeat the contract.
Another plan is for West to decline the first heart trick. North will probably continue hearts, and
West will take a heart trick. (This may be after South cashes the A and K, however.) This time
the difference will be that, if the club finesse loses, North will not have a heart to lead back to South.
However, if South cashes the A and K and the club finesse loses to North, the defense will be
able to cash the K, and the contract will be down.
Fortunately for West, the cards are sitting favorably for either of the above plays.
Suggested Defense
There is no reason for North to lead anything but partner’s suit. As the cards lie, there is nothing
that North-South can do to prevent the contract from being made. However, when North leads the
J, South should play the encouraging 6.
When West finesses in clubs, South typically should not cover the Q but should wait until
West plays the J. This guarantees a trick for North when North holds the 10xx. However,
when listening to the bidding for this specific hand, South should recognize that North has at most
two clubs. So, whether South plays the K on the second or third trick really doesn’t matter this
time.
306 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE SEVEN: What Can Go Wrong?
Deal 3
Dealer: South
Q3
KQ76
J 10 8
AQJ2
A J 10 9 7 8642
N
10 8 4 95
A642 W E 5
7 S K86543
K5
AJ32
KQ973
10 9
Suggested Bidding
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1
1 Double Pass 2
Pass 4 All Pass
When South opens the bidding, North knows there is game, even after West makes a 1 over-
call. However, North cannot bid 2 directly, as that would show five hearts. North must begin with
a negative double and see what South bids. When South shows four hearts, North has an easy raise
to 4 .
Suggested Opening Lead
West does not want to lead from the spade suit – it would be better if partner leads the suit. West
does have an interesting lead with the 7. This lead should be thought of as the last resort. A diamond
lead is not attractive, and a heart lead might help declarer pick up the suit – if in fact declarer needs
help. Normally, when you lead a singleton, you can stop the trump suit from being drawn. Although
this is not the case with this singleton lead, West is hoping to get lucky.
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 307
Suggested Play
South should count losers. Spades – 1, hearts – 0, diamonds – 1, clubs – 1. What could go wrong?
Well, the hearts could split 5-0, but that is really against the odds. What happens if South decides to
give up the K early? When West leads 7, South can see that a club loser will be eliminated if
West is leading from the king. A greedy South will pay the price when East wins the trick and returns
a club for West to ruff. The defense will then have a club, a club ruff, a diamond, a diamond ruff, a
spade and another diamond ruff for down three. South can avoid this situation by simply winning the
A and drawing trumps. South knocks out the A, and the defense gets their three tricks.
Suggested Defense
The lead of the 7 by West gives the defense their best shot. If declarer makes a mistake by
taking the finesse, East will win the trick and should return a club, not partner’s spade suit. The only
outstanding club at this point would be either the 10 or the 9 (whichever card declarer didn’t
play), making it pretty clear that West led a singleton. East tries to convey shortness in diamonds
by returning the 3, a suit preference for diamonds. If West has the A and plays it and another
diamond, East can now ruff. If the defense is careful, they will make South pay a big price for not
playing the A on the first trick.
If declarer wins the A, the defense really does not have a chance to inflict any more damage
than the three tricks to which they are entitled.
308 Defense in the 21st Century
EXERCISE EIGHT: Finding the Right Contract
Deal 4
Dealer: West
96
98765
J2
KQ94
543 A J 10
N
A432 K 10
K9 W E AQ84
J865 S 10 7 3 2
KQ872
QJ
10 7 6 5 2
A
Suggested Bidding
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
Pass Pass 1 1
Double Pass 1NT All pass
East begins with 1 , and South has a nice overcall of 1 . West doesn’t have many high-card
points, but does have enough to make a negative double. East has to choose between a bid of 1NT
and a bid of 2 . If East chooses to bid 2 , East will have an impossible contract to make as the
cards lie. With a minimum hand, only four weak clubs and five of the hand’s high-card points in the
opponent’s suit, East should choose 1NT. South would love to bid again, but South’s second suit is
diamonds, which East has bid already.
Suggested Opening Lead
South is on lead, and the traditional lead is the 7.
Lesson 9 — Negative Doubles 309
Suggested Play
If South leads a spade, any spade, East wins the trick and can count two spade winners. (If South
leads the 7, East will win the J and still has the A. If South leads the K, East wins with the
A, and the J and 10 provide East with another trick after knocking out the Q.) In addition,
East can take two hearts and three diamonds to make the contract.
East’s only problem will occur if South finds a different lead. For example, if South leads the
fourth best diamond. As the cards lie, East must then try to set up a club. A lead from declarer’s
hand will bring the A to the table. South will lead another diamond, and the dummy will win the
K. A small club from the dummy will probably make North win the trick and then lead a spade
for South. (By winning the club lead, North now guarantees East a club winner.) East must hold up
until the third round – East will then win one spade, two hearts, three diamonds and one club. This
becomes a much more difficult hand for East to play without a spade lead.
Suggested Defense
Although the traditional lead is a spade, South can make things much more difficult for East by
leading a diamond. That is definitely a non-percentage lead, but one that has some merit. South does
not want West to win a cheap spade trick – which is what would happen with the lead of the 7 –
and the K lead guarantees East the contract from the go.
310 Defense in the 21st Century
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