All News

For keen Junior, Intermediate and other players: It’s Fri  Day.

Time for a change?

Some interesting defending for you to do today. It is not always right to return partner’s opening lead…or is it!

 

A very quick bidding sequence by your opponents. 2 was a standard Weak 2 while 4 said South wanted their suit to be trumps. Your partner led 8 (4^th highest from an honour, 2^nd highest from 3 or 4 small). Are you going to win trick 1 and if so and declarer plays Q, what do you play to trick 2? Teams is the game.

We can conclude South has lots, probably at least 7, spades and probably, though not for certain, not many hearts. There will be some days when South has KQx and is trying to forge an entry to dummy by playing a high honour under your ace. However, taken at face value, South is shortish in diamonds.

We know our partner has very few high card points. They could hold A in which case an immediate switch to Q should beat the contract. However, there is no rush as you hold the very important A. 

If South has AK, then they can quickly get to dummy by ruffing a club. Suppose then, that is not the case.

It is probably a wait and see game…but rather than just return a diamond, safe but not very constructive, why not play a trump, 9? You are very unlikely to win a trump trick here.

South wins A (8 from partner), plays Q and out comes 8 from declarer. Your method is when following suit to play “high then low” with an odd number of cards in the suit. Your partner plays 6 and 10 comes from dummy. Do you win this trick?

Too right you do and then continue your plan by playing Q.

 

6 told you that West had 1 or 3 hearts. Surely it was 3 because your partner may well have led a singleton at trick 1 and also because it was unlikely South had length in hearts. Giving count in such situations is so important. West has little to do on this deal except tell you, assuming you hold A, when it is correct to take the ace.

Had you not switched to a trump at trick 2, declarer could ruff a losing club in dummy and with a fortunate trump break, just lose one trick in each side suit.

That was why switching to Q at trick 2 was not right. It might be but you did not have to do so straightaway.

Note that South was wrong to choose spades as trumps. Had they played “Ogust”, a convention which with 2NT asks opener whether they had a good or poor Weak 2 and what their trump suit was like, they would have discovered the hand was poor but the trump suit was good. 4 is a fairly easy make for the loss of two red aces and a club. However, most declarers played 4 and the majority made their game, even after a diamond lead. 

Keep your options open

Nothing was certain when A took trick 1 but a trump switch covered more possibilities than either switching to a club or continuing diamonds.

Richard Solomon

Go Back View All News Items