Defense: Suit preference

Do you ever look at your scores after playing a game of bridge? You are in four spades down one and everyone else is making the contract!. You look at the double dummy confounded. You are only supposed to make three spades. HOW did your opponents defend differently? Let’s examine a few hands over the next few lessons and the art of switching suits to optimize your trick taking ability as defenders.

Contract 5 diamonds: You are on lead!

You have xxx, xxx, xxx, AKxx. You come out with Ace of clubs, promising the King of clubs.

Dummy comes down:

Ax, xx, AK32, QJ1098. Partner plays the seven of clubs, Declarer follows with four of clubs. Do you lay down your King of clubs?  What is your partner saying with the seven of clubs? Is it their only club? Is it attitude?(  Telling you to play your King of clubs? ) NO!!! It is suit preference. Switch to the highest ranking suit. Spades. Your partner has K of spades at least. Unfortunately, my partner did not recognize the signal. My partner laid down the King of clubs and followed with another club. I could ruff, but I got over ruffed and now Declarer can pitch two losing spades on the two good club tricks left on the board. This allowed the Declarer to make the contract. Should be down one. 

When you see the layout of the dummy, 5 clubs to the QJ1098 and you have four clubs to the AK. Your partner and declarer have four clubs between the two of them. If they break evenly, then you just set up two pitches for declarer. What does the seven of clubs mean? SWITCH SUITS PARTNER. I have something in spades. This contract should be down one!

Defense: Count

 Didn’t you just fuss at me about this? You are defending two spades. You are on lead. Bidding: 1c., 1d, ,1 spade, pass, 2 spades, pass, pass, pass. 

Here is your hand: xx, Kxx, AKxxx, xxx. You lead the Ace of diamonds promising the King. 

Dummy lays down: Kxxx, xx, Qxx, Kxxx.

Your partner plays the 10 D. You remember the last lesson and think this is suit preference and you switch to a heart, small away from your king. Low and behold, your partner has the Ace of Hearts and leads back a diamond. Why? Didn’t your partner just say not to set up pitches for declarer? 

Okay, you take the king of diamonds. Now what? Your partner played the ten of diamonds followed by the three on the return trick. Is this a signal? Ahh Haa, it is. It is count. High low is an even number of cards. Your partner can also see the queen of diamonds on the dummy. Why would your partner make you cash the King of diamonds? Partner has a doubleton! Yes, so you lead another diamond and partner ruffs the Queen and it holds.Partner then returns the heart and you win your king. You now have taken five tricks and held the opponents to two spades.  Some pairs let them make three spades, just taking AK diamonds and AK of hearts.

Defense: Attitude

Defense is by far the hardest part of the game. Signaling is a way to communicate to your partner what is in your hand during the play of the hand. The primary signal is attitude. This means I like this suit or I do not. 

I am south. Dealer is east. Bidding goes pass, pass, 1 nt ( announcement 14-16). My partner bids 2c. We play Meckwell. This is telling me that he has clubs and a major. East bids 2h ( alerts spades). I support partners clubs and bid three clubs. West bids three hearts. My partner passes and east corrects to three spades. I am on lead.

Here is my hand: xxx, Ax, Kxxxx, K109. What should I lead? 

Ace of hearts.

Here is Dummy: AQx, QJx, AQJxx, xxx.

My partner bid Meckwell promising hearts and Clubs. Seeing dummy my partner plays the 8 of hearts. In Standard carding this says, lead it back partner. This confirms he has the K. 

Now my partner knows that I had enough to support him at the three level with clubs. After west transfers, I know my partner has hearts and not spades. He will know this is a doubleton. He can safely return a heart to dummie’s queen knowing that I can ruff.  .I then return a club to partner’s other suit. Partner has the A of clubs. Parter returns a club to my K and opponents are down one. I can not get another heart ruff because declarer and dummy are also out of hearts. Partner knows that and will lead back a club for the setting trick.  

Defense: Opening Lead

You are the opening lead against three no trump. This was a game forcing auction. What do you lead and why?  Looking at all three hands makes it easy. But how do you know it is the right lead from the auction?  

 Logic. South opened spades and you are behind them. DO NOT LEAD SPADES. Even though this is fourth from your longest and strongest. You are most assuredly leading into an AQ combo and giving declarer a trick. You most likely have an entry in spades and diamonds. It sounds like North could have a running club suit. The only suit not bid was hearts!. You know south does not have four hearts because they did not rebid two hearts after the game forcing two clubs. You know North does not have a five card heart suit because they bid clubs and not hearts. Ahhh. Your partner has hearts. Come out strong with the Q of hearts.Even though this does not look like a good lead in isolation.  Partner can afford to overtake at trick one and force out declarers A. Then one of you is getting back in with one of the other suits and your partner just has to save those hearts. 

Defense: Opening Leads

Thursday night swiss. We have been playing defense most of the night. Here we go again. My partner is on lead.  Which suit should he lead? Hearts have not been bid. Does the east hand possibly have four hearts? No, why? The bidding. After the one no trump forcing bid, east rebid clubs not hearts. My partner knows to lead hearts, now which one? East has to have a heart stopper based on the bidding. Normally from an honor you lead small; however, my partner knows he needs to force out the honor in hearts from the dummy to set up hearts that he assumes are in my hand. He comes up with the Queen of hearts from Queen third empty. 

Declarer comes up with the A of hearts and comes to his hand with the club finesse which loses.. My partner leads a heart  back through and I take three heart tricks and switch to a diamond. Declarer puts in Q and wins. He plays a small spade to the KQ10. He takes the deep finesse of the ten and I win the jack. I lead another diamond. Declarer wins the Ace and runs the clubs. He has to let my partner in with the Ace of spades and he cashes and we get the last diamond on the last trick. Down Three vulnerable.