Preparing Your Escape

South Deals N-S Vul	♠ A Q 10 5 ♥ A K ♦ Q J 10 5 4 ♣ A 10
	N W E S	♠ K 9 2 ♥ Q J 5 4 3 2 ♦ 6 ♣ Q J 2

West	North	East	South
			2 ♦
Pass	2 N1	Pass	3 ♦2
Pass	4 N3	Pass	5 ♥4
Pass	6 ♦	All pass

asks for outside feature no outside A or K key-card Blackwood two keycards, no Q

You are East. Partner leads the ♥ 10, and declarer plays the ace. What do you do? Look again. What should you do?

ANSWER: Move the ♣ 2 into your heart suit! That way you won't play it by mistake when declarer leads the ♣ A later. Having prepared your escape, you can then play a heart to the first trick.

You no doubt realized that your ♠ K should be a winner as long as declarer has at least two spades. And based on the auction, partner must have the ♣ K. But you should also notice that declarer can endplay you in clubs by playing ♣ A then the ♣ 10 -- unless you play an honor under the ace, and play the ♣ 2 on the next round to escape the endplay. Yes, partner should rescue you from the endplay. But partners do make mistakes on occasion; far better to create and save your own "get out of jail free" card.

THE PRINCIPLE: Before playing to the first trick, always take some time to think through the entire hand. The acronym "ARCH" -- Analyze, Review, Count, How -- is a useful mental checklist for what needs to be done.

When you are third hand (playing behind dummy), you are entitled to a reasonable amount of time for thought before playing to the first trick. Use that time to think through the entire deal so that you can play in tempo for the rest of the hand. Starting when the opening lead is faced, 15 to 30 seconds is entirely appropriate. If declarer plays immediately from dummy, you are still entitled to your analysis time; a simple announcement "I'm not ready yet" is apropos.

BONUS MINUTE: "Hiding" an important card that you want to play later is from a classic Bols Bridge Tip by the Australian internationalist Joyce Nicholson.

South Deals N-S Vul	♠ A Q 10 5 ♥ A K ♦ Q J 10 5 4 ♣ A 10
♠ J 8 7 6 ♥ 10 9 8 ♦ 2 ♣ K 8 6 4 3	N W E S	♠ K 9 2 ♥ Q J 5 4 3 2 ♦ 6 ♣ Q J 2
	♠ 4 3 ♥ 7 6 ♦ A K 9 8 7 3 ♣ 9 7 5

-- Ray

Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)

Rescuing Partner

South Deals N-S Vul	♠ A Q 10 5 ♥ A K ♦ Q J 10 5 4 ♣ A 2
♠ J 8 7 6 ♥ 10 9 8 ♦ 2 ♣ K 8 6 4 3	N W E S

You	North	East	South
			2 ♦
Pass	2 NT1	Pass	3 ♦2
Pass	4 NT3	Pass	5 ♥4
Pass	6 ♦	All pass

asks for outside feature no outside A or K Roman Key Card Blackwood two key cards, no ♦Q

You are West. Declarer wins your ♥ 10 lead with the ace. The play proceeds:
  ♦ Q from dummy, partner follows
  ♥ K from dummy, partner follows, you play the ♥ 8
  ♣ A from dummy, partner plays the ♣ Q
  ♣ 2 from dummy; partner plays the ♣ 10, and declarer follows low. Your play?

ANSWER: Play the ♣ K, overtaking partner's ten. With only diamonds and spades remaining in dummy, partner is partially end-played.

At this point, declarer has exactly three cards remaining outside of diamonds. Declarer denied having a spade feature (e.g., the ♠ K) when she bid 3 ♦. Even without that information, you can see that if declarer needs a spade finesse, it will lose. So you must defend as if partner has the ♠ K, and lead spades from your hand. (If declarer has the king, the contract cannot be defeated.)

From partner's play in the club suit (queen under the ace, then the ten) you can see that she started with ♣ Q J 10 and thus declarer has a club remaining. But partner can't tell that it is safe to exit with a club. Partner will fear giving declarer a ruff-and-sluff by leading the wrong side suit; partner's best shot is to lead a spade hoping that declarer has three spades. But if declarer has only two spades (as on this deal), a spade lead from East gives declarer her contract.

THE PRINCIPLE: When partner will have a problem if she is stuck on lead, rescue her by establishing the lead in your hand.

South Deals N-S Vul	♠ A Q 10 5 ♥ A K ♦ Q J 10 5 4 ♣ A 2
♠ J 8 7 6 ♥ 10 9 8 ♦ 2 ♣ K 8 6 4 3	N W E S	♠ K 9 2 ♥ Q J 5 4 3 2 ♦ 6 ♣ Q J 10
	♠ 4 3 ♥ 7 6 ♦ A K 9 8 7 3 ♣ 9 7 5

-- Ray

Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)