Clearing The Way

 

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

Partner	North	You	South
			Pass
Pass	1 ♣	Pass	1 NT
All pass

Partner led the ♥ 6, fourth-best, to your ace. You returned the ♥ 4 (original fourth-best) to partner's king. Declarer played the ♥ 3 and then the ♥ 8.

Pop Quiz: How many hearts did partner start with?

ANSWER: Probably five. Partner has at least four hearts for that lead. Nobody has played the ♥ 2 yet. A cagey declarer might be hiding the deuce; a careless declarer would not.

Does partner know that you had four hearts?

ANSWER: Most likely yes. Declarer had the opportunity to bid a four-card heart suit, but did not. If partner had five hearts, she'll know your ♥ 4 (lowest card available) was from either two or four originally. Partner knows declarer might have bid a four-card heart suit, so partner knows you have most likely have four.

AT TRICK THREE, PARTNER PLAYS THE ♠ K. Which spade do you play?

ANSWER: Play the ♠ 2, discouraging. Partner must have the ♠ A as well, and is lighting a candle in the window to show the way back to her hand. You don't want her to cash out spades; you want her to continue with hearts!

AT TRICK FOUR, PARTNER PLAYS THE ♥ 10. Now what?

ANSWER: Get out of partner's way; play the ♥ 9! Notice that your ♥ 5 will then not be able to take a trick. This is called an "unblocking" play. Partner made a thoughtful play of the ♠ K first, to show you that she has a sure entry. That ♠ K is a very strong indication that she had five hearts and would like you to unblock . Declarer has at most one heart left if partner had four, so no danger of setting up a heart trick for declarer. If partner had five hearts, you want partner to stay on lead. On the fifth heart, you will signal enthusiastically for a diamond lead, while partner still has control of the spade suit. If partner only had four hearts, she should still be able to figure out why you unblocked to keep her on lead rather than wasting a spade entry.

Of course if you have the two highest remaining hearts right now, there is no way to unblock. Playing the highest of your two cards would be suggesting suit preference high (spades); you want diamonds, not spades, so you would play the lower of two equal hearts.

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

Notice that if you play the ♥ 5 instead of the ♥ 9, you must eventually return a spade to partner's ace in order for her to cash the fifth heart. But that will set up dummy's queen, giving declarer a trick. If you keep partner on lead, she can run the hearts and then lead a diamond per your signal. That will set up a diamond trick for you while partner still has control of the spade suit. One notrump down two; nice work!

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

HSP: Candle In The Window

"When I'm your partner, the secret to this game is to Help Stupid Partner." -- Steve B.

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

You	North	Partner	South
			Pass
Pass	1 ♣	Pass	1 NT
All pass

(Standard leads and carding) You led the ♥ 6, fourth-best, catching partner with the ace. She returned the ♥ 4 to your king. Declarer played the ♥ 3 and then the ♥ 8. This is going well!

Pop Quiz: How many hearts did partner start with? What about declarer?

ANSWER: Partner had either 2 or 4 hearts initially. When partner returned the ♥ 4, that is her lowest heart (you can see the 2 and the 3). If she only had two hearts, she wouldn't have a choice. But if she started with four hearts, she would return her original fourth-best heart. With three hearts initially, she would return the second-highest (the nine or the five, in this case).

Either two or four? Can you be more specific?

ANSWER: Probably four. Remember the auction? Declarer had the opportunity to bid a four-card heart suit, but did not. Would declarer bid four hearts to the nine-eight? Maybe, maybe not. If declarer had four hearts, how likely is that she would specifically play the three and then the eight? A cagey declarer just might try that. But that declarer might also have tried the five and then the nine, or some other combination.

So partner almost certainly has ♥ 9 5 remaining. If you cash the ten, partner's nine will win the next heart trick and she'll have to figure how to get back to your hand. If you lead low to partner's nine... What if declarer fooled you with her bidding and play? Oh no, what if partner made a mistake, and held only  ♥ A 5 3 to start with? Declarer would be delighted to score her ♥ 9!

So, now what? High heart? Low heart? Something else?

ANSWER: Put a candle in the window for partner. Play the ♠ K! Even if you normally lead ace from ace-king, don't lead the ace here. When the king holds the trick, it will be crystal-clear to partner that you also have the ace. With the queen in dummy, declarer would certainly capture your king if she had the ace. Once you play the ♠ K, partner will know the way back to your hand. Leading low to partner's nine should normally work out okay, but you will be very embarrassed if it doesn't.😢

Why play the ♠ K right now, instead of after the ♥ 10?

Three reasons:

1. If partner did only have two hearts, she will have to discard on the ♥ 10. Knowing that you have the ace of spades might help her choose her discards more accurately.
2. When you know how the defense should proceed, tell your partner too, so she can make better decisions.
3. (The third reason is worth an entire post of its own.)

-- Ray 

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

Time For: Support Doubles

Time For: Introducing conventions that might not be familiar to some players, but are nearly universal in common usage such as ACBL Bridge Bulletin Standard. Whether or not you adopt the convention -- I suggest that you do! --  at the very least you should know enough about it to understand the opponents' usage. 

 

You hold ♠ K 10 ♥ A J 8 ♦ K 9 7 ♣ Q 10 9 6 3

You	LHO	Pard	RHO
1 ♣	Pass	1 ♥	Pass
?

Do you bid 1 NT or 2 ♥? There is no universally-agreed answer; this is a matter of style for partnership discussion (I prefer four-card raises).

What about the same hand in a slightly different auction?

You	LHO	Pard	RHO
1 ♣	Pass	1 ♥	1 ♠
?

There is a standard convention that applies here: Support Doubles. Very simply,

• if you open,
• partner bids a major suit at the one-level, and
• the player to your right bids at the one or two-level, then

Double shows three-card support for partner
A raise (2 ♥ here) shows four-card support.
Any other action tends to deny support for partner's suit. Your first priority is to show the fit if you have one.

If you double to show three-card support, partner can choose to rebid her suit -- possibly playing in a 4-3 fit -- or take other action as appropriate. Partner should not rebid notrump without a stopper in the opponent's suit.

THE PRINCIPLE: In competitive auctions, knowing the combined length of your trump fit is essential for judging whether to compete another level higher in the auction. Partner might need to know right now whether you have three or four card support; your left-hand opponent might make a preemptive jump raise. In competitive auctions, having a few extra high card points is irrelevant; points don't take tricks, trumps do. (If you want to learn more, read up on the "Law of Total Tricks").

Okay, same hand in another similar auction:
♠ K 10 ♥ A J 8 ♦ K 9 7 ♣ Q 10 9 6 3

You	LHO	Pard	RHO
1 ♣	Pass	1 ♥	Dbl
?

Yep, you guessed it... Redouble with three-card support. A raise would show four-card support.

Support Doubles and Redoubles are normally only used through the two-level, or perhaps only through two of partner's suit; discuss this with your partner beforehand. 

The Support Double convention was invented by American expert Eric Rodwell in the 1970s. As of January 2021, ACBL Alert Procedures regard Support Doubles and Redoubles as STANDARD; no Alert is required. In online play, you should explain nonetheless.

What if you want to double the overcall for penalty? Pass smoothly in tempo, and hope partner re-opens with a double, or that the opponents bid the same suit a level higher.

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