HSP: Answering The SOS

Suggested sound track: The Police, "Message In A Bottle" 

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

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

West	North	East	South
			2 NT
Pass	3 ♣	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	3 NT	All pass

You are West, on lead against 3 NT. Leading your fourth-best ♦ 5 seems clear. Dummy plays low; partner wins the trick with the ♦ A, and declarer follows with the ♦ 3. So far, so good...

At trick two, partner leads the ♦ K and declarer plays the the ♦ 7. Your play?

Look again... notice anything unusual? Still want to play that card?

ANSWER: Play the ♦ 10 -- the highest diamond you can afford -- as a suit-preference signal for spades.

Partner played her ace-king of diamonds in reverse order; the normal third-hand play would be the lowest of touching honors (the king), then the ace. Why the ace and then the king?

ANSWER: Partner played her honors in an unusual order to let you know that there is something unusual about the hand: in this case, it seems likely that she does not have a third diamond to return to you. South opened 2 NT (20-21 HCP), dummy has 6 HCP, and partner has shown 7 HCP. Partner knows that you must have an honor somewhere; she is asking for a suit-preference signal from you.

Partner sent an SOS. Did you get the message?

If you play the ♦ 4 at trick two, partner will interpret that as suit-preference low, and lead a club at trick three. If you play the ♦ 8, partner will interpret that as asking for a heart return. If partner returns a club or a heart, declarer will cash four heart tricks and five club tricks, making three notrump. Only if you play the ♦ 10 and get a spade lead at trick three, you will set 3 NT by two tricks (five diamond tricks and one spade trick).

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

-- Ray 

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

HSP: An Obvious Singleton

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

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

West	North	YOU	South
	1 ♣	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	2 ♣	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	4 ♠	All pass

Partner led the ♣ 2, declarer played low from dummy. Which club do you play? Why?

Regardless of which high club you play, declarer wins the trick with the ♣ K, and leads the ♠ 3. Partner flies the ♠ A, declarer plays low from dummy. Which spade do you play? Why?

ANSWER: Play the ♠ 9, your highest spade, showing preference for the higher-ranking side suit (hearts, in this case). For the same reason, you should have played the ♣ 10 -- not the ♣ 8 -- at trick one. Yes, the standard play would have been the club eight, the lowest card of the sequence; but this is not a standard situation.

THE PRINCIPLE: When the opening lead against a trump contract is a singleton, partner's priority -- other than winning the trick if possible -- is to signal suit preference. The defenders need to figure out how to get third hand on lead to give the opening leader her ruff(s). Partner will be watching very carefully for the slightest clue you can give her.

This hand shows the importance of analyzing the hand before playing to the first trick. Partner would not lead from ♣ K52 into dummy's strong suit. Nor would she lead low from ♣ K2, for the same reason. And if partner started with two small clubs, she would have led the five, not the two. Thus the ♣ 2 must be a singleton.

BONUS MOMENT: How do you know that partner has another spade to ruff with? Because if she had only the singleton ♠ A, she would not be looking for a ruff! She would have led the ace, to capture two enemy trumps instead.

If you play a low spade at trick two (suit preference low), partner will lead a diamond per your guidance, giving declarer a free finesse. Declarer will win, draw trump, and discard two red suit losers on dummy's good clubs; making six instead of going down one 😠.

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

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

Both Sides Now, Part 2

 Looking at the same hand as last time, but from the other defender's perspective...

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

You	North	Partner	South
		Pass	1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	3 ♦	All pass

North's 1NT was forcing one round. You led the ♣ 4. Declarer played low from dummy. Partner played the ♣ J, declarer played the ♣ 6. At trick two, partner led the ♦ 4.

Who has the ♣ A? It seems unlikely that declarer would hold up the ace here, so partner has the ♣ A.

Who has the ♣ 10? Remember the Third Hand Basics: "Third hand high, but no higher than necessary, and keep control over dummy's honor." If partner had the jack and ten, partner would have played the ten, no higher than necessary. So, declarer has the ♣ 10.

If declarer had only two clubs to begin with, you can lead the ♣ Q when you get in, smothering declarer's ten. If declarer and partner both had three clubs, then declarer's ten is protected and the suit is "frozen": whichever side leads the suit gives up a trick. (Work this out on paper if you don't see it.)

The next six tricks proceed:
♦ 4 from partner, ace from declarer, three, deuce.
♦ K from declarer, queen, five, ten from partner.
♥ A from declarer, five, four, three from partner.
♥ 2 from declarer, six, jack from dummy, queen from partner.
♦ J from partner, nine, ♠ 10 from you, six from dummy.
♠ 5 from partner, two, you win with the ace of course.

What now? You know partner has the ♣ A. If declarer has only the ten remaining, you must lead the queen and get two club tricks (declarer is out of trump). If declarer has two clubs remaining, you give up a trick by leading clubs.

How many clubs did declarer start with, two or three?

Remember the auction? Declarer bid 2 ♦ after the forcing notrump. Declarer had three diamonds. If declarer had three clubs and three diamonds, declarer would have bid 2 ♣ rather than 2 ♦. So declarer started with only two clubs. 

So you lead the ♣ Q, smothering declarer's ten, to get two more club tricks.

AND, A BONUS MINUTE...

At trick two, partner led the ♦ 4 from what turned out to be the J-10-4. Why didn't partner make the normal lead of the jack?

1. Partner knows that you know that she has the ace of clubs.
2. Partner knows that you know that she does not have the ten of clubs, because she played the jack rather than the ten.
3. Partner knows that declarer has either the ten or nine of clubs, because you didn't lead the ten from 10-9.
4. Partner knows that if you have Q-10 of clubs, you can lead clubs safely
5. Partner knows that if you have Q-9 of clubs you can't lead clubs unless she had four clubs originally and that you can't determine for sure how many clubs she had.

Aha! Partner realized that you might have a problem in the club suit. She made a non-standard lead, in this case a low trump, to suggest suit-preference low.  It couldn't have been to encourage a heart lead to her unsupported queen without knowing where the heart ace is. So the  ♦ 4  must be encouraging the other low suit, clubs!

Partner did not know where your entry was; if it was in diamonds, you wouldn't have the benefit of those other five tricks to figure out the count in clubs. So she made a trump suit preference play, hoping you could figure out the clue.

-- Ray 

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

Both Sides Now, Part 1

Getting the basics right is essential for effective defense. Here's a hand from a recent club pairs game; we will look at it from the perspective of each defender in turn.

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

Partner	North	You	South
		Pass	1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	2 ♦
Pass	3 ♦	All pass

North's 1NT call was forcing one round. Partner led the ♣ 4 (standard leads and carding), declarer plays the ♣ 2 from dummy. Your play?

Before playing to the first trick, it's time to do some homework. It certainly looks like a fourth-best club. You can see the two and three, so you know the four is partner's lowest club.

• The ♣ 4 can't be a singleton. If it were, declarer would have a five-card club suit. Yet declarer bid diamonds, on what would then be three diamonds and five clubs. 
• The ♣ 4 can't be a doubleton, because partner would not lead low from a doubleton.
• Could the ♣ 4 be from a three-card holding? Possibly, and there's no way to rule this out. But our play to this trick will be the same either way.

It's still your turn. Your play?

Recall the Third Hand Basics: "Third hand high, but no higher than necessary, and keep control over dummy's honor." Playing the ace here would establish the king in dummy. And if declarer has the guarded queen, that would give her two club tricks! Playing the ace here can never gain a club trick, and usually gives up a trick. So, basic defensive card play mandates playing the jack. 

But wait, don't play the jack just yet... What if partner has both the ♣ 10 and ♣ 9? Then you could just play a very smug ♣ 8. Alas, not possible. If partner had the ten and nine, partner would have led the top-of-sequence ten. From Q-10-9-4, or 10-9-x-4, or 10-9-4, the standard lead is the ten. We can rule out those possible holdings for partner.

So, the ♣ J it must be. The jack holds the trick, declarer plays the ♣ 6. Partner must have the club queen, as you hoped. Now what?

Assuming the ♣ 4 was fourth-best, you now know the layout of the club suit almost exactly. Declarer started with two clubs, one of which is the ten or nine. Recall that partner's lead denied having both the ten and nine. If partner has four clubs without the ten or nine, then declarer would have started with ten-nine doubleton and would have played one of those cards. Therefore, partner started with Q-10-5-4 or Q-9-5-4 and declarer has the other high spot card.

If you lead any club now, you will set up dummy's king. (You could try leading the ace just in case the king decides to commit suicide, but that never seems to work at my table.) 

Notice that if partner gets in and leads the ♣ Q, that will trap ("smother") declarer's remaining high spot card. But partner doesn't know that declarer started with a doubleton. Is there a way to tell partner that you had four clubs instead of three? Unfortunately no, not directly. But you can give partner a hint...

You have to lead something other than a club. Partner must have some other high cards outside of clubs, because declarer declined the game invitation and thus denied a maximum hand.

• If declarer has ace-king of spades, leading a spade trashes your ♠ Q.
• If declarer has the ace of hearts, leading a heart trashes your ♥ Q.

Exiting with a diamond seems best to me; maybe partner's high honor is in diamonds. At least a diamond lead is unlikely to give up a diamond trick. The standard lead from J-10-4 is the jack, but I would lead the ♦ 4 in this case.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

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

HSP: Don't Send A Boy

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

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

West	North	You	South
1  ♠	Dbl	2 ♠	4 ♥
All pass

You considered bidding 3 ♠ (weak, preemptive) over North's takeout double, but decided to go low at unfavorable vulnerability.

Partner led the ♣ A. Your partnership agreement is to lead king from ace-king. Partner's ♣ A thus denied the king. Of course you knew that already, the king is in dummy!

At trick two partner plays the ♠ K, almost certainly from the ace-king of spades.
Which spade do you play at trick two?

ANSWER: Play the queen of spades, promising the jack. Don't send a boy to do a woman's work! If partner has a six-card spade suit, you won't get any more spade tricks, but at least let partner know that you have the ♠ J just in case it matters.

Next, partner played the ♠ 2; you won with the ♠ J as declarer followed low.
What do you lead at trick four?

ANSWER: Lead a club. Partner is screaming for a club ruff. How do you know that the ♣ A was a singleton? There are several clues here:

• Aces are made for capturing kings and queens. We usually don't lead an unsupported ace at trick one unless we are looking for a ruff. It's possible that partner started with ace-doubleton of clubs and was hoping you might have the king of clubs. But it's also possible that partner had a singleton ace; yes, that means that declarer has a six-card club suit, but it is possible.
• Partner could have started with the safe play of the two top spade honors. She didn't need to lead the ♣ A "to get a look at dummy." A top spade honor would be the normal lead and accomplish the same thing, but partner chose to do something abnormal. That makes another clue pointing toward a singleton ace of clubs.
• Partner led the ♠ 2 -- the lowest possible spade -- indicating preference for the lowest-ranking suit (clubs).

THE PRINCIPLE: When signaling encouragement in a suit, play the highest card you can afford. Don't send a boy to do a [wo]man's work.  From touching honors, always signal with the highest honor, promising the next highest honor.  

If you do not make it clear to partner that you have a spade entry, she will give up on her club ruff objective. She will instead cash the ♠ A, then the ♦ A. Unfortunately for you, declarer will ruff the diamond, draw trump, and run her good clubs to make the contract. The same thing will happen if you lead a diamond from your side.

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

-- Ray 

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

Smell The Coffee

Suggested soundtrack: Mississippi John Hurt, "Coffee Blues"

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

Partner	North	You	South
2 ♦	Dbl	3 ♦	4 ♣
All pass

Partner led the ♦2. Declarer played the queen from dummy. You played the ace, of course. Now what?

Look again. Do you notice anything unusual?

Partner opened a weak-two in diamonds, usually based on a six-card suit. You play standard leads -- fourth best from length -- yet she led the deuce from a six-card suit. The  ♦2 can't possibly be her fourth-best diamond. Partner made a very strange lead. Wake up and smell the coffee! Partner knows that you know she has six diamonds. She led a card that is definitely not her fourth-best diamond.

ANSWER: Lead a spade. Give partner the spade ruff she is asking for.

THE PRINCIPLE: A very unusual carding play on defense should be regarded as an "alarm clock signal." Partner is trying to wake you up to something non-routine about the hand. Looking for a ruff in a side suit is the most common situation. But the key message is "Wake Up, Partner! Don't make the routine play here." It's up to you to figure out what unusual play partner wants.

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

BONUS QUESTION: Which spade do you lead for partner to ruff? 

ANSWER: Lead the two, your lowest spade showing suit-preference for the lower suit (diamonds). Partner almost certainly has the king; your jack is an entry to give partner a second spade ruff. Unless you tell partner, she might not know whether to return a diamond or a heart.

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

HSP: Partner Needs To Know

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

Ignore the missing side suit cards, they are irrelevant today...

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

HAND #1: South opened 2 NT, North raised to 3 NT. Declarer won the opening heart lead, then led the ♦ 7 from her hand. Partner played the ♦ 3, and declarer played the ♦ K from dummy. Your play?

	♠ 4 3 2 ♥ 3 2 ♦ K Q J 10 9 ♣ 4 3 2
♠ — ♥ — ♦ 8 2 ♣ —	N W E S

HAND #2: South opened 2 NT, North raised to 3 NT. You led a heart and declarer won in hand. At trick two, declarer led the ♦ 7. Your play?

THE PRINCIPLE: When dummy has a long suit with only one loser and no other entries, the defender without a high honor is in a mandatory count situation. Partner, holding the stopper -- the ♦ A here -- doesn't want to play it right away; that would set up the suit while declarer still has another card in the suit to reach dummy. But if partner waits too long, she might not score the card at all; declarer might get all the tricks she needed from the suit. Even if you and your partner don't normally give count signals, this is a textbook situation where partner needs to know your count in the suit.

Standard count signals are:
  - low then higher shows an odd number of cards in the suit
  - high then low shows an even number of cards in the suit

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

ANSWER #1: East plays the ♦ 2, showing an odd number of diamonds. West will then know to win her ♦ A on the second round of diamonds because declarer only held two, and can no longer reach dummy.

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

ANSWER #2: West plays the ♦ 8, showing an even number of diamonds. East will then know to hold up her ♦ A until the third round of diamonds.

THE PRINCIPLE (again!): When dummy has a long suit with only one loser and no other entries, the defender without a high honor must give a count signal to the first trick in that suit.

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