Page 8 - BB201111

8 BETTER
VOL. 16, NO. 2
BRIDGE
N OVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
B B
If we have bid a suit during the
auction, we expect partner to lead
that suit unless there is clearly
something better to do. When leading
our suit, partner uses the following
guidelines:
That will usually get the defense
off to a good start, but it’s only the
first step. We must look closely at
the information given by the card
partner has led, and then make a plan
for defeating the contract.
In each of the following deals, we
are in the East seat, defending against
a 3NT contract after we bid a suit
during the auction. Partner leads a low
card in our suit, and we must decide
what to do after seeing the dummy.
On this opening deal, the first two
players pass, and we
hold this hand in
third position. Our
side is non-vulnerable
and the opponents are vulnerable.
We have a weak hand and a good
suit, but can’t open with 2 , since
that would be a strong bid. Although
a three-level preemptive opening
usually shows a seven-card suit, we
decide to stretch a bit and open 3 .
Our left-hand opponent overcalls
3NT, and that ends the auction.
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
Pass Pass 3 ! 3NT
Pass Pass Pass
Partner dutifully leads the 9, and
this is what we see when the dummy
comes down:
The 2 is played from dummy,
and we must decide what to do. The
standard guideline is third hand high,
the A. But before we play to the
first trick, we should analyze partner’s
lead to see what it tells us.
We have six clubs, and there are
three in dummy. There are only four
clubs in the other two hands, and we
have seen one of them, partner’s 9.
The missing cards are the K, 10,
and 6. Could partner hold the K?
No. With K–9, partner would
lead the top of the doubleton. With
K–9–6, partner would lead low,
the 6. From K–10–9, partner
would lead the 10, top of the
touching cards. We also
expect South to hold
the K based on the
3NT bid.
So partner must be leading either a
singleton 9 or the top of a doubleton
9–6. If partner has a singleton club,
there’s nothing we can do. Even if we
can establish the suit, we don’t have
an entry to take our winners. But what
if partner has a doubleton? Then we
need to keep the A as an entry and
protect partner’s link card. We should
play the J at trick one! Here’s the deal:
If we play the A at trick one, it’s
all over. We can lead another club to
drive out the K, but that removes
partner’s last club. Declarer has only
eight tricks: two hearts, five diamonds,
and the K. When declarer leads a
spade, partner wins the A but has
no club to lead.Whatever partner does,
declarer finishes with ten tricks.
Look at the difference if we play
the J at trick one. Declarer has to
win the K or we’ll play the A
next and take all six club tricks. That
leaves the precious 6 in partner’s
hand as a link card. When declarer
leads a spade, partner wins the A
and leads the 6 to our winners. We
defeat the 3NT contract.
Notice the effectiveness of our
opening 3 bid. If we had passed,
South would presumably open 2NT
and North would then raise to 3NT.
With no help from the
auction, partner would
lead the Q. Declarer
would drive out the A
and have an easy time taking nine
tricks: two spades, two hearts, and
five diamonds.
However, getting partner off to the
best opening lead wasn’t enough. We
had to decide what to do based on
partner’s lead of the 9. We had to
take our losses early by playing the
J, preserving partner’s 6 as a link
card to our established winners.
Defenders’ Corner
Making the Best of
Partner’s Good
Opening Lead
by Audrey Grant
NORTH (DUMMY)
K 4 2
8 6 5
K J 10 5
7 4 2
WEST (PARTNER) EAST (US)
A 7 6 5 10 8 3
Q J 10 3 2 7 4
8 4 6 2
9 6 A Q J 8 5 3
S OUTH (DECLARER )
Q J 9
A K 9
A Q 9 7 3
K 10
N
W E
S
Contract:
3NT
LEADING PARTNER’S S UIT
When choosing the card, lead:
• Top of a doubleton
Q–7, 9–3
• Top of touching cards
J–10–5–2, K –Q–3
• Low from three or more cards
K–6–4, 9–7–3
If you raised partner’s suit:
• Top of nothing
8–5–3–2, 6–4–3
• Low from an honor
K–8–7–3, Q–10– 4
NORTH (DUMMY)
K 4 2
8 6 5
K J 10 5
7 4 2
WEST (PARTNER) EAST (US)
10 8 3
7 4
6 2
A Q J 8 5 3
SOUTH (DECLARER)
N
W E
S
LEAD: 9
Contract:
3NT
10 8 3
7 4
6 2
A Q J 8 5 3
Third hand high, or take
the losses early? The
9 gives the answer!