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It is very easy when, against a no-trump contract,  you have AK of a long suit to lead both top honours without thinking of the consequences. One common situation is when the opposition have a hold in your suit…and you have no way back to regain the lead to take tricks with the rest of the suit later in the play.

Watch:

 

As East, you overcalled North’s opening bid. South’s double showed 4 spades. Next, South showed around 11-12 hcp with a heart hold by bidding 2NT and North raised to 3NT.

West, your partner, led 2 and you won with K. Which card should you play to trick 2?

The above was the first of two important decisions East had to make in the defence here. Cashing the A must be wrong if you believe that South has a hold in hearts. That is what East did and the third round of hearts was won by Q in South’s hand.

 

South played on diamonds and when West won their ace, they could no longer play a heart…and much to South’s relief, they took three diamond tricks, four spade tricks, Q and A to make their contract (indeed, they could have made an overtrick by taking the club finesse).

Trust your opponent!

Sometimes, you have to trust the opposition and believe them when they say they have a hold in your suit. If East had held A, they could have cashed AK and played a third heart as they will either regain the lead with that ace or if West gains the lead, they can play a diamond to East’s ace. That was not true on this day.

So, East should win a high heart (say king) and then play a low heart (any would do) at trick 2. This actually gives declarer an awkward guess (does West have A or J?) Assuming South guesses correctly and plays Q, they are still in trouble.

They cannot afford to play diamonds as West can win and still has a heart to play enabling East to take their remaining 4 heart tricks.

Covering honours

So, South would play a spade to the ace and then Q. It’s time for East to make their second important play. We cover an honour with an honour when it will or could benefit our side. Holding K10, it looks like playing K will only help declarer. This is not true because West holds 9. So, covering is correct because it may help the defence.  As long as East plays K, South can only take 2 club tricks and only has 7 tricks (4 spades, 2 clubs and a heart). They must play diamonds and the contract will fail as West still has a heart.

Had East played 10 under Q, South could win all 5 club tricks by playing a low club from dummy on the second round of the suit.

Keeping in touch with partner..

...is the name of the game…for the defenders.

Note that with three hearts to an honour, the recommended opening lead from West is a low heart (2) . At one table, West led J. This looks like a 1 or 2 card suit (unlikely where West supported with 2). East should play low at trick 1 for the same reasons as above. Let declarer have their trick early and enjoy making many tricks in the suit later.

One day, South will call no trumps with doubleton Q. They will score the queen and feel good about their gamble. That is just unlucky for the defenders. Keeping in touch with partner when you do not have an entry outside your suit is key to successful defence.

Richard Solomon

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