Low Level: High Stakes

To quote a well-known and much abused rule, “when your side has the majority of the high-card points” and your side is defending a suit contract, the only place the declaring side can make many tricks is by (cross)- ruffing. That is true not just at a high level but in a low- level contract too. Let’s look.

 

2 was a Michaels Cue-Bid, showing at least 5 spades and at least 5 cards in a minor suit. As to strength, well, we presume North would have noticed the vulnerability before bidding. Your partner's double showed value with your double being for penalties.

So, what would you lead? Pairs is the game. Oh, "game" is the result if this contract makes!

We are going to compare the defence at two different tables after much the same bidding. The bidding at one table is shown above. Here is the bidding at the other table.

                        West              North            East                South

                                                                                              Pass

                        1                   2                   Pass                2

                        All Pass

The same bidding, the same meaning for 2 but no doubles this time.

The West hand is a nightmare for those who do not like leading away from honours. At the table where there were no doubles, West led a small diamond. Let’s look at all four hands:

 

East won their ace and returned a diamond to West’s king. Without really thinking too much about the bidding, West, who was in even more of a quandary than before the opening lead, decided to be brave and look for a club ruff. Thus, they led K which held the trick. However, the news was not so good when the suit was continued. Q in dummy was covered with the A and a ruff from South.

10 saw North’s heart discarded. South’s last high diamond (J)saw a club discarded from dummy as West could not see any point in ruffing. Next came a heart ruff followed by a low club being ruffed by South’s king and West’s A.

Declarer had so far scored two diamond tricks, a low club ruff in hand and a heart ruff in dummy and still had the high QJT9 in dummy as well as a club trick. That added up to 9 tricks. However, if that was the defence at the other table where the contract was 2x, a score of -870 would not earn the defence many plaudits or match-points!

Remember the rule

West remembered the rule quoted above. East, who had doubled to show some values, had tricks somewhere, presumably in the minors. So, West started off with a low trump. You might say A and a second trump would be better but West would not want to lay down the ace if their partner held singleton king. It mattered not which trump as long as West started with one of them. Declarer won the lead with dummy’s 9. Next came a high club with East ducking. If South had held the K, they would have led a low club. East wanted their partner  to lead another round of trumps. So, East ducked to West’s king and within a milli-second, South had no trumps left as A and a low spade followed. Declarer could do no better than win and exit a diamond.

West’s K won and was followed by a second diamond to the ace and 10 and a second heart (South does better to cover with K). Dummy’s trump took the second round of hearts. Declarer could draw West’s last trump but then, there were only clubs left on dummy. So, East could then score two club tricks before a third round of hearts gave West one further heart trick..and that would be three down or -800.

South could have done better had they exited with a low club at trick two. They will actually score a club trick with either J or Q and might end up just two down, but still a terrible result even though their opposition can make 3NT. -500 is a curse for a declarer when the opposition are not vulnerable even where they can make game.

Cut them down: lead trumps!

West could tell immediately that the hand was a misfit. They had a strong hand, honours everywhere and even without a “values” double from their partner, could guess South would like to engage in some ruffing. Where East shows values, it becomes even more imperative for the defence to lead trumps at every opportunity including on the opening lead, even if it might “hurt” where the player on lead has a holding like Qxx. You may sacrifice a trump trick but the reward should come back with tricks in side suits. On the actual hand today, there was no such sacrifice.   

Finding a way to 9 tricks

 

It was obvious for South to jump to 3NT after their partner’s take-out double of West’s opening bid. West led K and dummy was not all that South had wished for. However, no time for wishes. 9 tricks were not going to be easy.

East follows to trick 1 with 3 (low encouraging).As South, you duck the opening lead. West continues with 4 to East’s J and your A.

Which card do you throw from dummy? Plan the play. If you play a spade next, dummy’s J wins the trick. East-West are playing 5-card majors.

Richard Solomon

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