JULIAN POTTAGE on DEFENCE Partner’s lead was more costly on this layout, allowing declarer two tricks in- stead of one. Again, however, the damage has already been done. Unless declarer is desperately short of entries, a spade Active or return is safe. On average, opening up a new suit costs a trick about 40% of the time. The more new suits you lead, the higher the chance that you will blow a Passive? trick and the greater the risk that you will blow more than one trick.

(Part I) Study the dummy

ne of the most important things Declarer lets the lead run round to dum- How, then, do you know whether to you need to do as a defender is to my and scores a cheap (and undeserved) defend actively or passively? A good tip Odecide whether to defend activ- trick. What is more, with just the bare ace is to study the dummy and see if it ely or passively. By an active defence, I left in hand, declarer may avoid a loser in contains a long, strong suit that declarer mean that you try to set up or cash win- the suit by ruffing the third round. can run or establish. ners, or that you attack an , or in With a passive defence. however, you some other way try to thwart declarer. An avoid breaking new suits. Instead you active defence often involves breaking might play back one partner led or even ♠ A K Q 10 5 new suits, hoping partner has the right return one declarer has played. ♥ Q 7 5 4 cards (in that suit and perhaps elsewhere) ♦ J 3 to make your defence successful. ♣ K 2 ♠ K 10 6 ♠ J 7 6 N ♥ 8 3 W E N ♠ Q 10 6 S ♠ A8 3 ♦ K 10 8 6 5 W E N ♣ Q 8 5 S W E S ♠ K J 5 Suppose partner leads the two of spades and you put up the ace on dummy’s six. West North East South Suppose you are East and have the lead. In a no- contract, a spade return 1♠ Pass 2♥ If you want to make three quick spade might set up a long card but, for most Pass 4♥ End tricks, you should lead your low spade. practical purposes, a spade return is a You hope that partner holds the ace and passive defence. You are unlikely to get You lead the six of diamonds. Partner no more than four spades in all. You hope rich in the suit. Whilst it is true that part- wins with the ace, both dummy and that the layout is something like this: ner’s initial lead may have cost a trick, it declarer following low, and returns the is most unlikely that returning the suit four, on which South plays the queen. will do so. Suppose this is the layout: You win impeccably with the king. ♠ Q 10 6 What do you do now? Reading partner’s four as an original N ♠ A 8 7 2 W E ♠ K J 5 ♠ K 10 6 fourth highest and assuming declarer has S not voluntarily crashed the queen and N ♠ 9 4 3 ♠ J 7 5 2 W E ♠ A8 3 jack of diamonds together, you know de- S clarer has no more diamonds. Continuing ♠ Q 9 4 diamonds would not, on this occasion, re- Partner wins the first round with the ace present a passive defence. A third round and returns the two (original fourth best). of diamonds would allow declarer to You then make two more tricks by fines- Yes, partner’s lead has saved declarer a in one hand and discard a loser from the sing the jack or capturing the queen. A two-way against the jack, but other. switch to the suit involves significant the damage has already been done. A Nevertheless, there are ways of defen- risk. Suppose this is really the layout: spade return is quite harmless. ding passively if you want them. A spade switch will certainly give nothing away. Also, if you think about it, a trump switch ♠ Q 10 6 ♠ K 10 6 is safe as well. If partner has K-x, decla- rer can finesse whether you lead the suit N N ♠ 9 8 7 3 2 W E ♠ K J 5 ♠ Q 9 5 2 W E ♠ A8 3 or not. If partner has K-J or A-J, decla- S S rer is going to lose only one trump trick ♠ A4 ♠ J 7 4 in any event. Continued on page 28 ‹

Page 27 POTTAGE ON DEFENCE continued from page 27 longer afraid of the spade suit and can afford to wait for your tricks. This means you want a passive defence. Dummy’s length and strength in spades, not concerned about this in the setting We established earlier that a third together with your own spade holding, above. The jack of clubs was never going round of diamonds would not be a good should tell you to be active. If you do to be a loser. Declarer could either ruff it idea. Moreover, now that you have a nothing, declarer can surely draw trumps in dummy or throw it on the long spades. singleton trump, it would be unsafe to and discard losers on dummy’s spades. lead trumps. Partner might hold K-J-x, The right thing to do is to try a low club. or A-J-x, and have hopes of two tricks. This has two chances to gain. The first is ♣ K 2 Your safest exit is with the queen of that partner has the ace and jack of clubs. spades. This leaves declarer without N If declarer puts up dummy’s king, partner ♣ Q 8 5 W E ♣ A 10 9 6 4 recourse when the full deal turns out to wins with the ace and your queen is high. S be as follows: If not, then partner, reading your low club ♣ J 7 3 (the five) as suggesting an honour, fines- ses the jack. The other chance is that part- ♠ A K 6 5 2 ner has the ace of clubs but declarer mis- If declarer has to play this suit, the ♥ Q 10 7 4 guesses. With J-9-x-x or J-10-x-x, de- defenders are bound to score two tricks ♦ J 3 clarer has to guess whether you have (I say “two”, assuming that dummy can ♣ K 2 underled the ace of clubs or the queen. ruff the third round). By contrast, if West ♠ Q J 9 7 ♠ 10 3 Given that you did not lead a club initially leads a club and declarer guesses to play ♥ 8 N ♥ 5 3 2 W E and that your partner has already turned low from dummy, it is possible to restrict ♦ K 10 8 6 5 S ♦ A 9 4 2 up with one ace, there is quite a good the defenders to one trick. On the deal ♣ Q 8 5 ♣ A 10 6 4 chance that declarer would put up dum- above you did not need to worry about ♠ 8 4 my’s king, playing you for the ace. This this possibility. Dummy’s spades would ♥ A K J 9 6 is the full deal: take care of declarer’s slow club losers. ♦ Q 7 The only way the defenders could score ♣ J 9 7 3 two club tricks was by making them ♠ A K Q 10 5 early. ♥ Q 7 5 4 Let us make a few changes to the If you led a busy five of clubs, declarer ♦ J 3 above deal and consider West’s options might guess to play low from dummy ♣ K 2 now. and make the contract. ♠ J 7 6 ♠ 9 3 2 ♥ 8 3 N ♥ 10 2 W E Count your tricks ♦ K 10 8 6 5 S ♦ A 9 4 2 ♠ A K 6 5 2 ♣ Q 8 5 ♣ A J 6 4 ♥ Q 10 7 4 Your holding in dummy’s long suit need ♠ 8 4 ♦ J 3 not be the only consideration. Take this ♥ A K J 9 6 ♣ K 2 example: ♦ Q 7 ♠ Q J 9 7 ♣ 10 9 7 3 ♥ 8 N ♦ K 10 8 6 5 W E ♠ Q 7 5 2 ♣ Q 8 5 S ♥ K J Declarer has no winning guess available ♦ A8 and loses the first four tricks after your ♣ A J 7 3 2 club switch. The contract would make, The bidding is the same, the contract is ♠ K J however, if you switched to one of the still 4♥, and again the defenders take the ♥ A Q 7 5 4 N majors. Declarer has ten top tricks: five first two tricks with the ace and king of W E ♦ K 9 4 hearts and five spades. Before we move diamonds. Should West switch to the five S ♣ K 10 4 on, it may be instructive to study the of clubs as before? layouts on which the club switch might Before answering that question, we (on a different deal) cost a trick: need to consider whether passive or West North East South active defence is the order of the day. As 1♣ 1♥ 1♠1 we discussed earlier, a club switch is Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ ♣ K 2 great if the best hope is to score two fast End club tricks, but far more risky if two 1 Promises a five-card suit N ♣ Q 8 5 W E ♣ 10 9 6 4 3 slow tricks will do. Can you see the S enormous difference in the spade posi- Partner leads the six of hearts and you ♣ AJ 7 tion? Earlier declarer had five spade win the jack with the queen as South tricks readily available and you needed plays the two. You cash the ace of ace of fast tricks. Here dummy has only two hearts, which collects the three, eight Now the club switch gives declarer easy spade winners and it will take two and king. How do you continue? three club tricks instead of two. You are ruffs to set up a long card. You are no Continued on page 29 ‹

Page 28 POTTAGE ON DEFENCE continued from page 28 would not be such a good idea to play a third round of hearts this time? Your clubs are slightly stronger than You do not have a particularly strong they were before. The key difference is holding in dummy’s suit but it should be ♠ 7 in the trump suit. You no longer have a good enough. Why is that? You have ♥ — trump trick. This means that passive made two tricks already and are bound to ♦ — defence is unlikely to work. Two heart make a trump trick. You need only one ♣ A J 7 3 2 tricks and one club will not be enough. trick in the minors to defeat the contract. ♠ — ♠ — You might think that, with the king of So it is counting your tricks as much as ♥ — N ♥ 7 4 diamonds behind dummy’s ace, you will W E dummy’s long suit that tells you to def- ♦ 10 7 3 S ♦ K score a diamond as well. Think again. If end passively. How do you go about ♣ 8 6 5 ♣ K 10 4 declarer has a doubleton club (even with- defending passively? Partner would not ♠ 10 9 6 4 out the queen), a single ruff will set up lead the six of hearts from 10-9-8-6. ♥ — the suit. This gives declarer five trump You can therefore be sure that declarer ♦ — tricks (at least), three club tricks, a heart has a third heart and hence that playing ♣ Q 9 ruff and the ace of diamonds. Dummy’s a third round of hearts is safe. The danger long clubs will take care of declarer’s of a busy switch to a diamond is that the slow diamond losers. Of course, if de- cards lie something like this: If you lead a red card, declarer ruffs in clarer has a singleton club, then the suit dummy, discarding a club from hand. will not be so easy to set up but, in that Best is for you to lead a club instead, in case, you are not going to make a club ♠ Q 7 5 2 the hope that West has the queen. Alas, trick. It is also possible that declarer has ♥ K J your luck is out on that score. three losing clubs (i.e. Q-x with West). ♦ A8 The tricky thing about bridge is that I In this case, it does not matter if you ♣ A J 7 3 2 need make only a slight adjustment to blow a diamond trick. Two club tricks ♠ 8 ♠ K J the hands to put an altogether different will allow you to beat the contract. The ♥ 10 8 6 N ♥ A Q 7 5 4 complexion on things: time when the active defence of a dia- W E ♦ J 10 7 6 3 2 S ♦ K 9 4 mond switch is essential is when the ♣ 8 6 5 ♣ K 10 4 cards lie something like this: ♠ A 10 9 6 4 3 ♠ Q J 5 2 ♥ 9 3 2 ♥ K J ♦ Q 5 ♦ A8 ♠ Q J 5 2 ♣ Q 9 ♣ A 10 7 3 2 ♥ K J ♠ K 7 ♦ A8 ♥ A Q 7 5 4 ♣ A 10 7 3 2 N Declarer puts in the queen of diamonds, W E ♦ K 9 4 ♠ 8 ♠ K 7 cashes the ace of trumps, ruffs a heart in S ♣ K J 4 ♥ 10 8 6 N ♥ A Q 7 5 4 W E dummy, cashes the ace of diamonds and ♦ Q 10 7 6 3 2 S ♦ K 9 4 puts you in with your trump trick. You ♣ 8 6 5 ♣ K J 4 will then be on lead in this very unhappy The bidding and play to the first two ♠ A 10 9 6 4 3 position: tricks are as before. Can you see why it ♥ 9 3 2 ♦ J 5 ♣ Q 9 WILKINSON FURNITURE Adlington Park, Adlington, 01625 878444 Cheshire SK10 4NL After the diamond switch, declarer can- not avoid losing a trick in each minor. On an erroneous heart continuation, by con- trast, declarer has more than one way of getting home. The natural line is to ruff in dummy and run the queen of spades, which you do best not to cover. Best now 95 is to lead a low club off dummy to set up £59 the queen. As the cards lie (the clubs inclusive of being 3-3), declarer can also succeed by VAT & delivery drawing a second round of trumps and (mainland only) attacking clubs from hand. A single ruff Orders by post only. Full club-size Bridge Table sets up the suit. No credit cards please. 30" Square The concept of an active defence and Please make cheques payable to Green Baize Top a passive defence applies equally in a Wilkinson Furniture Click-Lock Action Legs no-trump contract. We will consider that next time.

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