Lesson 21 - REVIEW

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Lesson 21 - Lesson 21 QUIZ - Links page

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R-BR 21.1 - General

There are three important differences between the two sides.

  1. Declarer can see . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
    Defenders can see . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  2. The Declarer can . . . . . . . and . . . . . . . . . . his game plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
    For the Defenders this must be a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  3. The Defence has the advantage of . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Defence must establish their plan of attack based on three sources of information
  1. The . . . . . . . . . . .
    The . . . . . . . . . . . . . often gives distinctive clues as to Declarer and Dummy's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Also one of the Defenders may have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , which usually is a clear . . . . . . . . . . .. signal

  2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
    There are usually several opportunities during play where the Defenders can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Answer

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R-BR 21.2 - The Dynamics of a Lead

Two important and often counteracting dynamics spring into play when you make the lead to a trick in contract bridge :

  1. you have the advantage of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you wish to attack

  2. but your . . . . . . . hand Opponent is the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to play to the trick
Therefore, regardless which side leads, the scenarios for many tricks in a game is like this :
1st player leads a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . card

2nd player usually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3rd player . . . . . . . . . . ., trying to either . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . or to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4th player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Therefore, when you are poised to make a lead select a suit in which the enemy's high card(s) are held by your . . . . . . . . hand Opponent rather than by the Opponent on your . . . . . . .

Always analyse Partner's lead with a close eye on Dummy's hand on the table.
  1. Is Partner leading his . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
    If so . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . as soon as you gain the lead

  2. Or is he playing . . . . . . . . . . Dummy's . . . . . . . . or . . . . . . Dummy's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?
    In this case do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , but . . . . . . . his . . . . . . . . instead
Answer

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R-BR 21.3 - The Opening Lead

The opening lead can be very crucial and in many cases can . . . . . . . or . . . . . . Declarer's contract. It is also the most tricky lead to make for the Defence because the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., and Defenders have had of course no opportunity to . . . . . . . . . . .
The opening leader must therefore rely on the preceding . . . . . . . and on the cards in . . . . . . . . . . Based on this he can make three types of leads

  1. an . . . . . . . . . . . . . lead - aiming to set up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  2. a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lead - trying to avoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  3. a . . . . . . . . . lead - aiming to reduce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . leads
Make an . . . . . . . . . . . . . lead when
  1. your Partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
    Lead . . . . . . . . . . . . If you hold . . . . . . . . . . . . in his suit it is usually best to . . . . . . . If not lead a . . . . . . . . card.

  2. you have a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . yourself
    Lead . . . . . . . . . . . Lead the card as shown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  3. you hold a suit with . . . . . . . . . . . . . Honours or better
    Lead . . . . . . . . . . . Top . . . . . . . . . . . . Honours in all cases, except in . . . . . . . contracts when you hold a . . . . . card suit, then lead . . . . . . . . . . . .

  4. you hold a . . . . . . . . . . . . or . . . . . . . . . . . . .
    Lead . . . . , but only if you expect to be able to . . . . . . . . . . . . before Declarer is able to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Answer

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2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . leads
When your Partner has . . . . . . . . . . , you have no . . . . . . . . suit to lead and hold a hand with a sprinkling of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and/or . . . . . . it is best to make a . . . . . lead.
Always remember, when the Honours of a suit are . . . . . . . . . amongst the four players, the side that . . . . . . . . . . . usually gives away an . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . trick to their Opponents.
For a defensive lead always lead a . . . . . . . card of

  1. a useless . . . . . . card suit

  2. the . . . . . . . . . suit
    In NT consider leading an . . . . . . . . . . . suit, especially after a . . . . . . . . Stayman reply. This indicates that Declarer and Dummy combined have . . . . cards in any major at the most.
    If you have a . . . . . . . . . . in one of them, Partner must hold at least . . . . . cards in the suit !

  3. . . . . . . . . . . suit if he has bid one, provided you hold no . . . . . . . . . . in it yourself

  4. the . . . . . . . . . suit

  5. a . . . . card suit headed by the Ace
    Always lead the . . . . in a trump contract, but play . . . . from the . . . . . in No Trumps.
The above fifth option in a NT contract is quite OK, but in trump contracts only use it if nothing else is available
Leading your . . . . . is always a bonus for the Opposition as it saves them to . . . . . . . . . , usually at the expense of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aces should be used to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of the Opponents, not just for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kings and Queens, whenever possible, should have that same task.

Answer

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3. . . . . . . . . . leads
A . . . . . . . . . . lead is the best attacking lead when the auction has revealed that Declarer is likely to depend on . . . . . . . . . . . in Dummy to make his contract.
In such case lead

  1. . . . . . . . from A x, then lead again with your . . . . . . . . . . .

  2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . from A x x, then lead the . . . . . . next time you gain the lead, followed by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
    When you hold 3 trumps, Partner will usually hold . . . . . . By leading a . . . . . trump first time, Partner will still have a . . . . . . . . . left to lead to you in case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  3. . . . . . . . . . from K x x or J 10 x
    Avoid leading trumps when you hold K x or Q x (x) or J x (x), you may lose out on . . . . . . . . . . . .

  4. . . . . . from x x x or x x
But do not lead trumps when you hold . . . . . . trumps or when you hold a . . . . . . . . . . . .
This is an opportunity to try to force Declarer . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keep leading your . . . . . suit (like in a . . . . contract). If Declarer is forced to ruff . . . . . . . you have more trumps than . . . . . . . . . . . and you will gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For example :
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You win the first trick with the Diamond Queen.Which card do you lead in the 2nd trick ? . . . . . . . . . Answer

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R-BR 21.4 - Which card to Lead

Write the correct answers on the Diagram below.

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Some Definitions :
  • Solid sequence = . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    A . . . . . .   -   K . . . . . .   -   Q . . . . .   -   J . . . . . .   -   10 . . . . . . .

  • Interrupted sequence = . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    A . . . . . . .   -   K . . . . . . . . .   -   Q . . . . . . . . .   -   J . . . . . . . . .   -   10 . . . . . . . .

  • Interior sequence = . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    A . . . . . . . .   -   K . . . . . . . .   -   Q . . . . . . . .  -   J . . . . . . . .   -   10 . . . . . . . .

  • Touching Honours = . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    A . . . . .   -   K . . . . .   -   Q . . . . .   -   J . . . . .

  • Tenace = . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    A . . . . .   -   K . . . .   -   Q . . . . .   -   J . . . .   -   10 . . . .
Answer


Leading Partner's suit
When Partner has overcalled a suit and it is your turn to lead it is generally best to lead your . . . . . . . . card in his suit, if you have one. This avoids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It also provides Partner with a clear picture of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . of the suit and helps him to . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .

The Underlead
Partner has a small Heart, Dummy plays low. Which card do you lead ?

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When Partner leads a low card of a suit in which you hold touching Honours or a solid sequence : play the . . . . . . . card of touching Honours. This leaves Declarer in the . . . . . . as to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., and at the same time shows Partner that you might have the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Therefore

  1. In Case a. (above) play your . . . . . . .

  2. In Case b. (above) play your . . . . . . . . .

  3. In Case c. (above) it is best to play your . . . . . . . . . .
When . . . . . . . the suit . . . . . . . . however, always play the . . . . . of touching Honours.

Answer

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R-BR 21.5 - Signals

A Defender can make a card signal when he is not required to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , or when he is . . . . . . in a suit and can . . . . . . . . . a card from an other suit. An . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . card, followed (if possible) by a . . . . . card on Partner's lead or as a discard is . . . . . . . . . . . . . (a ". . . . . - . . . . . ." signal). Playing a . . . . card first is . . . . . . . . . . . .   For example :

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  1. In case a. play your . . . , an . . . . . . . . . . . . card, showing Partner you hold the . . . . . . .

  2. In case b. play your . . . . , a . . . . . . . . . . card showing Partner you have . . . . . . . . . . in the suit

A high card is usually anything between a 6 and a 9, a low card between 2 and 5. But even a 4 followed by a 3 can be an encouraging high-low signal. It all depends on the cards the signaller has at his disposal.

A discard works in the same way.
When you are void in the suit lead discard a relatively high card of the suit you wish Partner to lead to you. If you don't want that suit lead to you, play a low card.

Answer

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The Mc Kennie Discard

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The Mc Kennie discard is a useful and popular devise that gets around this problem.
The Mc Kennie discard signals for one of the suits . . . . . . . to the trick.
For example if a Club is lead (a suit in which you are void) and you discard a Diamond, you signal for one of the . . . . . . . . . . . suits : . . . . . . . . If you play a high Diamond, say an 8, you ask Partner for a . . . . . lead , but if you play a low Diamond, a 2 for example, you ask for a . . . . . . . . lead.
In the examples on the left :
  1. In case a. you signal for a . . . . . . . lead

  2. In case b. you signal for a . . . . . . lead

  3. In case c. you signal for a . . . . . . lead

  4. In case d. you signal for a . . . . . . lead

  5. In case e. you signal for a . . . . . . lead

  6. In case f. you signal for a . . . . . . . lead

  7. In case g. you signal for a . . . . . . lead

  8. In case h. you signal for a . . . . . . lead
Answer

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R-BR 21.6 - Defence against the Finesse

Defence against the finesse is based on a very simple principle :

Rule
Only cover an Honour with your own Honour if it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

If this is not the case always play . . . . . , and let Declarer guess.
To judge whether you promote a trick in Partner's hand you have to look for any missing cards (usually . . . . . . . . . . ) ranked . . . . . . . . the Honours exposed on the table.
Here follow some examples.

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  1. Play the . . . . . . . Why ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  2. Play the. . . . . . . Why ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  3. Play the . . . . . . . Why ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  4. Play the . . . . . . . Why ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  5. Play the . . . . . . . Why ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  6. Play the . . . . . . . Why ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Answer

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R-BR 21.7 - Finesse by the Defence

The finesse techniques apply equally well to the Defence as to the Declarer play. The only difference is that each finesse manoeuvre by the Defence must be executed by . . . . . players instead of . . . . .
Below follow some typical examples and their correct way of execution.

All top of a . . . . . . . . . . . . . and top of . . . . . . . . . . . . . leads are a first move for a potential . . . . . . . . . finesse against leader's left hand Opponent.
In this case if Dummy plays the King you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If he plays small play your . . . . , showing Partner you . . . . . . . . . . . .		 br2108.gif
In case a. if Dummy plays low play your . . . . . . . . If Dummy plays the Ace, play your . . . . , showing Partner . . . . . . . . .. .

In case b. if Dummy plays low, play your . . . . . . . . . . If Dummy plays the Ace, play your . . . . . . . , to . . . . . . . . . . the suit for Partner. He may have a . . . card suit. 		br2109.gif

Rule - As Defender always play the . . . . . . card from touching Honours, except when making a . . . . . . .

Answer

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In case a. if Dummy plays the Queen, play your . . . . . . . If Dummy plays low, play your . . . . . .

In case b. if Dummy plays the Queen, play your . . . . . . . If Dummy plays low, play your . . . . . . . . . 		br2110.gif

In case a. if Dummy plays the Queen, play your . . . . . .
If Dummy plays low, play your . . . . . . .

In case b. if Dummy plays the Queen, play your . . . . . . . . .
If Dummy plays low, play your . . . . . . . . 		br2111.gif

Rule - When Dummy has an Honour which you as third hand can beat, only play your Honour if Dummy's . . . . . . . . is played, or if your next card is . . . . . . . . than the . . . . . . . .

Answer

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In case a. if Dummy plays low, play your . . . . . . .
If Dummy plays the Ace, play your . . . . , showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In case b. if Dummy plays low, play your . . . . . .
If Dummy plays the Ace, . . . . . . . . . the suit by playing your . . . . . . . 		br2112.gif

When Partner leads his long suit and you hold one or two Honours but only one small card in the suit, . . . . . . your access to Partner's hand by playing your . . . . . . cards first, keeping your . . . . . card to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<

Answer


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R-BR 21.8 - Other Techniques

Other techniques, including the . . . . . . . and the . . . . . . . . . . . . are common to both Declarer play and a good Defence.
Here follow a few examples.

1. The Defensive . . . . . . .
Declarer is in a Spade contract and your Partner leads the 9 of Diamonds. Dummy plays low.
What do you do ? . . . . . . . and play your . . . . . . . . .

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Here another example.
Declarer is in a No Trump contract this time.
You lead 4th from the top of your longest suit, Spades. Dummy plays low and Partner wins with the King. Partner at trick 2 leads a small Spade. Declarer plays low.
What do you do ? . . . . . . . . . and play your . . . . . . .

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Answer

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2. The Defensive . . . . . . . .
Declarer is in a 2 Spade contract and you make a defensive opening lead with a small trump.
Declarer draws three rounds of trumps then leads a small Club.

What do you do ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3. Knocking out Dummy's . . . . . . . . .
Declarer is in a 4 Spade contract. You this time make an aggressive opening lead with the King of Diamonds, top of touching Honours.
Dummy plays low and you win the first trick. What do you play next ?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Answer
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