Consider the following deal . West leads the ♣K , and we have a solid eight-card fit in spades and also a solid eight-card fit in hearts . The missing spades are favorably divided 3-2 and the missing hearts unfavorably divided 4-1 . Is it better to be playing with spades as the trump suit or hearts ?

♠ A K J 10 9

♥ Q J 8 7

♦ 3

♣ 8 6 3

♠ 5 3

n ♠ 6 4 2 ♥ 6 5 3 2 w e ♥ 4 ♦ Q 8 6 5 s ♦ K J 10 7 4

♣ K Q 4

♣ J 10 9 2

♠ Q 8 7

♥ A K 10 9

♦ A 9 2

♣ A 7 5

Perhaps surprisingly , it ’ s far better to be playing with hearts as the trump suit . Playing in spades , we can make only eleven tricks . There are two club losers and there ’ s no place for them to go .

Playing in hearts , however , we can make all thirteen tricks ! We win the ♣A , play the ♦A , and ruff a diamond . We lead a heart to our hand , and ruff our remaining diamond in dummy . We lead dummy ’ s last heart and win in our hand . We draw the defenders ’ remaining trumps , discarding two clubs from dummy . Then we take the spade winners , discarding two clubs from our hand . We finish with thirteen tricks : six heart tricks , five

spades , and two aces . We make a grand slam in hearts but not even a small slam in spades .

Deals like this illustrate why a lot of our bidding is focused on finding 4-4 fits . When partner opens a minor , we respond in a four-card major suit ahead of raising the minor or bidding notrump . When partner opens 1NT , we use the Stayman convention to look for a major-suit fit . When an opponent overcalls , we use the negative double to help find a fit .

That ’ s not to say there aren ’ t times to avoid a 4-4 fit . If the suit is weak and there are enough tricks without it , or perhaps if the fit is in a minor suit , for example . However , the majority of the time , it ’ s best to try to find the fit . Consider this deal :

When West leads a club , we are pleased to be playing in our 4-4 heart fit rather than 3NT , which has no chance since we have to drive out the ♥A to establish the tricks we need and the opponents can take their four club winners . In hearts , once we drive out the ♥A , the defenders can ’ t take more than one club trick . The trump suit gives us control over the defenders ' club suit .

Notice it wouldn ’ t be as good to play in the 4-4 minor suit fit , even though the diamonds are more solid than the hearts . In 5♦ , we ’ d have to lose a spade , a heart , and a club . Only ten tricks .

Handling the 4-4 Fit When playing in a 4-4 fit , we will often need to handle the trump suit carefully . The odds favor the five missing trumps being divided 3-2 , but that won ’ t always be the case . Also , we may need to use the trump suit to ruff losers or protect us from the opponents ’ winners in other suits . Let ’ s consider some examples .

Suppose we reach 4♥ on this deal , and West leads the ♠Q . How should we handle the trump suit ?

♠ K 8 5

♥ 8 7 5 4

♦ K 7 4 3

♣ A 2

♠ Q J 10 n

♥ K Q 10 w

♦ J 9 s

♣ Q 10 7 4 3

♠ A 9 4

♥ A 9 6 2

♦ A 8

♣ K 8 6 5

e

4♥

♠ 7 6 3 2

♥ J 3

♦ Q 10 6 5 2

♣ J 9

With a sure spade loser , we ’ re going to need the defenders ’ hearts to be

2 Audrey Grant ’ s Better Bridge | September-October 2020