Complimentary Issue of Better Bridge Magazine March / April 2020 | Page 11

When declarer leads the ♦3 and
you play the ♦4, it shows the start
of a low-high signal to show an odd
number of cards. If you have three
cards, dummy has five, and partner
has three, then declarer must only
have two. Now partner knows to
win the ♦A on the second round –
the last card declarer has in the suit
– and declarer will not get the extra
trick.
T he F ive S ends a M essage
You’re defending with the East hand
against 3NT. Here’s the auction:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1NT
Pass
3NT
Pass
Pass
Pass
Partner leads the ♥5 and the dummy
appears:
Dummy
Partner
LEAD
♥5
♠ K 6
♥ 10 7 2
♦ A Q 10 7 3
♣ 8 7 4
n
3NT
You
♠ Q 5 4 3
w
e
♥ J 8 6
s
♦ 4
Declarer ♣ A 9 6 3 2
♥ K
The ♥2 is played from dummy and
you play the ♥J — third hand high
— and declarer wins the first trick
with the ♥K. Declarer plays a low
diamond to dummy’s ♦Q, and then
leads the ♣4. What do you plan to
do?
The general guideline in these
situations is to play second hand low.
In this deal, however, partner's lead
of the ♥5 gives the opportunity to
use the Rule of Eleven:
Subtract the number on the
card led from eleven.
The difference is the number
of higher cards in the
remaining three hands.
Apply the Rule to this hand, 11 - 5
= 6. You’ve seen all 6 cards higher
than the ♥5 - two in dummy, three
in your hand, and declarer's ♥K - so
declarer has no higher card left.
In addition, the ♥3 and ♥4 are
missing. Partner might hold either of
these cards, in which case your side
has four heart tricks ready to take.
All you have to do is win the ♣A and
lead back a heart.
If you play second hand low, declarer
makes the contract. Here’s the
complete deal:
Dummy
♠ K 6
♥ 10 7 2
♦ A Q 10 7 3
♣ 8 7 4
Partner
n
♠ J 9 7 2
w
e
♥ A Q 9 5 4
s
♦ 9 8 5
Declarer
♣ J
♠ A 10 8
♥ K 3
♦ K J 6 2
♣ K Q 10 5
3NT
You
♠ Q 5 4 3
♥ J 8 6
♦ 4
♣ A 9 6 3 2
Partner
LEAD
♥5
Dummy
♠ K 6
♥ 4 3 2
♦ A Q 10 7 3
♣ 8 7 4
3NT
You
♠ Q 5 4 3
w
e
♥ J 8 6
s
♦ 4
Declarer ♣ A 9 6 3 2
♥ K
n
The play to the first trick is the same.
Declarer wins the ♥K. Next, declarer
crosses to dummy to lead a low club.
If you play the same way and win
the ♣A, declarer makes the contract.
You can see all the hearts lower than
the ♥5 in the dummy so partner
must have started with a four-card
suit. If you play the ♣A and return
a heart, even if partner's hearts are
established as winners, partner can
only take three tricks and that won't
be enough to defeat the contract.
So, in this example, there’s no rush
to take the ♣A. Follow the old
guideline of second hand low and
wait to see what happens. Here’s the
full hand:
Dummy
Partner
♠ J 9 7 2
♥ A Q 9 5
♦ 9 8 5 2
♣ Q
♠ K 6
♥ 4 3 2
♦ A Q 10 7 3
♣ 8 7 4
3NT
You
♠ Q 5 4 3
w
e
♥ J 8 6
s
♦ 4
Declarer ♣ A 9 6 3 2
♠ A 10 8
♥ K 10 7
♦ K J 6
♣ K J 10 5
n
If you play low, declarer is likely
to misguess the club position and
finesse the ♣J or ♣10, losing a trick
to partner’s ♣Q. Now your side has
Declarer has five diamond and two enough tricks to defeat the contract.
spade tricks to go with the ♥K. If If you’re in a hurry to take the ♣A,
declarer slips through a club trick, declarer won’t have any difficulty
that’s the ninth trick. To prevent coming to nine tricks.
that, East must hop up with the ♣A.
Let’s leave the contract and opening
lead the same but make a slight
change to the dummy.
B etter B ridge . com
9