The Rule of Twenty

East-West's vigorous ♣ bidding convinced North - correctly - that his partner was almost certainly void of the suit. So his 6 ♥ bid over 5 ♣ was not quite the wild leap it first appears.

West led ♣ A and declarer trumped. He crossed to ♥ Q, cashed ♥ K and led to ♥ A, drawing the four opposing trumps. He then led ♠ 3 to ♠ Q and ♠ 4 to ♠ J and West's ♠ A. West switched to ♦ 3 - too late. Declarer won dummy's ♦ A, trumped ♣ 6, cashed ♠ K and his three remaining ♠s and took the last trick with dummy's remaining trump.

West can hardly be blamed for his ♣ A lead but the opening lead of a ♦ would have established a ♦ trick for the defence, which they would have been able to cash when in with ♠ A.

THE RULE OF TWENTY: Open the bidding when your total points added to the number of cards in your two longest suits equal twenty or more.

Should you double a slam with two aces

To bid and make a Small Slam, only one trick can be lost. But a defender holding two aces should not necessarily double a Small Slam - the opponents are likely to have a void somewhere so one of your aces may not win a trick. That said, you have to feel sympathy for this week’s East who, holding no less than three aces, watched his opponents bid and make a Small Slam. Here is the hand:

West led ♠ Q and dummy and East played low, declarer trumping. Correctly resisting the temptation to trump ♦s, declarer realised that by far the easiest route to 12 tricks was to draw trumps then - assuming trumps split 2-1 - establish ♣s by knocking out ♣ A. He cashed ♥ Q and ♥ J then led ♣ 10. East ducked his ♣ A, then won ♣ 4 to dummy’s ♣ J. He had no sensible return so simply exited with ♣ 3. Declarer was able to enjoy dummy’s three established ♣s discarding ♦ 1086 from hand, trump ♠ 4, trump ♦ K with ♥ K, then table his remaining cards, all trumps.
Last week we saw that it was a mistake to double a Slam if you would be unhappy should the opponents remove themselves to an alternative contract. This week we see that holding two - even three - aces is not a good enough reason to double.

ANDREW’S TIP: Do not double a freely bid Small Slam on the basis of holding two - even three - aces.

When not to make a penalty double

When the opponents have reached a contract that you do not think they will make, it might seem sensible to double, thereby scoring more points. But it is not quite so simple - what if they then run to an alternative contract?

North bid aggressively to Small Slam via the Blackwood 4 NT convention which asked partner how many aces they possessed (5 ♥ showed two). But when East doubled 6 ♥, North reassessed. It was clear East’s ♥s were strong enough to defeat 6 ♥ so North tried the effect of making ♦s trumps - even though it meant bidding a Grand Slam. East doubled again - perhaps less confidently - and West led ♥ 7.
South won ♥ K, cashed ♣ A, trumped ♣ 4 with ♦ 2, led ♦ 4 to ♦ 9 (noting East discard - ♠ 5), trumped ♣ 5 with ♦ 8, and overtook ♦ J with ♦ Q to draw West’s remaining trumps (North discarding ♥ 65 to leave ♠ AJ109 and ♥ A). He then led ♠ Q to ♠ A and ran ♠ J - a “ruffing finesse”. East covered with ♠ K (South would have discarded ♥ 2 if East had played low), so declarer trumped, crossed to ♥ A and enjoyed ♠ 109. He had actually made his doubled Grand Slam! East was left to rue his double of 6 ♥ - he should have passed and quietly defeated the 6 ♥ contract with his two trump tricks.

ANDREW’S TIP: Do not double a contract unless you will be happy if they run to an alternative contract.

The easy life

West led ♠ Q and declarer - for fear of never making it - correctly won ♠ K. With eight top tricks and several chances for nine, declarer cashed ♥ AKQ. West discarded ♦ 3 on the second ♥ and ♥ 4 on the third. Declarer then cashed dummy’s ♦ AK and followed with ♣ AK. Neither queen appeared so his chances seem to have run out. In desperation he exited with ♠ 8.
West, delighted, won ♠ 9 and started cashing his top ♠s. He led ♠ A and East discarded ♥ 10; he followed with ♠ J and East discarded ♥ J. His last two cards were ♠ 10 and ♠ 8 and East’s last two cards were ♦ Q and ♣ Q. At this point he led ♠ 10 and East had to make another discard. After much soul-searching East discarded ♦ Q, and declarer threw ♣ J. West led his ♦ 8 but it was declarer who, out-of-the-blue, made the last trick (and his contract) with ♦ J.
Superficially East made the blunder - throwing the wrong queen away at the penultimate trick. But West made a far more culpable error. He knew East’s hand was all winners as soon as declarer did not cash a ninth trick; he should not have cashed his ♠ 10 at the penultimate trick giving his partner a chance to go wrong - rather leading ♦ 8 for East to win the last two tricks with ♦ Q and ♣ Q.

ANDREW’S TIP: Make partner’s life easy in defence.

Which card should declarer play

When declarer possesses two (or more) cards that are adjacent (eg a king and a queen) then they have equal value. It may seem of little relevance which one he chooses to play. Not so!

West led ♥ 5 and declarer overtook dummy’s ♥ J with ♥ A to lead ♦ 3 to dummy’s ♦ 8. East won ♦ Q and, realising from observing dummy’s ♥ KQ that there was no future in returning partner’s lead, naturally switched to his fine ♣ suit. He led ♣ Q - top of a sequence - but declarer played ♣ K which held the trick and led ♦ 5 to ♦ 9. East won ♦ K and paused to reflect. His ♣ switch had not worked too well - it was clear declarer also held ♣ A because his ♣ K had won the trick (if West held ♣ A he would have beaten ♣ K with it). There was only one suit left for East to lead - ♠s. He led ♠ 2 and West beat ♠ 10 with ♠ K, cashed ♠ A and led ♠ 6. East won ♠ Q and cashed ♠ 9 - the setting trick.
But it would all have been different if declarer had won East’s ♣ Q switch with ♣ A (not ♣ K). Now East would have had no way of knowing who held ♣ K and might easily have persisted with ♣s when he won ♦ K. And then declarer would have made his contract - three ♥s, three ♦s and ♣ AK making up his eight tricks.

ANDREW’S TIP: As declarer, play the highest of touching cards to leave the defenders in the dark.

The power of the thirty point pack

West’s 3 ♠ opener showed a weak hand with seven decent ♠s; North’s double was for “take-out” - showing an opening hand with short ♠s and support for the other three suits; after East raised the ante with 4 ♠, South deduced - holding four ♠s - that his partner was void and therefore he was playing with a “thirty point pack” of which his partnership held at least 24; his jump to 6 ♥ was thus an excellently judged bid.
West led ♦ 3 and declarer counted ten easy trick in the red suits. He needed to trump two ♠s in dummy to bring his total to the required twelve. He won ♦ J, trumped ♠ 4 with ♥ J, led ♥ 5 to ♥ 10, trumped ♠ 5 with ♥ K, led ♥ 6 to ♥ Q and drew East’s ♥ 9 with ♥ A. He cashed ♦ A, led ♦ 8 to ♦ 10 and cashed ♦ KQ discarding ♠ 86. He conceded a trick but was left with two trumps in hand.

ANDREW’S TIP: Are you playing with a “thirty point pack”? If so - be bold!

If you are short of spades beware

When the opponents stop bidding at the one-level, you should be loath to let them play undisturbed. They would have kept bidding if their hands were strong so your partnership must hold almost half the high cards or more; you should generally attempt to find a playable contract or at least push the opponents a level or two higher. But a word of warning - the part-score battle is likely to be won by the side holding the highest ranking suit ♠s. If you are short in ♠s - beware!

A 1 ♦ contract by South would not have fared well - probably ending up one down. But East protected with 1 ♥ and North-South’s ♠ fit was unearthed. Despite West boldly pushing his opponents to 3 ♠, the contract could not be beaten.
West led ♥ 5 to ♥ 7, ♥ Q and ♥ 3. East switched accurately to ♠ 4 and declarer won ♠ K. He cashed ♦ A, trumped ♦ 2 with ♠ 5, crossed to ♣ A, trumped ♦ 3 with ♠ 6, trumped ♥ 8 with ♠ 2, trumped ♦ 4 with ♠ J, trumped ♥ 10 with ♠ 7, cashed ♠ A and conceded the last three tricks. He had scored no less than seven trump tricks to go with the minor suit aces.

ANDREW’S TIP: Be wary of letting the opponents uncover a ♠ fit - adopt cautious part-score tactics with short ♠s.

Responding to Preempts

When partner has opened at the three level - showing less than opening points and a good seven card suit, you should discount your queens and jacks outside his suit. You should expect to make a minimum of ten tricks (with his suit as trumps) if you have 12+ such “useful points” (UP’s), eleven tricks with 15+ UP’s and twelve tricks with 18+ UP’s.

North discounted his ♣ Q but still had 12 UP’s - enough to have a go for a ten trick contract. How should declarer plan the play in 4 ♥ on West’s opening lead of ♠ K?
He could count nine easy tricks - seven trumps tricks, ♠ A and ♠ A. Can you spot the risk-free route to a tenth trick?

It will come from trumping his third ♦ in dummy. Accordingly he must delay drawing trumps. He wins ♠ A and immediately plays ♦ A and ♦ 4. East wins ♦ K and finds the best return of ♥ 2.

Declarer plays ♥ 9, winning the trick, and now leads ♦ 8, trumping it with ♥ A (this is his crucial extra trick). He trumps ♠ 3, draws the two outstanding trumps and loses two ♣ tricks at the end. 4 ♥ bid and made.

ANDREW’S TIP: Discount queens and jacks outside trumps when responding to a preempt.

Andrew’s favourite lead

Against a trump contract the best opening leads are singletons or sequences of two or more touching high cards in a suit (lead the top card). Generally the singleton is a more dynamic choice but when the sequence is ace-king, the latter choice is advisable. Why?

West led ♦ 4 and declarer surveyed the mediocre dummy. With four obvious losers (three ♠s and ♥ A) as soon as he lost the lead, he needed to risk the ♣ finesse. He won ♦ Q and played ♣ 3 to ♣ 4 and ♣ Q. When ♣ Q won, he cashed ♣ A, discarding ♠ 2 and led ♥ 10, losing to West’s ♥ A. West cashed ♠ AK - had he had the courage to have led a low ♠ his partner could have won ♠ Q and played a second ♦ for him to trump; he then led ♠ 4 to ♠ Q and declarer trumped. Declarer drew the remaining trumps and cashed his ♦s. Ten tricks.

West should have led ♠ A - implying ♠ K. East would have encouraged by playing ♠ 9 and so West would continue with ♠ K and ♠ 4 to East’s ♠ Q. West’s ♥ A would take the setting trick.

ANDREW’S TIP: Defending a trump contract, generally lead ace from ace-king in preference to any alternative opening lead - including a singleton.

Watch those cards!

Guessing which opponent holds a missing queen is a crucial ability in one’s quest to be a successful bridge player. The odds - with no other clue - are that if you and dummy are missing five cards including the queen (but no other picture card) you should finesse, but if you are missing four cards you should bang down the ace and king and hope for the queen to “drop”. 

West cashed ♠AKQ then switched to ♣3. Declarer won ♣K and had to avoid losing a trick to ♥Q to make his game. The odds told him to bang out ♥AK and hope for ♥Q to fall. But after leading to dummy’s ♥K, he did not cash ♥A. Instead he crossed back to ♦A and led ♥J, running it successfully when West played ♥7. He then drew West’s ♥Q with ♥A. Why had he played against the odds?

The reason was quite simple. After following with ♥4 to the first round of trumps, declarer had noticed East re-sort his hand. This strongly implied he was now void of ♥s and was alternating the colours of the remaining suits in his hand.

Note that declarer is not allowed to stare at an opponent or his cards but he is allowed to notice such obvious movements as were made by East; and note that East is not allowed to deliberately mislead declarer by feigning a re-sort when he is not void.

ANDREW’S TIP: Do not re-sort you hand when you have run out of a suit or declarer may use the fact that you are void to his advantage!

The importance of planning

When planning a trump contract, count up the number of sure tricks you have outside the trump suit. Provided you have no possibilities of extra tricks in those suits, you can calculate the number of trump tricks you need in order to fulfill your contract. 

After South opened a Strong 2♠ North simply used the Blackwood convention, found South held all four aces - a 5♣ reply to 4NT shows either 0 or 4 aces - and “punted” the Grand Slam. How should South plan the play on ♥K lead from West?

South took stock before playing from dummy - admirable technique - and counted one ♥ trick, four ♦ tricks and one ♣; with no chance of any extra tricks in those suits, he thus needed seven tricks from trumps; that meant trumping two ♣s in dummy. 

He won ♥A, cashed ♣A and trumped ♣6 with ♠9. He crossed to ♠10, East discarding a ♦, and trumped ♣7 with ♠K. He led ♠3 to ♠J, drew West’s two remaining trumps discarding two ♥s from dummy, cashed ♦A, overtook ♦J with ♦Q, and cashed ♦K and ♦10 discarding ♥3 and ♣8 from his hand. He took the last trick, his thirteenth, with ♠4. Grand Slam made.

ANDREW’S TIP: By counting your sure tricks outside trumps, you can plan how many trump tricks are required for your contract.

Preference or Support?

When a player has bid two suits, he is asking his partner to give a preference. Frequently the partner will be choosing the lesser of two evils with no great enthusiasm. A preference bid must not be confused with genuine support. 

 South, believing that his partner held genuine ♠ support - three cards - invited game with 3♠. This was an error. North was merely giving preference back to South’s first choice trump suit, holding equal length.

3♠ was not a happy contract. West led ♣K then switched accurately to ♠4, trying to remove dummy’s trumps so that declarer could not trump ♥s. Declarer won East’s ♠Q with ♠K and led ♦4. West rose with ♦A, cashed ♣Q and led ♣3, to dummy’s ♣9, East’s ♣10 and declarer trumped. He now cashed ♠A and led a third ♠ hoping for an even split. Not so - West won ♠9, cashed ♠J, drawing declarer’s last trump (East discarding ♦5 and ♦J), then switched to ♥J. This ran to declarer’s ♥Q; he cashed ♥A and exited with ♥4. East won ♥10, cashed ♥K and his last card was ♣A. Declarer had scored just three trump tricks and ♥AQ - down four.

ANDREW’S TIP: Do not confuse genuine support with mere preference.

Principle of Restricted Choice

If one opponent plays a critical card in a suit, his partner is twice as likely to have the adjacent card in the same suit. This is because of the Principle of Restricted Choice (“PRC”) - a mathematical theory that was found to have relevance at the bridge table by Terence Reese. He first expounded the theory in his epic book “The Expert Game”, written in 1958 - an inspirational read for any ambitious player. 

North used the Blackwood convention (4NT) to ask for aces, and when his partner’s 5♦ response (one ace) revealed that all aces were present, he bid 5NT to ask for kings. South’s 6♠ response indicated possession of the three missing kings so North bid the Grand Slam.

West’s ♥10 lead ran to declarer’s ♥J and declarer cashed ♠K. East’s ♠J fell and declarer used PRC to deduce that West was now twice as likely to hold the adjacent card - ♠Q. Thus when he followed by leading ♠4 and West played ♠9, he crossed his fingers and inserted ♠10. East discarded a ♣ so he breathed a sigh of relief, cashed ♠A felling West’s ♠Q, and claimed his Grand Slam.

ANDREW’S TIP: When one opponent plays a critical card in a suit, play his partner to have the adjacent card in the same suit.

Openers bidding stratergy

After South correctly opened 1NT - 12-14 points - North raised to 3NT; there was little future in bidding ♦s as game in a minor suit is tough to make.

West led ♠8 to East’s ♠10 and declarer withheld his ♠A. East continued with ♠3 to ♠6 and West’s ♠9 and declarer won his ♠A perforce on the third round. He then led ♦K, felling East’s ♦Q and led ♦4 to West’s ♦7. Reflecting that East would not have played ♦Q unless he had to, declarer placed all the remaining ♦s with West. He played ♦9 from dummy and East discarded a ♣. Declarer then led ♦AJ drawing West’s ♦108 and enjoyed ♦53 and three ♣ winners. Ten tricks.

ANDREW’S TIP: If you open the bidding in a suit, you must make a second bid if partner changes the suit.

What do you want to win

The chess player’s motto - “When you have found a good move, see if you can find a better one” is equally applicable to bridge. Here West’s defence was theoretically sound - he had made a clear signal to partner. But East, as partners can be, was blind or ignorant, and the contract was allowed to make. East’s fault? Yes - but only in part. West had an idiot-proof way to defeat the contract. Cover up East and South’s hand and see if you can find it. 

West led ♥A and East remembered to signal with ♥9 to encourage a continuation. West duly played ♥K and carefully led ♥8 to the third trick - a “suit-preference signal” for partner - after trumping - to return the higher ranking of the other suits - here ♦s. If West had wanted a ♣ return, he’d lead his lowest ♥ to the third trick. Such signals are most useful in trumping situations - but only if partner is aware of them. Evidently this East was not, for after much agonising and mental coin-tossing, East returned ♣3. Declarer gratefully won ♣A, led ♠A, and cashed dummy’s ♣KQ discarding ♦10. Contract made.

West criticised East for failing to obey the suit-preference signal, but West had an idiot-proof defence - he should simply have cashed ♦A before leading the third ♥ for East to trump.

ANDREW’S TIP: A victorious defence is better than a victorious post-mortem!

Consider how things may look to partner

One the most inherently beautiful aspects of bridge is the partnership element. The true expert nurtures his partner; he anticipates any problems that his partner is likely to have and, if necessary, takes control. Cover up West and South’s cards on this week’s deal, and see if you can replicate East’s defence: 

 North-South have a good auction to 4♠ in which South shows six ♠s and a game-invitational hand with his 3♠ bid; North accepts the invitation with his golden ♠Q and West leads ♥Q.
Declarer plays low from dummy, you as East play ♥8 as an encouraging signal for partner to continue ♥s, and partner follows by leading ♥J. Declarer plays low from dummy a second time. Your play?

If you play low - allowing partner’s ♥J to win the trick - partner is likely to play a third ♥ hoping declarer has one more ♥ and you one fewer. That will be disastrous - declarer will trump, draw trumps in three rounds, and run dummy’s ♣s discarding all his ♦ losers.
You know you can defeat this contract - assuming declarer has more than one ♦. Simply overtake ♥J with ♥A and cash ♦AK.

ANDREW’S TIP: Consider things from partner’s point of view, and be prepared to take control if you know what to do and partner may not.

When openers rebid should be pass

One Notrump openers

 After you have accurately described your hand to partner in the bidding, you should take a back seat and leave decision-making to him. A prime example of this is opening 1NT: you have shown precisely 12-14 points and one of just three distributions - 4333, 4432 or 5332; you must then hand over captaincy to partner - usually he will be able to choose the final contract with his next bid. 

If partner has perfect cards….

You have a good hand for your bidding and start to wonder whether you can advance from Game towards Slam. You realise that if partner has particularly suitable cards, Slam will be easy. You bid on and the (predictable) disappointing dummy is tabled. You go down in your ambitious contract. You try to justify your optimism to partner: “If you’d held…” Sounds familiar? 

Fourth suit forcing

The only bids that force partner to speak again are bids in new suits. It follows that when the first three bids between the partners are in different suits, the only forcing bid left is a bid of the fourth suit. Such a bid does not show the suit - merely a hand going for game but needing to know more about partner’s hand. 

Jump rebid in a new suit

Some bids in bridge are complete “sign off’s” - e.g. 1NT-2♠. Some are invitational - e.g. 1♥-3♥, and some force partner to speak again - e.g. 1♣-1♦. A few bids actually force partner to keep bidding until Game is reached; one such “Game-forcing” sequence is a jump rebid in a new suit by Opener - e.g. 1♣-1♦-2♥ or 1♥-1♠-3♦. 

When to by pass a suit

Which card to lead back for partner to trump

Choice of trump suits

When a player such a American Jeff Meckstroth - who has won countless World Championships - gives a widely applicable Tip for players of all levels, it is worth absorbing. “Do not introduce a suit in the bidding unless you will ultimately be happy to make the suit trumps”. 

When to make a penalty double

Have you ever doubled the opponents in a contract that you were sure you could beat - only to see them flee to a safer haven? 

Six-five hands

Your challenge in the bidding should be to show partner precisely how many cards you have in your long suits. Thus with two five card suits you plan to bid the higher ranking suit first then rebid (bid twice) the lower ranking suit. Watch South describe his 5♠-6♦ shape in three bids:

High level competition

Bold - but not rash - bidding is winning bridge. But once you have pushed the opposition to an uncomfortably high level, you should be happy to defend. 

Confidence

“Fortune favours the bold” is especially true at the bridge table, where confident-sounding bids on slender values reap dividends. 

When to accept an invititation

If you have already shown a bad hand but partner still invites you to keep on bidding, he is saying “ Do you have a good bad hand or a bad bad hand?" 

A good time to lead trumps

If the opponents have bid to a high-level contract and you have a surprisingly large number of points, they are probably planning to make tricks by trumping rather than with high cards. Take out two of their trumps by leading a trump. 

Routine errors

Perhaps you do not think East’s defensive problem is too tough. Yet every single player in my club duplicate went wrong. Cover up the West and South hands and put them to shame! 

Avoid reflex plays

In all departments of bridge, it is a mistake to make the reflex play thoughtlessly. In defence, try to work out what is going on. Ask yourself what has partner led from, and therefore what declarer holds in the suit. 

How many cards does opener rate to have in their first bid suit?

One of the advantages of playing a “Weak Notrump” - whereby a 1NT opener shows 12-14 points - is that a partner who opens One of a Suit cannot have a minimum, balanced hand. Either he has extra points (15+) or a distributional hand with five(+) cards in the suit he opened (exceptionally a 4-4-4-1 shape).

The corollary is that if partner’s bidding implies he is minimum for his opening bid, you should assume he has at least five cards in the suit he opened. 

Minor suits ?

Minor suit games ?

When choosing between 3NT and a major suit game (4♥/4♠) it is generally better to prefer the major suit when you have at least eight cards between the partnership. The security and extra options created by a trump suit more than compensate for the extra trick that has to be made.

The same is emphatically not true of minor suits - after all a minor suit game is only one trick short of a Small Slam. Far better to gamble 3NT than try for two more tricks in 5♣/5♦. 

With trump length, lead length

There are two diametrically opposite defensive strategies against trump contracts. You can lead from shortage and try to make your trumps by trumping; alternatively you can lead from length and try to force declarer to shorten his trumps so you gain trump superiority.

With four (or more) trumps you should generally lead from length and try to force declarer - this week’s hand is a typical example: