Effective defence strategy attempts to take
a certain number of tricks. This number varies, based
on a number of factors:
1. The contract
2. The form of the game
3. Compensation for whatever WE can make
The contract, of course, is central. It
determines the strain (we tend to defend differently
against No Trump contracts versus Suit contracts) and
the number of tricks that we must take before we, the
defenders, can make a positive score (i.e. by BEATING
the contract).
The form of the game determines how many
tricks we will need for a good score. At IMPs or
Rubber Bridge, our CENTRAL purpose will be to beat
the contract. Hence, risking an overtrick in order
to pursue a small chance of beating the contract is
good strategy at IMPs or Rubber Bridge. This is
because the reward for beating a contract outweighs
the paltry loss in allowing an overtrick. This is
not the case at MatchPoints, where our goal must be
to TAKE ALL THE TRICKS THAT WE ARE ENTITLED TO,
regardless of whether this involves allowing the
contract to make or not. The difference between
-600 and -630 is only one IMP, but can mean the
difference between a top and a bottom board if
all others are making, say, -620. Remember: at
MatchPoints what matters is the fact that your
score is better than everyone else's; it does NOT
matter BY HOW MUCH your score exceeds anyone else's.
The third factor is compensation, "protecting"
whatever score we might have made had WE declared
the hand. Setting 4S doubled for +500 will NOT be
a good score--especially at MatchPoints--if we
could have made +620 in 4H. Hence, to protect our
+620, we will need to beat 4S doubled that extra
trick that will net us +800.
Passive Versus Attacking Defence
The TONE of your approach to defence at IMPS
will be determined by the auction. Have the opponents
bid CONFIDENTLY to their contract? Or have they
seemed to stretch en route to a "thin" contact?
If the opponents have bid confidently, your best
approach will likely be an aggressive one, hoping
to find partner with the specific card(s) that
may set the contract. If, on the other hand, the
opponents have bid their hands "to the limit" you
should endeavour to make Declarer WORK for hir
tricks by adopting a safer, more passive approach.
Another time when passive defence is in order is
against a freely bid GRAND slam.
|
Against 1NT:3NT you must ATTACK with a
Spade lead, even though you may well be leading
into their S-AQ10.
Against 1NT:2NT:3NT, though, you might
prefer a safer H-Jack lead so as not to give ANY
tricks away on the opening lead.
Against 1NT:7NT would would NEVER lead
a Spade, since that may well hand them their
13th trick!
Leading Trumps
There are three instances where leading
trumps is a good idea:
1. As a passive choice.
If it seems as if leading any OTHER suit
might compromise our holdings in that suit,
why not lead a trump and wait for our tricks?
2. When your side has strength in all other suits.
|
After 1H-P-2H-Dble-4H it sounds as if MANY
of their tricks will have to come from the
trump suit. By leading a trump, you may
be able to limit the number of times they
can ruff their losers.
3. When Dummy has made a choice between 2 or
more of Declarer's suits.
|
After 1S-P-1NT-P-2H-P-3H-P-4H, you do
NOT want Declarer to ruff hir losing
Spades on dummy. To reduce this, LEAD
A TRUMP.
REMEMBER: The best defence against a cross ruff
is a trump lead!
The "Theory of Reluctant Choice" states that
whenever Dummy has made a tepid choice between
Declarer's two suits, LEAD A TRUMP. Hence, after
1S:1NT:2H:2S our natural tendency should be to
lead a trump (Spade).
Leading Non-Trump Suits
The first rule of leads is to ATTACK OUR
LENGTH--yes, even against a SUIT contract. If
partner has bid a suit, we should lead it: the
top of any doubleton (including any doubleton
honour), small from Honour-3rd or more. With
3 small cards in partner's suit, lead the MIDDLE
one, then the HIGHER one, then the lowest, against
a SUIT contact. This tendency to play "Middle, Up,
Down" is called MUD. Against a NO TRUMP contract
lead the HIGHEST of the 3 cards in partner's suit.
| You: |
 852 |
|
Against any NT contract, lead the S-8 if
partner has bid spades. Against any SUIT contract,
lead the S-5, then play the S-8 and, finally the
S-2. MUD.
With 4 or more small cards in partner's
suit, lead the highest against a suit contract,
4th best against any NO TRUMP contract.
| You: |
 8632 |
|
Lead the D-8 against any suit contract,
but the D-2 against any No Trump contract.
When leading a suit which partner has
NOT bid, we tend to lead 4th Highest from our
longest and strongest suit.
| You: |
 KJ532 |
Lead the 3 here. |
|
Whenever you lead any 4th best card,
partner can apply the "Rule of Eleven", which
states: "Subtract the card led from 11 and
you will know how many cards ABOVE the card
led are NOT in opening leader's hand."
 Q985 |
<- Dummy |
| You: |
KJ72 |
|
If partner leads the C-4 and Declarer
contributes the C-5, insert the C-7. There
are (11 - 4 =) SEVEN cards ABOVE the C-4
OUTSIDE of opening lead's hand. FOUR of these
are on dummy and the remaining 3 are in YOUR
hand! Hence, declarer has either the stiff
C-3 or is VOID in Clubs entirely.
Some pairs will play the superior
"3rd and 5th" best method, leading the 3rd
best card from any 3 or 4 card holding, the
5th best from any 5+ card holding. This
precludes the necessity of playing the
awkward MUD (Middle, Up then Down) method,
which does not make a 3-card holding evident
until the THIRD round of the suit. If playing
"3rd and 5th", partner will apply the "Rule of
12" if you have led the THIRD best, and the
"Rule of 10" (aka "the 5 and dime rule") if
the lead is the FIFTH best.
The BEST time to lead your side's
longest suit is when you or partner have
length in their trump suit. The idea is
to force Declarer to ruff your length with
hir trump length until such time as Declarer's
trumps are actually shorter than yours. This
strategy is called the "forcing" game, or
as "tapping" or "punching" Declarer.
|
Against 1S:2S:4S lead a HEART and
NOT a diamond.
When should you lead a singleton or
doubleton, hoping for a ruff? Generally, this
is a "desperation" tactic, but will be a good
plan if you have some reason to suspect that
partner will have strength either in that suit
or in their trump suit.
Defensive Carding
Once we've decided to lead a certain
suit, the next question which arises is: which
CARD in that suit should we lead?
If we have three top honours in
a row (e.g. KQJ) we should lead the TOP card
in that "SOLID SEQUENCE". If we have THREE
of FOUR top honours in a row (e.g. QJ9 or
KQ10) we should GENERALLY lead the TOP card
in that "BROKEN SEQUENCE". An honour separated
from two "equals" by a gap (e.g. Q109x, KJ10x)
is called an "INTERIOR SEQUENCE". Here, we
lead the highest of TOUCHING honours: the
10 from Q109x, the Jack from KJ10x, etc.
Partner will signal ATTITUDE here to
help us know whether or not to continue the suit.
But what if we lead the King from
KQ10x? How will partner know that are NOT
leading from AKxx? Should partner ENCOURAGE
if holding the Jack (assuming that you have KQ10x)
or DISCOURAGE if holding the Jack (assuming that
you have AKxx, such that a continuation will
allow Declarer to score hir Queen)?
The answer here is to lead the King
primarily from AKx(x) and lead the QUEEN
from KQ10x(x). If partner has the Jack
DOUBLETON, partner will DROP the Jack to
UNBLOCK the suit. If partner has Jxx(x)
partner should ENCOURAGE with a high card.
(NOTE: this LATTER statement is in direct
contrast to other sources, who state that
partner should drop the Jack WHENEVER
partner has it!)
What do we lead from two touching
honours that are NOT supported by a 3rd
honour? Say, KQ32? Against a SLAM we
lead the KING. Against lesser contracts,
we tend to lead small (4th best) from
such a holding.
---------- SAYC-OK cc on Carding -----------
Suit-leads 4th best, Kqx Qjx Jtx T9x kJtx kT9x
qT9x xxX xxxX xxxXx aKx
NT-leads 4th best, aKjx aQjx aJt9 aT98 Kqjx kQt9
kJt9 kT98 Qjtx qT98 Jt9x T98x xxX xxxX xxxXx
Carding high discard encourages, low discourages,
infreq count signals
The recommended lead is CAPITALIZED here.
FOLLOWING with Touching Honours
We have established that when LEADING to a
trick, we generally lead the HIGHEST of touching
honours. But what if we are FOLLOWING to a trick
that some else has led? What do we play from two
or more touching honours?
Generally, we play the LOWEST of the
touching honours. With, say, KQ42 we would follow
with the QUEEN.
When SIGNALLING high in a suit, though, we
always play the HIGHEST card we can afford. In the
case of touching honours, then, we SIGNAL with the
HIGHEST of the touching honours.
| You: |
J103 |
|
If partner leads a small Club and dummy
plays LOW, we FOLLOW with the 10. Following with
the Jack, then, would DENY the 10.
If partner leads a small Club and dummy
plays the Ace, King or Queen, we SIGNAL attitude
by playing the JACK here.
Remember: FolLOW LOW, lead or sIgnal hIgh
with touching honours.
UNBLOCKING
We must always be careful not to BLOCK
our partner's long suit by allowing OUR high card
to get in the way of PARTNER's length. This
explains why, with Honour-Doubleton in a suit
that partner bid, we led the HONOUR. Similarly,
if partner leads an honour we will often drop
any doubleton honour onto partner's, while
signalling an encouraging high card with
Honour-third or longer. For example, if partner
leads the S-Queen against 3NT and you hold:
| Hand A: |
K73 |
Encourage with the 7 here. |
| Hand B: |
K7 |
Unblock the K here. |
|
S- K73 - Encourage with the S-7.
S- K7 - Play the S-KING.
In this way, partner will not be prevented
from cashing winners in the long suit when partner
has led from S-QJ10xx.
Leading RHO's weakness
It is generally a good idea to lead
whatever your Right Hand Opponent's ("RHO's")
weakest suit is. This is rather easy AFTER
we have seen dummy.
| AKxx |
Kxx |
QJx |
xxx |
<- Dummy |
| You: |
Qxx |
xxxx |
xxx |
1092 |
|
Against 4S, partner's trump lead is ducked
to your S-Queen. Return the C-10, a HIGH card, to
exploit Dummy's weakness there while DISCOURAGING
a Club return from partner (which the C-2 would
ENCOURAGE).
But what if you are on OPENING lead? How
can you guess which suit Declarer is likely
weakness? Your only clue is the bidding. One
general rule is to LEAD THE UNBID SUIT. If there
are TWO or MORE unbid suits you can lead your
strongest unbid suit. With approximately equal
strength in the unbid suit(s) and nothing else
to go on, apply the "One-Up Principle": Lead
the suit immediately above the suit that
Declarer bid FIRST.
|
After 1C:5C lead a DIAMOND, the suit
immediately above Opener's Clubs.
Counting
Counting Declarer's points and lengths
is KEY to good defence. Towards this end, once
dummy becomes visible STOP and count how many
points PARTNER has. Subtract your HCPs, Dummy's
and the points that Declarer has shown from 40.
This will give you a good idea of how much
partner can contribute to your joint effort.
| Qxx |
K10x |
Kxxx |
Jxx |
<- Dummy |
| You: |
KJx |
Qxx |
xxx |
Q10xx |
|
After 1NT:2NT:3NT you ask and determine that
1NT showed 15-17 points. To give you the best
chance, assume 16 HCPs in the Declaring hand.
By subtracting 16, 9 (Dummy's HCPs) and 8 (your
HCPs) from 40 we can infer that partner has
SEVEN HCPs.
If in doubt regarding inferences about
Declarer's HCP total, apply this general rule:
Be OPTIMISTIC at IMPs, REALISTIC at MPs.
In other words, if playing IMPs (or Rubber),
assume that Declarer is stretching to bid a
close contract and accord Declarer the LEAST
number of HCPs that would be consistent with
their bidding. At MatchPoints, though,
accord Declarer the AVERAGE HCP total that
would be consistent with hir bidding.
Some Final Tips
Just as we tend to lead OUR length, we
should avoid leading THEIR length.
In general, Declarer's greatest source
of losers (i.e. our most likely source of
tricks) will come in THREE-card suits. When in
doubt, then, attack Dummy's 3-card suit.
Tend to lead MAJORS against No Trump.
With a BAD hand, try to lead PARTNER's
length--if you can guess what suit that is! :)
Quiz
1. At IMPs, after 1NT:2NT:3NT what do we lead from:
| Hand A: |
1098 |
xxx |
Qxxxx |
xx |
|
At IMPs, after 1NT:3NT what do we lead from:
| Hand B: |
KQ109x |
Kxxxx |
x |
xx |
| Hand C: |
752 |
KQ52 |
KQ43 |
J7 |
|
2. After 1NT:3NT pard leads the D-Jack. Dummy
has D-52. What do you play from:
| Hand A: |
Q83 |
| Hand B: |
983 |
| Hand C: |
763 |
| Hand D: |
Q6 |
|
3. Partner leads the H-3 after 1S:2S:4S. Dummy
has the H-AJ7. Declarer plays the H-7. What
do you play holding:
| Hand A: |
42 |
| Hand B: |
KQ42 |
| Hand C: |
K1042 |
|
----------------- Recommended Reading -------------------
While it MAY be a little advanced for novices,
H.W. Kelsey's "Killing Defence at Bridge" is the most
popular and best written tome on this subject, and
comes highly recommended!
 |
RAINBOW Series
|
The Rainbow Series is a lecture program on the SAYC system, from
Opening Bids all the way through to the conventional aspects of SAYC.
Like the FireSide and 5th Chair sessions mentioned above, the
Rainbow Series is a lesson program for our students. As such, you are invited to stop
by and join in on the discussion.
If you have any questions arising from these notes,
or about the Rainbow Lesson Series, please do not hesitate
to email me at: cpw@escape.ca
|
| Day |
Morning Lesson Time |
Late Lesson Time |
| Monday |
8:00 A.M. PST |
3:00 P.M. PST |
| Tuesday |
8:00 A.M. PST |
7:00 P.M. PST |
| Wednesday |
8:00 A.M. PST |
3:00 P.M. PST |
| Thursday |
8:00 A.M. PST |
7:00 P.M. PST |
|
|
|
| If your computer
has MIDI capacity, you have been listening to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". |
