September 2021 - 52

Intermediate Players
Mike's Bridge Lesson
When should a defender force declarer to ruff?
(continued)
T
his is the fourth and last in a
series on choosing between a
forcing defense and a different
defense. This one comes with a common
defensive twist that you should know.
South deals, and East-West are
vulnerable. You hold as West:
10 8 5 2 kA J 3 l3 'A K J 7 5.
West North
East
2' Pass
Pass
Pass 2 All Pass
When South opens 1, do you pass,
double or bid 2'?
Double is 100% wrong because
you can't stand for partner to bid
diamonds. Some would pass. Some
would bid 2'. This hand has a pretty
good club suit, and it has good shape
and useful cards. Bidding 2' is dangerous,
but if you pass, you will never
find a good contract your way. The
benefits, in my judgment, outweigh
the dangers. The auction continues
as shown with South doubling and
North bidding 2.
What do you lead?
This is easy. Lead a high club. If you
lead a diamond, looking for a ruff, you
get zero. When you have four trumps,
leading a singleton is rarely a good
choice unless your partner has bid the
suit. Here you have a dynamic choice
of a high club. Lead one.
Here's what you see after making
the opening lead:
South
1
Dbl
West (You)
 10 8 5 2
k A J 3
l 3
' A K J 7 5
What do you think of North's 2
bid? North had a difficult decision. It
could be right to bid 2k, but North
was concerned that South might have
just three hearts. Very possible. Right
or wrong, North's choice of 2 is a
ballpark choice. What North really
wants to do is find a hole and hide, but
it isn't a legal option.
On your lead of a club honor,
whichever your methods call for, your
partner plays the 2 and declarer the 4.
What do you play next? This is a serious
question that has a clear answer.
Don't continue until you have made
your decision.
 J 3
k 10 7 6 4
l J 7 5
' 10 9 6 3
 10 8 5 2
k A J 3
l 3
' A K J 7 5
 Q 9
k Q 9 5
l Q 10 8 6 4 2
' Q 2
 A K 7 6 4
k K 8 2
l A K 9
' 8 4
North (Dummy)
 J 3
k 10 7 6 4
l J 7 5
' 10 9 6 3
Here's the entire deal. The best
defense is for West to lead a low club
to East's queen. How does he know to
do that? If East doesn't have the 'Q,
then what are his clubs? If he has the
8-2, he would have played the 8 (using
standard count). East must have the
queen or a singleton 2. On this deal,
East wins the queen and plays a heart
to West's jack. Now more club leads
will prove hard for South to cope with.
He could lose two spades, three hearts,
a diamond and two clubs. Down three
is possible. Down two is likely.
Postmortem: Many books warn
that making an overcall when you
have length in opener's suit is a bad
idea. They then show examples where
it works poorly. I can make up examples,
too. In my experience, having
length in the opponent's suit is a twoedged
sword. Be optimistic.
Here's a layout that will appeal to
the optimists:
 10 8 5 2
k A J 3
l 3
' A K J 7 5
 Q
k Q 10 7 6 4
l A J 4
' 10 9 6 2
In this layout, if West passes, 1
may become the final contract. That
would be very disappointing when you
learn in the postmortem that East-
West can make 6'. It's not biddable,
and it does take some luck, but we
have all been in worse slams than this
one. Essentially it requires clubs to
divide and the kK to be in the South
hand, plus a tiny extra bit of luck.
BY MIKE LAWRENCE
michaelslawrence.com
52 | Bridge Bulletin | September 2021
http://www.michaelslawrence.com
September 2021

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