October 2022 - 47

Newer Players
BY ADAM PARRISH
adam@adamparrishbridge.com
adamparrishbridge.com
W
e've spent the past several
months looking at some
maxims for declarer. Now
we're going to discuss some defensive
maxims. One of the first maxims we
covered for declarer was, " If they
don't lead a singleton, they don't
have one. " The same thing applies as
a defender: " If partner didn't lead a
singleton, they don't have one. "
Dummy
 K 9 5
k 9 8 7 2
l Q 4
' K 8 7 6
You
 8 7 6
k K 10 4
l J 2
' A J 9 5 2
West North East
Pass 2 Pass
All Pass
South
1
4
Partner leads the l6, declarer
wins in dummy with the lQ and
plays a trump to his queen. Partner
wins with the ace and returns the
'10. Declarer plays small from dummy.
Could partner have the 'Q? No.
They would lead the queen from Q-10
doubleton or low from Q-10-x. They
could have a singleton or a doubleton.
If it's a singleton, we could take our
ace and give them a ruff. But they
don't have a singleton club; if they
did, they would have led it originally
rather than a diamond. We should
duck. Partner likely has '10 x, giving
declarer 'Q x. If we take the 'A,
we set up declarer's queen and king.
If we duck, declarer gets their queen,
Parrish the Thought
Partner didn't lead a singleton
but we have the 'A J behind the 'K,
and declarer only gets one club trick.
Here's another one:
Dummy
 K J 6 2
k K Q J 8 7
l 5 4
' 8 7
You
 A 5
k A 9 4 3 2
l A 7 3 2
' 9 4
After South opens 1 and North
invites with a limit raise, 4 is
reached. Partner leads the '2, declarer
wins in hand with the 'Q and
leads a trump. You take your A and
see three defensive tricks via your
three aces. Where is a fourth coming
from? Partner might have a club honor,
but it doesn't look like it's going to
be a trick. Partner could have a heart
ruff coming. You and dummy have 10
hearts between you, so someone must
be short. You could play the kA and
another heart, hoping to give partner
a ruff. But partner didn't lead a heart,
which they surely would have if they
had a singleton. It's possible they're
void, so leading a heart isn't hopeless.
But it's more likely that declarer is
void, and if you try to cash your kA,
you're going to set up three winners
in the dummy.
A better chance is that you can
score a second diamond trick. If partner
has the lK, this is easy. But you
could also get a diamond trick if partner
has the lQ and declarer guesses
wrong. Your best play to defeat the
contract is a low diamond.
 4 3
k 10 5
l Q 10 8 6
' K 6 5 3 2
 K J 6 2
k K Q J 8 7
l 5 4
' 8 7
 A 5
k A 9 4 3 2
l A 7 3 2
' 9 4
 Q 10 9 8 7
k 6
l K J 9
'A Q J 10
Wait, Adam. Underlead an ace?
Yes! Underleading aces on opening
lead - before you see dummy - is very
dangerous. But in the middle of the
hand, it's often right if you can judge
the dangers to be minimal.
If you play the lA and a diamond,
declarer will win with the lK, finish
drawing trumps, set up dummy's
hearts, and throw away their losers.
(Or ruff their losers.) If you lead the
l3, declarer has to guess.
Of course, this play could cost you a
trick. Suppose declarer holds the
lK Q J, now declarer has no guess
and will win the diamond trick. They
can draw trumps, cash the 'A, and
take a ruffing finesse against partner's
'K, eventually throwing dummy's
second diamond on the fourth
round of clubs; you never get your lA.
You must weigh the risks versus the
rewards. At IMPs, where setting the
contract is of utmost importance and
overtricks are trivial, the low diamond
switch is the only chance. At
matchpoints, where letting declarer
make five could be a disaster, there
is more of a choice. The big takeaway
here is not to try to give partner a
heart ruff: If they had a singleton
heart, they would have led it.
October 2022 | Bridge Bulletin |
47
http://www.adamparrishbridge.com
October 2022

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