November 2022 - 62

Intermediate Players
Boehm on Bridge
Tenacious defense - part 2
T
he expression " declarer's advantage "
conveys the built-in
edge that declarer has over the
defenders, simply because declarer
sees the 26 cards he will use, while
the defenders need to piece together
fragments from their signals and
inferences from the auction. The one
advantage the defense possesses is
the opening lead in hopes of starting
things in the right direction.
Of course, there are some useful
general principles: Versus suit contracts,
the " A " list includes leading
a singleton or the top of an honor
sequence. Against notrump, fourthbest
from a long unbid suit is at the
top of the list. When the auction is
unrevealing, e.g., 1-2, 4 or
1NT-3NT, leader is in the blind and,
over the long haul, the general guidelines
tend to serve well. When the
auction is long, a good opening leader
should pay close attention because
opening leads are, in a real sense, an
extension of the bidding.
For example, you (West) hold:
7 6 4 kK J 9 5 l6 5 4 '10 7 3.
A dull-looking hand, but a tenacious
defender maintains concentration.
The auction proceeds:
You North Partner South
2'
2
3k
4k
Pass 2l(1)
Pass
Pass 3'(2) Dbl
Pass 3 Pass
Pass 4 All Pass
(1) Waiting
(2) Second negative
What do you lead? The first instinct
is to lead a club because
partner's double of an artificial bid is
lead-directing to indicate length and
62 | Bridge Bulletin | November 2022
thesettingtrick.com
strength in clubs. However, analyze
what the auction has revealed.
South has shown a major two-suiter,
at least 5-5, by rebidding hearts.
North's 3 bid was a preference, not
necessarily promising three-card
support, but 4 is likely to deliver
true support.
Your side may have a club trick or
two coming, but what's the rush?
The dummy is very weak; it won't
contain a strong side suit to provide
discards. Focus on your heart holding,
your only asset, especially sitting
behind the heart bidder. If dummy
has an entry, declarer's heart finesse
will lose, meaning your heart tricks
seem safe. However, they are slow
tricks. Deduce dummy's length in the
majors. Because North declined to
play in hearts after learning South
held five, North is likely to be short in
hearts. Three spades and two hearts,
perhaps even 3-1 are likely possibilities.
Given that, how will declarer
plan the play? He will certainly try to
ruff hearts in the dummy, and each
ruff removes one of your potential
heart tricks.
The light has dawned - lead a
trump. If you regain the lead in hearts,
lead another trump. The full deal:
West (You)
 7 6 4
k K J 9 5
l 6 5 4
' 10 7 3
BY AUGUST BOEHM
North (Dummy)
 8 5 2
k 7 3
l J 8 7 3
' 9 6 4 2
East
 A 3
k 6 4
l Q 10 9 2
' K Q J 8 5
South
 K Q J 10 9
k A Q 10 8 2
l A K
' A
After a trump lead, East wins and
should return a trump rather than
try to exploit his club sequence. He
can deduce that you own heart length
and strength since you overruled his
request for a club lead. If he has a club
trick, it isn't going anywhere.
The best South can do is start
hearts; you win and play the third
round of trumps, leaving declarer
stranded with a total of three heart
losers plus the A, down one. Note
the difference in timing if you lead a
club. South wins and ducks a heart.
Now, you see the need for a trump
shift, and the defense plays two
rounds. However, dummy still has a
trump, enabling declarer to trump
the third round of hearts as your jack
falls. Declarer loses only two heart
tricks and makes his contract.
In effect, the deal was a race. To
gain a head start, the trump lead was
necessary. A useful principle emerges:
when declarer shows a two-suiter
and the opening leader has the side
suit well held, go out of your way to
lead a trump. All other considerations
become secondary.
http://www.thesettingtrick.com

November 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2022

November 2022 - 1
November 2022 - 2
November 2022 - 3
November 2022 - 4
November 2022 - 5
November 2022 - 6
November 2022 - 7
November 2022 - 8
November 2022 - 9
November 2022 - 10
November 2022 - 11
November 2022 - 12
November 2022 - 13
November 2022 - 14
November 2022 - 15
November 2022 - 16
November 2022 - 17
November 2022 - 18
November 2022 - 19
November 2022 - 20
November 2022 - 21
November 2022 - 22
November 2022 - 23
November 2022 - 24
November 2022 - 25
November 2022 - 26
November 2022 - 27
November 2022 - 28
November 2022 - 29
November 2022 - 30
November 2022 - 31
November 2022 - 32
November 2022 - 33
November 2022 - 34
November 2022 - 35
November 2022 - 36
November 2022 - 37
November 2022 - 38
November 2022 - 39
November 2022 - 40
November 2022 - 41
November 2022 - 42
November 2022 - 43
November 2022 - 44
November 2022 - 45
November 2022 - 46
November 2022 - 47
November 2022 - 48
November 2022 - 49
November 2022 - 50
November 2022 - 51
November 2022 - 52
November 2022 - 53
November 2022 - 54
November 2022 - 55
November 2022 - 56
November 2022 - 57
November 2022 - 58
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November 2022 - 60
November 2022 - 61
November 2022 - 62
November 2022 - 63
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November 2022 - 65
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November 2022 - 88
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