August 2024 - 54

Intermediate Players
Counting Culture
W
hen you're on defense, it's
often helpful to picture declarer's
hand. Once you get
in the habit of doing this, it will become
fun and profitable. Put yourself
in the West position:
North (Dummy)
Dlr: South s Q J 8
Vul: N-S h A 7 6 4 2
d 5 3
c J 8 4
West (You)
s K 7 6 3
h Q 9 8 3
d 10 8 7 4
c K
West North East
Pass 1h Pass
Pass 3d(1)
All Pass
Pass
South
1c
2NT
3NT(2)
(1) Checkback for three hearts or four
spades
(2) Neither
Counting South's points is easy from
the bidding clues. South opened and
Trick one count signal
You lead the s3 and the jack wins
the trick, as partner plays the 2
(using standard count) and declarer
the 4. This method of giving count in
third chair when you cannot beat the
dummy is very helpful. As West, you
can now picture the spades. You may
want to pause reading and name the
shape of the spade suit around the
table.
The answer is 4-3-3-3. Just by
seeing that one card, the 2, you know
the count in the suit. You also know
the next spade lead must come from
partner, not you, because South still
holds A-x opposite Q-x.
At trick two, declarer leads the
cJ from dummy, 5 by partner, 2 by
South, and you win the king. (It's always
a relief to win a singleton king.)
A few questions. And it's only trick
three!
(1) How many tricks can you see
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54 | Bridge Bulletin | August 2024
for declarer? (2) What do you think
South's original shape is? (3) What
high cards will partner hold that will
be the most useful to the defense?
A few answers.
(1) Declarer has two spade tricks,
one heart, and probably four clubs.
He needs two more. (2) The South
hand started with three spades and
two hearts, or perhaps one heart.
If he has two hearts, he is probably
BY MATTHEW GRANOVETTER
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jumped to 2NT, so he has at least a
good 17. You and dummy have 8 HCP
each, so partner has about 7. Good
to keep in the back of your mind.
Picturing the shape is more intricate.
South opened 1c and showed fewer
than three hearts and four spades.
3=2=3=5, because with 3=2=4=4
most players these days open 1d.
If he has a singleton heart, he is
3=1=4=5. These are both common
shapes. In either case, you already established
in your mind not to lead another
spade. So your choice is a heart
or a diamond. (3) Partner needs the
hK to defeat this contract and probably
the dA as well. If partner has
nothing in hearts, but the dA K, a
diamond lead will eventually set up
South's queen and he'll also score the
hK. So a heart shift is better.
All 52 cards:
s Q J 8
h A 7 6 4 2
d 5 3
c J 8 4
s K 7 6 3
h Q 9 8 3
d 10 8 7 4
c K
s 10 9 2
h K 10 5
d A 9 6
c 9 7 6 5
s A 5 4
h J
d K Q J 2
c A Q 10 3 2
South's 2NT rebid is not best.
Instead, 2d, a reverse showing extra
values, is more descriptive.
Tips: (1) On defense, try to get
in the habit of picturing declarer's
hand; (2) At trick one, when third
hand cannot beat dummy's card, a
useful method is to give count; (3)
When a suit has been bid, like hearts
in the diagram, defenders often have
a mental block about attacking that
suit. But sometimes after trick one,
you can see that this might be declarer's
Achilles' heel. Be alert to this. 2
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August 2024

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