March 2025 - 51

Newer Players
BY LARRY COHEN
larrycohen.com
I
A
Partner
10 8 7
Declarer
A 4
s J 8 2
B
Partner
K 5
Declarer
9 8
C
Partner
J 10 8
Declarer
9 7
In each case, dummy has four
cards in the suit shown and you,
East, also have at least four cards.
You should keep the same number of
cards as dummy. In A, if you discard
from J-9-6-5, declarer will take
four tricks in the suit (A-K-Q and
then the fourth card in dummy will
Dummy
A K Q 5
You
6 4 3 2
Dummy
A Q J 2
You
10 7 6 4 3
s A K 9 4
5
The auction began 1c by dummy
and 1s by South. Eventually, South
became declarer in, say, 3NT. You
must cling to all four of your spades
or you will give declarer an extra
trick.
What if you feel the need to keep
cards in every suit? Sometimes, you
have to choose between the lesser
of evils. Dummy has a four-card
suit you need to keep four cards in.
Declarer has shown a suit that you
also need to keep. In the other suits,
maybe you have established winners.
This isn't fun. Sometimes you
are actually squeezed! What's that?
Declarer plays some winners and
no matter what you discard it gives
declarer an extra trick. Let's hope
nobody squeezes you.
Dummy
A K Q 7
You
8 4 3 2
You are defending against 4h.
Declarer is drawing trumps and you
are out of hearts. At trick three, what
is your likely discard from:
6 sQ J 6 h- dK Q 9 cJ 7 6 5 2
7 sA Q h- dQ J 10 9 8 cQ 10 4 3
8 sA 7 3 h- dQ 10 9 8 2 cK 8 2
n previous months, we discussed
the first discard, which is typically
an attitude signal (using
" standard " signals). If the first time
we show out of a suit, we discard the
d2, it would mean " Partner, I don't
like diamonds. " If the first time we
show out of a suit, we discard the c9,
it would mean " Partner, I like clubs. "
While that first discard is important,
it is not so easy to make subsequent
discards. Only the first discard
is a signal. What should we keep?
The general rule is to " keep parity
with dummy. " What the heck does
that mean? Look at these suit layouts:
Dummy
K Q 3 2
You
J 9 6 5
Dummy
s Q 5
You
s 10 7 6 3
4
Dummy
A Q J 7
You
9 6 5 3
Defensive Basics
Discarding
be good). In B, you can throw away
one of your cards, but you must keep
four of them to prevent declarer from
taking four tricks. Even in C, with
your lowly 6-4-3-2, if you discard
one of them, dummy's 5 will take a
trick in the suit.
If your holding were instead 5-4-
3-2, there'd be nothing you could do
about it. One of the most common
mistakes new players make is to
allow declarer to take four tricks in
the diagrams above.
Sometimes, the suit you must protect
is a suit held by the hidden hand
(declarer). How do you know? It's not
as easy as when it is in plain sight,
but you have to remember the bidding.
Consider this spade suit:
QUIZ
In examples 1 through 5 below,
what are your thoughts as East about
discarding the suit shown?
1
Dummy
A K 2
You
Q 9 3
2
Dummy
A K Q 2
You
J 9 8 3
3
Dummy
K Q 8 7
You
10 6 5 2

March 2025 | Bridge Bulletin |
51
http://www.larrycohen.com
March 2025

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