This quiz was written by Oren Lidor.
Hand 1
You've agreed to play standard carding with your partner - for attitude, high encourages, and low discourages; for count, high–low shows even, and low–high shows odd.
You lead the ♣4. Partner follows with the ♣J and declarer wins with the ♣Q, then plays a low diamond. You play low and dummy’s ♦10 wins the trick, partner follows with the ♦2. Declarer plays another diamond to the ♦J and you win with the ♦A.
- Where is the ♦K?
- Where is the ♦Q?
- Where is the ♣K?
- Where is the ♥A?
- Where is the ♥K?
- What is the meaning of the ♦2 by partner?
- How do you plan to continue?
Solution
- Where is the ♦K?
With declarer, otherwise partner would have won over the ♦10.
- Where is the ♦Q?
With declarer, otherwise partner would have won over the ♦10.
- Where is the ♣K?
With declarer, otherwise partner would have played it at trick 1 and returned a club.
- Where is the ♥A?
With partner. Declarer’s 1NT rebid shows 12 to 14 points and a balanced hand. You can place declarer with ♦KQJ and ♣KQ. If declarer also had the ♥A, they would have opened 1NT with 15 points and a balanced hand.
- Where is the ♥K?
With declarer. When declarer raises to 3NT, they show a maximum for accepting the invitation. They might have opened with 11 points and five diamonds, but then they would have passed 2NT.
- What is the meaning of the ♦2 by partner?
Likely count. Partner is showing an odd number of diamonds, probably three cards. You could agree to play Smith, but here the club situation is already clear from trick 1. Partner does not have the ♣K, otherwise they would have played it, and does not have the ♣10 either. So count is the useful signal here.
- How do you plan to continue?
Play the ♥9. To defeat the contract, partner needs to gain the lead and return a club. If you play the ♥2, partner may think you want a heart return, and if they do so, declarer will make the rest of the tricks.
Attitude applies when leading a new suit. A low card encourages continuation, while a high card suggests a switch. Partner wins the ♥A, returns a club, and the contract goes two down.
Things to remember:
- When declarer plays their long suit, count is usually given to help the defender with the ace know when to win it. The defense wants to win on the last card of declarer’s shorter holding. With standard carding, low then high shows an odd number, high then low shows even.
- You can agree to play Smith echo. This signal is usually given at trick 2, when defenders want to indicate their attitude toward the opening lead. If count is more important, then count is given instead. For example, if declarer had won trick 1 with the ♣K, after you win the ♦A, how do you know what to do? The ♣Q could be with partner, who might have played the ♣J from ♣QJx. Partner can help by playing a low diamond at trick 2 if they do not want a club continuation, or a high diamond if they do. This is called Smith echo.
- Attitude also applies during play when a new suit is introduced. A low card encourages, a high card discourages and suggests a switch. In the example, a high heart, the ♥9, discourages hearts and suggests another suit, clearly clubs.
Consider the following hand:
Same bidding, same ♣4 lead, same ♣J from partner and ♣Q from declarer. Same development up to winning the ♦A.
This time you realize declarer has the ♣A, otherwise partner would have taken the first trick and returned a club. If declarer gains the lead, they will make the rest of the tricks. Partner cannot know where the ♣A and ♣K are.
Now hearts are your key. Play the ♥2 to encourage hearts. Partner wins the ♥A and returns a heart to defeat the contract.
- North could have bid 3NT directly with this hand, relying on running spades, instead of inviting with 2NT.
Hand 2
Against 4♥, West leads the ♠K. East follows with the ♠3 and West switches to the ♣Q.
- Where is the ♠A?
- Where is the ♣K?
- Where is the ♦K?
- You have nine tricks. Where will you develop the tenth trick?
- Will you win the ♣A now? If yes, how will you continue? If not, why not?
Solution
- Where is the ♠A?
With West. West leads the ♠K rather than the ♠A to ask for count. Without the ace or queen, West would likely lead a low spade.
- Where is the ♣K?
Likely with East. If West had ♣KQ, they would have played the king at trick 2.
- Where is the ♦K?
With West. East passed originally, so they do not have six points. If East has the ♣K, then they do not have the ♦K.
- You have nine tricks. Where will you develop the tenth trick?
The diamond finesse has no chance, so the only way to develop a tenth trick is in spades.
- Will you win the ♣A now? If yes, how will you continue? If not, why not?
If you play low, East can win with the ♣K and switch to the ♦J, and you will go down, losing two diamonds, a club, and a spade.
So win the ♣A and play the ♠Q, discarding a club. West wins the ♠A and continues a club. Ruff with the ♥5, play ♥A and ♥6 to the queen. Then play the ♠10 from dummy, discarding a diamond. West wins the ♠J and plays another club, which you ruff with ♥7. Now play the ♥3 to dummy’s ♥4, then discard your ♦Q on the promoted spade.
Things to remember:
- Agree that an ace lead asks for attitude, high encourages and low discourages. A king lead asks for count, high low shows even, low high shows odd.
- Loser on loser is a useful technique. It can help preserve trump length, cut communication, create endplays, execute ruffing finesses, or develop extra tricks while avoiding a dangerous opponent.
- Counting and placing high cards can often be done from the bidding. Opponents reveal length and strength, even in suits they did not bid. Their carding also helps place missing honors. In this hand, it was possible to place the ♣K with East and most other high cards with West.
- Entries are very important in bridge. Sometimes small cards must be preserved as entries, as with the ♥3 to the ♥4 here.
- In the balancing seat, bids can be lighter to protect partner, who is marked with values after passing.
- Bidding a new suit can be done with a light hand and even a weak five card or four card suit.
- 1NT shows 11 to 14.
- Double shows about 9 or more points.
- A jump in a new suit shows a good six or seven card suit with about 12 to 15 points.
About the Author
Oren Lidor is considered one of the best bridge teachers in Israel, is the author of 5 bridge books, and teaches bridge to people from all over the world on BBO.
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GRAZIE
lol with my opening style, more likely to just pass 1nt than to jump to 3nt. I also open 1nt with most 14 counts so re-bid of 1nt is usually 11-13 or short spades if I have more.
Hand 1: declarer must win tre first trick with ♣K, not with the ♣Q, to avoid helping the declarer”
to avoid helping the defence