Play and Defense Practice for Beginners #5

Play and Defense Practice for Beginners #5

Play and Defense Practice for Beginners #5


Hand 1

You're defending, sitting East.

Partner leads small , dummy plays low.

What will you play?

Correct Answer: Q

Declarer plays small from dummy, You can see the K in dummy, and you hold AQ, so your Q is the highest card in Hearts once declarer played a low one.

You should also save the A, and not play it immediately, so that you can catch the K later.


Hand 2

You're defending, sitting East.

Partner leads small . Declarer plays small  in dummy.

What will you play?

Correct Answer: 10

Third hand plays high, but which card? Partner leads small probably from their longest and strongest suit. Play the 10, finessing Dummy's unplayed K. If it loses to Declarer's Q, you still have the AJ to catch dummy's K.

If it turns out partner holds the Q, which is likely as partner leads small, then you'll win it and be able to develop the other 2 heart tricks later.

And, why not J? Because, if you play the 10 and it wins, partner will understand that the J is also with you, as Declarer won't play it. But if you play the J, partner still won't know where the 10 is, causing them to doubt whether or not to play Heart again in the next turn even though you have the A10 to catch the dummy's K.


Hand 3

Contract is 2 by South.
You're defending, sitting East.

West leads AK, you and opponents follow. On the third round, West plays J. Declarer plays a ruff in dummy with the 10. Will you overruff?

Click "Next" to see the play

Correct Answer: Yes

You need to overruff. This is the chance to win a trick with your J. If you don't overruff, later Declarer will play the trump and your J is unlikely to win.


Hand 4

You're defending, sitting East.

Declarer plays Q from dummy.

Do you cover with K?

Correct Answer: Yes

You need to cover with the K to force Declarer to cover with the A. Later, when Declarer plays to the J, you will promote your 10.


Hand 5

Count the quick tricks.

You're declaring, sitting South.

Contract is 3NT. West leads small . East follows with 10. You win with the K.

How many top tricks do you have?

Click "Next" to see the first trick

Correct Answer: 7 tricks

You have 1 top trick in Spades (♠A), 5 top tricks in Clubs, and the trick in Heart you just won (the K).

To get the 9 tricks for 3NT, next you need to play your longest suit which is Clubs, play all 5 tricks and then develop the 2 more tricks needed from other suits.


Hand 6

Count the quick tricks.

Contract is NT.
How many top tricks do you have?

Correct Answer: 10 tricks

Let's see in each suit:

  • Spades - 3 top tricks. You have 4 top honors (AKQJ) but you can only play 3 times here.
  • Hearts - 0 top tricks, as the A is with opponents. But you have 1 potential trick, either K or Q.
  • Diamonds - 5 top tricks. You have 5 top honors (AKQJ10), but you need to be careful when playing them. Cash the AJ, and take the entry into your hand to play another Diamond.
  • Clubs - 2 top tricks. You have ♣A and ♣K. You might have other possibilities (♣J1098) but as ♣Q is still with opponents, they don't count as top tricks but potential tricks.

Hand 7

Sitting South, as a Declarer, how do you play the Spades?

You have entries to both hands.

Correct Answer: Cash AJ

Your Spades are blocked here, so you need to unblock them. Play the ♠AJ first, then cross entry to dummy with another suit, and play the remaining Spade tricks.


Hand 8

What's your lead?

Correct Answer: K

Diamonds might be the longest suit but your Heart suit is stronger because you have a sequence; the KQJT. You need to knock out the A and then you'll have 3 tricks in Hearts. In Diamonds, you still need to figure out where the AK are.


Hand 9

What's your lead?

Correct Answer: 2

Opponents have a fit in Hearts but prefer to play in Spades. You have a long suit in Hearts, so it's likely partner will be void in Hearts. Lead small in order to give partner a ruff.

A common agreement is that leading a small card is also telling partner to play back the lowest suit, which here is Clubs. If you played a high heart, that would be asking partner to return the higher ranking suit, which in this case is a Diamond.


Hand 10

What's your lead?

Correct Answer: 4

Looking at the bidding, dummy seems to be short in Spades. Declarer will likely try to ruff their Spade losers in dummy. You hold 4 good cards in Spades, so lead trump with small to prevent opponents from ruffing in dummy.

Next time you win the lead, play the A and again so to prevent Declarer from ruffing their losers.

31 comments on “Play and Defense Practice for Beginners #5”
  1. @Anonymous there is no point in playing the Q toward a singleton ace as you give up a trick, you make 2 tricks regardless by cashing Ace then using the QJ to force the K.

    By ducking it, the declarer doesnt need to replay the suit and can now switch retaining the entry and communication.

  2. Love the quiz. It made me think and then getting answers is very useful. I would have liked to know what contract we were dealing with in more of the hands and the bidding as the play of cards changes depending on those specifics. If I think I will not get a chance to play my ace unless I do it immediately (singleton or void in opponents possible) I grab it immediately. Loved the discussions. Thanks

  3. #4 I disagree with answer, you should NOT cover the q with ur K, singleton ace could be behind ur K. You should save the k to cover the J later on.

  4. Did this for the first time a while back and got 2 correct but this time got 8 correct, so my Bridge must be improving. Thanks

  5. Hand 4 is wrong in theory (always save your cover for the LAST honour coming out of dummy if you can) and in practice. Covering loses if partner has the Ace, as declarer can now lead toward the J to set it up. Covering loses if declarer is 'flying a kite' with the stiff Ace. Covering loses if declarer has Ace+ in the suit and needs the J to be the head of an extended menace for a later squeeze. The only gain in covering the first round is the unlikely case of you being thrown in late in the play while your partner has the 9 (not singleton).

  6. Deal no. 4. - I feel that DQ covering is wrong answer. If DJ is played next round then cover.

    Deal no.10 - Feel instead of under-leading trump Ace, would have selected option of playing HA & back low heart. That would have more effect about preventing ruffing in dummy. HA is not an option available in given deal.

  7. Hand 4. Don't cover. In general, you should not cover a supported honor. Here your K 10 is over Dummy J and Declarer will get only 2 tricks either way. Gives bad idea to say that No is Incorrect

  8. We were told not to lead a trump, as it then takes away your partners trumps and that lessens an opportunity to trmp in on a suit.

  9. Definitely would love to see more hands like this. It is very interesting to see expert analysis after we bid. I do however agree that I don’t see them expert analysis on hand for what is correct. If you don’t play the K, you have a card over the J

  10. Hand 4 i think not covering Q is better option because declarer might have a stiff or partner has ace.

  11. The answer given to Hand 4 is wrong. If declarer has Axx you will always make a trick whether you duck or not (unless you are end-played). Ducking costs nothing but if declarer has 3 small you have just given him a trick by covering since he can now lead toward the J.

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