Test Your Bridge Skills #28

Best Answer: Dbl

Bidding Double in this case is a Penalty Double. You and partner have the necessary points to play on defense 1NT doubled. Any other bid would show a weak hand with a long suit, looking to play a part score in that suit; called sign off.

Even if your partner is strong for a game (although unlikely, as East has 15-17 points), you'd likely make the same number of tricks on defense as on a play. So if you made 3NT with this hand, you'd have 9 tricks, and if you made 9 tricks on defense, you'd set opponents down 3. And if your opponent's contract is doubled then the score will be higher than just playing 3NT. However, in this hand it's more likely you'll make 7-8 tricks.

A possible hand could be:

You lead a low Club and declarer has no start on this hand, making no more than 4 tricks.

Note:
a. When partner opens and opponent overcalls 1NT, then Double by you is penalty and any other bid is sign off.
b. What can opponents do about it? They can pass, and try to do the best they can on 1NT dbl. Or, if they have a 5 cards suit, they can bid it in order to play a suit on the 2 level. Or, they can use ReDbl as an escape bid (SOS), asking partner to bid the long suit up the line. It might work, but it might get worse for them if no fit is found.

Hand 3

Against 3NT your partner leads the ♠Q. How will you defend?

Against 3NT your partner leads the ♠Q. How will you defend?

This one should be easy. Where is the ♠K?
Clearly with the Declarer as partner leads the ♠Q and Declarer promises a stopper in Spade.

How many Diamonds does partner have?
Maximum is 2, as the Declarer corrected the bid to 2♦. It means that even if partner has the ♦Q, it'll drop fast.

You can also count 9 tricks on top for the declarer once they get the hand: 5 Diamonds, 3 Clubs, and the ♠K. Which is what will happen if you allow the declarer to win with the ♠K; 10 tricks here.

The only chance to set lies in the Heart suit, hoping that partner has good Hearts. There's a decent chance as partner has only 3 points in Spades and not much in the minors.

So, switch to the ♥J at trick 2 and the defense will get 4 Heart tricks. If Declarer covers with the ♥K, your partner will need to take the ♥A and continue with a low Heart to your ♥10, then you can continue with the 3rd heart for 2 more tricks by partner.

Remember if partner plays ♥AQ, your ♥10 will block the suit and if you try to unblock the ♥10, Declarer's ♥8 will get promoted.

Note:
a. The 2♦ bid by the declarer is a correction and can be made with ♦xx. If Declarer also has ♣xx, they'll correct the bid to 2♦ too, with 2 doubletons. They also show a minimum hand, 6-9 points.
b. By bidding 1♦ and later 2♣, North shows 12-17 points (with 18+ they would bid 3♣, jump shift). So, when North bids 2♠ as cue bid, it shows a maximum hand (16-17 points) and asks South for a Spade stopper. South's 3NT then shows a Spade stopper and maximum bid (otherwise they would've bid 2NT).
c. Stop before playing automatically. Many players will automatically return Spade, as partner bids and leads it. However, there's no substitute for counting and common sense. A quick look at dummy tells you that the declarer makes 9-10 tricks if you continue Spade.

Hand 4

You play 3NT and West leads the ♥J. East plays low and you win with the ♥Q. How will you continue?

Best Answer: ♣AK and ♣, only if both opponents follow, else ♦A and ♦

You play 3NT and West leads the ♥J. East plays low and you win with the ♥Q. How will you continue?

This is another hand showing how to increase your chance of making the contract by combining suits.

After the lead you have 7 tricks: 2 Spades, 2 Hearts, 1 Diamond, and 2 Clubs.

Therefore, it's clear that if the Club suit is divided 3-2 you can easily develop 2 more Clubs.

Since you have just 1 more stopper in Hearts, you're allowed to lose just 1 more trick to opponents as they'll surely attack the Hearts.

Play the ♣AK first. If both opponents follow meaning Clubs are 3-2, then play the 3rd Club to promote 2 more Clubs to make 9 tricks. Here you still have stoppers in all suits.

If one of the opponents doesn’t follow to the 2nd club meaning Clubs are 4-1, you must leave this suit. No point continuing, as even if you manage to promote the 5th Club, you'll still miss 1 trick. Also, opponents will manage to develop their Hearts ahead of you, if you play the 3rd Club. They'll play Heart to remove your last stopper and upon winning the 4th Club they'll play another Heart to make 5 tricks for the defense (3 Hearts and 2 Clubs).

So, if one of the opponents doesn't follow to the 2nd Club you need to switch to Diamond and try to make your missing trick from that suit. Play ♦A, then another Diamond to the ♦Q, hoping to find the ♦K with East and hoping the Diamonds are 3-2. That's your chance to make. If ♦K appears in East and West follows too, you'll have 10 tricks; 4 Diamonds, 2 Clubs, 2 Spades, and 2 Hearts.

Note:
a. If you duck Club, you'll lose the tempo to opponents as Clubs could be 4-1. They'll continue in Hearts to remove your last stopper and after playing ♣AK you'll be stuck as East still has a high Club. Then if you want to try the Diamonds, it'll be too late as opponents will take the ♦K and play their remaining Hearts.
b. The same thing would happen if you play ♣A and low Club.
c. Timing is important. Tempo is about how many times you may lose the hand to remain in control. Also you need to pay attention to how many tricks you'll miss and what are your options. 
Playing ♣AK is good here, as you're still in control, having the hand, while still having another Heart stopper. At this point you can decide whether to continue in Clubs (if Clubs 3-2) or switch to Diamond; you can't do this if you duck a Club.