Becoming a Bridge Expert By Frank Stewart

Source: Becoming a Bridge Expert By Frank Stewart

Run Your Long Suit

aaxx

West leads the 4. Plan the play.

Take the K, draw trumps and lead the 2 through West, who must play low. Return a heart to your ace, ruff a heart and run all your trumps. After ten tricks,West must keep the A and the guarded K; hence no hearts. You can exit with a club, forcing him to lead from the K and concede the slam.

aaxx

Such strip squeezes are common. They require declarer to run every one of his trumps and (sometimes) judge in the end how the defender under pressure has discarded.

In one of Terence Reese’s books, he devotes several pages to the merits of running a long suit and forcing discards from the defenders. A ‘long’ suit need not be so long to have its effect.

aaxx

South arrives at 3NT and is happy to see a couple of aces in dummy. Still, after West leads a spade, and East takes the ace and returns a spade, South’s position looks hopeless. If South runs four hearts, though, it’s East who is stuck. East can throw two clubs, but the last heart fixes him. He can’t discard the A; a diamond gives South an extra trick there; if East throws a spade, South can safely force out the A. Even if a defender isn’t squeezed, he may err in discarding.

aaxx

At one table of a Vanderbilt semifinal match, North-South went down one in 5. In the replay:

aaxx

West led the A and then the Q. South ruffed and cashed five rounds of trumps, pitching two hearts from dummy. East, who thought he needed to keep his diamonds, also threw two hearts, and dummy’s AK picked up the suit. East, a world champion, might have interpreted West’s Q as a suit-preference signal (asking for a heart return if East ruffed), but that’s easier to work out in retrospect. The fact is that discarding problems can tax the best players and partnerships.

aaxx

Most players would try for two spade ruffs in dummy and run into an overruff that held them to eleven tricks. The winning line, not obvious, is to go to the A and draw trumps with the help of a finesse. West discards one spade and his last diamond safely. South can’t cash another trump, since he needs a spade ruff in dummy; but he does just as well to lead a club to the king and ruff a diamond since West must discard again. If West throws a spade, South takes the K and ruffs a spade, setting up his last spade; if West throws a club, South takes the A and ruffs a club, setting up dummy’s last club.

MAS DEL MISMO AUTOR

Learn to play Minibridge

an absolutely free site with interactive Mini Bridge lessons and practice plays.

Thinking Bridge: SF NABC 8th Day

Norman Kay, Alfred Sheinwold, and Eddie Kantar at Hall of Fame induction February 29, 1996 in Philadelphia.

New Orleans 2015: Fredin = Fun

The third set was dramatic, it started 14 IMPs to Monaco, but on boards 5, 6 and 7 the Rosenthal team scored 12, 10 and 16 to arrive to a lead of 36 IMPs ...

Bali 2013: What Happened… 19th September

Read what happened in each championship. Argentina and Brazil had a real tough day...Photo: Ladies Brazil

Thinking Bridge: Atlanta NABC 7th Day

Strong eight-card suits with less than opening-bid strength (fewer than 10 HCP) should open four, not three!

Franck Riehm elected as WBF President

The World Bridge Federation is pleased to announce the...

1st South American Online Mixed Teams Championship

All players belonging to any NBO affiliated to the WBF are welcome!

I Brazilian Online Bridge Festival 2020

Some of the best players in the world are Brazilians, and some of the most enthusiastic players too! Our Brazilian Online Festival has appeal to players of all levels. Your team will play in a friendly but competitive atmosphere, with very well-organized scoring and experienced Directors to ensure a pleasant experience for all.

WBF Robot Tournaments

Come and join the competition through our Providers, BBO, Funbridge and Ourgame, all offering you this great opportunity – we look forward to some challenging tournaments!”

The Endplay

An endplay (also throw-in), in bridge, is a tactical play where a defender is put on lead at a strategic moment, and then has to make a play that loses one or more tricks.

The Scissors Coup by John Brown

Scissors coup (or, Scissor coup, ) is a type of coup in bridge, so named because it cuts communications between defenders.

World Bridge Federation – Youth

The Championship is open to all players born on or after 1st January 1992 (Juniors & Girls) or born on or after 1st January 1997 (Youngsters) or born on or after 1st January 2002 (Kids) in good standing with their own NBOs.

Prevent a Ruff by Jon Brown

West led his singleton club, which dummy's king won. South read the lead as a singleton.

RELACIONADOS

CATEGORIAS POPULARES