When You Cannot Win The Trick

Sitting third hand, you hold Q-J-2 and it’s your turn. Yesterday, we learned that if your card might win the trick, you play the jack, the bottom of equal cards. However, what happens if you cannot win the trick, because partner or dummy has already played the ace or king? What would you do then?

If you think it is beneficial to tell partner about your honor sequence, drop the queen, the top of the touchers. This guarantees that you have either the queen and the jack (perhaps with one or more lower cards), or an unlikely singleton. Now partner, if he led ace from aceking, knows that he may underlead at trick two, and you will win the trick either with your jack or by ruffing. (Partner can probably read the position correctly, knowing from the bidding that you cannot have a singleton queen.)

This agreement aided the defense in today’s deal.

When West overcalled, he was primarily hoping to make it harder for the opposition to reach a spade contract. However, despite the adverse vulnerability, it was possible that East-West could win the auction. South, after receiving a single raise from his partner, took an understandable shot at game.

West led the club ace, and East signaled with the queen, promising the

WIN AT BRIDGE

Phillip Alder jack (or a most unlikely singleton). West continued with a low club, not the king. After winning with the jack, it was the work of a moment for East to shift to the diamond queen. In another moment, the defenders had taken the first four tricks.

Note that without this defense, declarer has 10 major-suit winners.