The Hammer in Defence: Take Tricks Before Declarer Settles

The most important idea in defence is to "play around to dummy's weakness" and "play through strength". While beginners are often taught the concept, it is a cornerstone of expert bridge, and there is more to it than you might think. This article is going to look at playing around to weakness, when to do it, and when NOT to do it. 

Example 1. 

You are playing against 1NT and your partner finds a nice heart lead which you win with the  ♥J. What do you do at trick 2?

I have left the rest of the hand blank, because its almost irrelevant. You can basically close your eyes and play a spade back at trick 2. Playing around to dummy's weakness. Play a spade. 

But lets change the hand subtly and see how it can have a huge impact

Same contract and start as before, what do you do after you win the ♥J defending 1NT? Please have a think about it before reading on. 

I've changed the spade suit slightly, do you see the difference. You have the Jack now, whereas before you didn't. What is the result of that, is that good or bad for you?

The rule is When you have an honor sitting over an honor, it is often a bad idea for you to lead that suit. A 10 counts as an honor, so here you  have the Jack sitting over the 10. Lets look at some more example suits.

Example 2

Here you have the  ♠K nicely sitting over the  ♠Q. Ideally you will wait patiently, ready to capture the Queen with the King. If you led the suit, the Queen will no longer be overshadowed by your King, and will be free to take a trick. So, in this example, it looks dangerous to play a spade. 

Example 3

What about this suit?

Here you have the King sitting over the Jack. They do not have to be touching honors (Kings over Queens, or Queens over Jacks). If you are sitting over any honor, it can be dangerous to play around to it. In this example declarer might have had Qxx of the suit, and you are now giving declarer a trick in a suit that they would otherwise not have been able to make if you didn't touch it. 

Example 4

Should you lead this spade suit? This looks like a very attractive option, but why? We are in fact leading around to strength, since the Ace is the strongest of all cards. So lets look at the reasons why this is fine. 

There are two main reasons why its good, the first is because you are not sitting over dummy with an honor, as we were in the previous examples. This could be the full suit

Do you see why it is so important for you to open that suit and not partner? Looking at all four hands, you can see that partner is sitting over an honor, he should be on guard ready to play his King on declarer's Queen. If he plays the suit, he is no longer on guard, and lets declarer's queen free to score a trick. 

The second reason, is because you have an excellent suit to push through. J109, QJ10, or 1098 is an excellent suit to lead, and push through. Lets change it slightly, to see a dramatic impact.

This is no longer safe to play, in fact an expert will look at this position with caution. The full deal could be

Now playing a spade gives declarer two tricks in the suit, where they would only be entitled to one trick if they had to open the suit for themselves. 

There is a lot to learn, and we are scratching the surface. Lets conclude with some good rules. 

1. Playing around to total weakness in dummy is generally a safe and very good idea, for example

If this was dummy's hand on your right, you would almost certainly not go wrong playing a spade. 

2. When you have an honor sitting over an honor, its can often be a bad idea to play that suit. The honors do not need to be touching. For example

With that hand, be ready to use your King to capture that Jack. Don't lead away from the King, thereby letting the Jack off the hook. 

3. When you have a pusher holding, it is typically an excellent and safe idea to play that suit. Pusher holdings inclue QJ10, J109, or 1098. You can have more cards, such as QJ105, and its still fine. For example

Playing the Jack looks like a sensible idea. Its fine that dummy on your right has some strength, in this case the King. 

4. If you do not have any honor cards, its often 'safe' enough to play the suit, So for example

It looks safe to play a spade here

whereas it looks dangerous here

This is a VERY important concept to master, it may be worth rereading this article. 

Where to next

• -> Next: Taking Tricks in Defence: Timing and Purpose
• -> Related: The Trump Lead: When It Kills Ruffing Plans
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