Lead Through Strength: Attack Their Honors, Not Their Weakness
When you win a trick in defence and are deciding what to play, there is ancient wisdom which has been helping players for centuries: lead through strength, and lead towards weakness. Lets look at what these two things mean in this article and the next.
What lead through strength means
Why this idea works
Honors are powerful, but if they are forced out at the right time, your side can sometimes make them worthless or at least worth a lot less.
Defence is often about making declarer uncomfortable. Leading through strength does exactly that.
Simple picture
Imagine you, south are sitting over dummy in this position. If partner leads the suit, you will happily take a trick, and likely capture declarer's queen in the process. The benefit of your partner playing through strength is that declarer had to decide on a card first, then, and only then, would you choose your the appropriate card to beat that (or if declarer played the Ace, you can just play low). It is a very efficient position to be in - the opponent's commit a card, and then you beat it - not only do you often win the trick, but you also often take down one of the opponent's high cards in the process.
Practical rule
If you can choose, and you see clear strength in dummy, consider attacking through it. Your partner is eagerly awaiting on the other side ready to pounce.
Like all other bridge rules it will not be 100% correct all the time, but it is a strong practical default that wins over time. As always, smile and have a good attitude if things do not go to plan.
Final takeaway
Defence is not only about high cards - it is about position.
When possible, lead through strength. That will make opponents' honors do less for them than they otherwise would.
Lead Towards Weakness for Beginners: Target Their Weakest Holding
Where is declarer weakest?
In actual fact, this is a very similar idea to leading through strength, even though it does not sound like it.
Lets look at this situation, you are south and dummy is on your right. Its your turn to play. This is a situation where dummy is weak, you are playing around towards weakness.
There are a couple huge benefits of this
1. Dummy isn't able to do anything useful, so your chances of winning the trick go up
2. Declarer is forced to play a high card if she wants any chance of winning this trick. As just looked at in the previous example, if declarer plays a high card, partner might be on the other side ready to pounce - capturing declarer's honor with their own honor. Which as we know, can both win the trick and also neutralise declarer's high cards!
How this fits with lead through strength
These two ideas are teammates, not opposites:
- Lead through strength = challenge honors directly.
- Lead towards weakness = put the strong hand in the middle of the battle, and let the weak hand be the final hand to play, unable to do damage.
Final takeaway
Better defence starts with better targets.
When you identify weakness and lead toward it, declarer is more likely to lose tricks.