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"Think at Trick One!" This is a theme I constantly
try to drill into students. I am still drilling.
So many hands are lost at trick one due to failure to think.
Usually, this is associated with declarer play, but defenders,
too, must think at trick one. Here is a recent example from a deal
I played in a knockout teams:
You hold:
 A72
 K10
 K72
 86543
The dealer on your right opens 1.
The eventual dummy, on your left responds 1.
RHO rebids 1,
and LHO bids 2,
4th suit Game Forcing. RHO bids 2NT, raised to 3NT :
1
1
1
2
2N 3N
P
It sounds like they are prepared for all four suits. You try a ,
selecting the 6. You don't want to lead low, because that will
encourage partner to continue the suit. When he sees your highish
spot, maybe he can read it as from a bunch of low cards, and
switch if appropriate. Down comes the dummy:
| |
KQ10 |
| |
AJ97 |
| |
Q10982 |
| |
10 |
| A72 |
|
| K10 |
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| K72 |
|
| 86543 |
|
Declarer thinks about the hand for maybe 10 seconds, then tries
dummy's 10.
Your partner plays the J
and declarer thinks some more.
What are you thinking? Are you thinking? Are you
daydreaming?
Here are the many things to consider:
1) What is the club situation? Declarer was maybe hoping
dummy's 10 would hold. Partner's jack is making him think.
Declarer won't have ace-king-nine--he would take partner's jack
without being too troubled. Partner would have played the king
with king-jack (third-hand high), so the most likely scenario is
that partner has queen-jack (if he had only the jack, declarer
wouldn't be thinking). Also, partner rates to have the 9. (Again,
declarer would not be thinking so long with ace-king-nine).
So, it looks as if you might have hit partner with the QJ9 of
clubs -- a good lead for a change.
2) Did your thinking end there? I hope not. Are you ready for
trick two? What if declarer wins the club and plays a spade? In
general, it is never good to play second-hand high. Grabbing your
ace will almost always help declarer in these situations. Not only
will it help his timing and entries, but he might be missing the J,
and face a guess in this suit. You don't know enough about the
full deal yet, so the best policy would be to duck and to do so smoothly!
If you think about it at trick 2, you will be telling declarer
where the ace is. So, you should be getting yourself ready for a
spade play at trick 2 (smooth duck).
3) Is that all? No. What if declarer leads a low diamond
from hand at trick 2? Again, you should follow general principles.
Be prepared to duck, and to duck smoothly. Don't give away the
location of the king.
4) Are you still thinking? Are you ready for a heart at
trick two? This is a (rare) situation where you should actually
play second hand high! If declarer has the queen, he is
always entitled to four heart tricks--your play won't matter. But,
if your partner has the queen, and you play the 10, dummy's jack
will go to partner's queen. This will simplify the suit and the
entries for declarer. Meanwhile, if you hop with the king, he will
have more difficulty. He might duck (playing you for king-queen).
Even if he does win the ace, he will have to come back to his hand
in some other suit to lead hearts again (he doesn't know your ten
is falling). Lastly, if he happens to have Q83,
he might win the ace and finesse into your 10
on the next round of hearts.
5) Do you play Smith Echo? This is a wonderful defensive
signalling method. When declarer starts his suit (for the first
time), you don't give count. Instead, you tell partner if you are
happy with the opening-lead suit. Playing high-low says "I
like the opening lead." Playing low-high says "try
some other suit--not the suit our partnership led at trick
1." This methods applies to either defender (opening leader
or third hand). Almost all experts use this method. If you are
playing Smith Echo, it is a good (ethical) idea to try to make
your signal without lots of thought. So, in addition to all the
above thinking, you should be ready to play the right Smith card.
On a heart play, your king won't mean anything (honors are
honors). BUT--if declarer plays a spade or a diamond, you plan to
duck. Which spot you duck with will send a message. Are you happy
with clubs? Do you want partner to continue? If so, you will
follow (smoothly) with the 7
or
7. If not, you will play the deuce of that suit.
In fact, declarer does cross in spades. When dummy's king wins,
he plays the 10
and lets it run. And you? Were you ready for a smooth duck of your
K?
I'll leave you here. The full deal is not important. I just
wanted to illustrate how many things there are to think about. The
time to do this thinking is at trick one. Part of good defense is
not only knowing what to do, but being able to do it in tempo when
the time comes. The way to become a good defender is to think
through all of these matters at trick one. Of course, you also
must give every deal your full concentration. And, yes, I suppose
some of you are wondering about slow play. You can't sit there
forever at trick one--sometimes you can't prepare for
everything.
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