Vul:None Dlr: South	KQ7  K10  AKJ972  K9
85  A53  Q106  QJ1054		A9643  98  54  8763
	J102  QJ7642  83  A2

West	North	East	South
			2
Pass	4	Pass	Pass
Pass

South deals, and faces  age-old questions about preempting: What are the requirements? What are the do’s and don’ts?

Because there is no “standard,” this is a constant issue for bridge students and teachers. Some players like to preempt aggressively and others are conservative. There is no right or wrong. Furthermore, the vulnerability (and “position”) influence the decision. When vulnerable, be more cautious. When you are in “first position” (Dealer) or third seat, preempting is more attractive than when you are in “second position.”

Can you have an ace on the side?  Sure. As long as the hand isn’t worth a one-level opening, side honors/cards are acceptable. Ideally, though, you’d like to have most of the strength in your long suit.  What about a 4-card major on the side? Usually this is a no-no. A 3-card major on the side? I have no problem with it.

What about suit quality? Some teachers say you must have 2 of the top 3 or 3 of the top 5 honors. I think the medium cards (like 10’s 9’s and 8’s) are more important. I’d gladly preempt with K109874.  The actual heart suit here isn’t very good, but South is the dealer and not vulnerable.

In a tournament, I’d expect 90% of experts to open the South hand with a weak 2-bid as shown. West passes and North is shown as raising to the heart game. Why?

North has a beautiful-looking 19 HCP (with nice heart support). Add that to the expected range for a weak two-bid (6-11) and enough points are there for game. Slam is not in the picture (North’s partner would have to have at least 2 aces and the Q – not likely for a preempt). North should bid the game in the known 8-card major-suit fit—this is much more likely to be the right contract than 3NT. There is no reason for North to bid diamonds.

The Opening Lead

West has two attractive choices. One is to lead the doubleton spade. Some experts love to lead small doubletons, others prefer something else. Holding the trump ace (as here) makes it a little more attractive (as the chances to later get a ruff are improved). The top of the club sequence QJ10 is also a desirable choice.

The Play

If the Q is led, declarer plans the play as follows: “The only likely losers are the 2 missing aces. This is a definite draw-trump hand. Because I might need an entry to my hand (to finish drawing trump), let me win the first trick in dummy with the K.” After the K, the K is played and West takes the ace. Afraid of dummy’s diamonds, West should switch to spades (to make sure to get any defensive tricks that are coming). Declarer plays the K and East takes the ace and returns a spade. Declarer can win and then play the 10. Next, declarer crosses to the A to draw the remaining trump, making 5.

What if the opening lead had been the doubleton spade? Now, the defense can stop the overtrick. If East wins the A and returns a spade, there is no chance. When West later wins the A, he can’t reach his partner for the spade ruff. The winning defense (possible to find) is for East to withhold his A at trick 1! He can play an encouraging spade. Later, when West wins the A, he can play his second spade to East’s ace and get his ruff. How would East know to defend this way? It is unlikely the opening 2 bidder would have 4 spades on the side. If South had 4 spades, then the lead would be a singleton. But, if South has only 3 spades (more likely), the lead is a doubleton. Preventing the overtrick would earn a lot of matchpoints for East-West.

Lesson Points

1) There is no universal rule for what qualifies as a preempt. Be aware of suit quality and vulnerability.

2) When responding to a weak 2-bid, if you have enough for game (but no slam interest), just bid it.

3) A small doubleton is an acceptable opening lead, especially if you hold the ace of trumps.

4) If partner has led a likely doubleton and you have the ace, but no side entry, consider withholding your ace on the first round.

5) Declarer must always focus on if and when (and how) he should draw trump.