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Hi.
In lesson one we
examined the bidding
of our first hand study.
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BRIDGET'S
PRIVATE LESSONS
COURSE 051: HAND
STUDY
LESSON
2
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There
were three passes in
a row, which ended the
auction. North and South
"contracted" to take eight
tricks (two spades = book
plus 2, for a total of 8) with
spades as trump.
My question to you was:
Do you know who the
opening leader is? You can
answer by just looking at
the bidding. Whoever thinks
he's the leader, speak up.
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I
think, well,
perhaps
I am.
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Right,
Wilma, you're the
opening leader, because
you're to the left of the
"declarer" -- the person
who first bid the trump
suit (in this case, spades).
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Wilma, your opening
lead should be the ace
of hearts. It's a good
strategy to lead from an
ace-king sequence when
you are lucky enough
to have one. You get to win
a trick, have a look at the
dummy, and retain the lead.
Now, Norm, you put your
hand down on the table,
face up, for everyone to
see. You're the dummy.
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I'll
explain. The person
who bid the trump suit first
gets to play the hand. South
bid spades first, so he is
the declarer.
After
the opening lead is
made, the partner of the
declarer must put his cards
face up on the table
for everyone to see!
He
doesn't get to do
anything! That's why
he's called the "dummy."
And his cards are called
the "dummy" too.
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After West leads the ace
of hearts, the dummy puts
all of his cards on the table
in columns, with the trump
suit all the way on his
right (from declarer's point
of view, the trump suit is
on the far-left of the table):
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To
review, at the table in
real life, the cards are
placed in vertical columns,
but in print, like these
lessons, the cards go
in horizontal rows.
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I'd
like to remind everyone
that in print, we always
arrange the suits in order
of rank: spades, hearts,
diamonds and clubs. But in
real life, it's better to
alternate black and
red colors.
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Nice point, Professor. Let's
now look at this hand from
declarer's view. Look only at
Sharon's hand and dummy.
The opening lead is made.
Dummy comes down. What
should declarer do?
She
has to think! Before
she plays a card from
dummy, a good declarer
makes a plan about how
she might "play the hand."
Her plan begins by mentally
counting the number of tricks
she thinks she can win. The
professor has a chart on this.
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We have now planned how
to take six tricks in top
tricks, plus we can see
how to develop one in the
diamond suit, for seven.
However, we need to take
eight. We need to turn to
the Professor's chart again
and look at 2b, trumping.
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Tell me, what suit can you
trump in dummy? The
Professor showed us....
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The answer is "diamonds."
Let's play out this hand
and see what develops.
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South
1
pass
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West
pass
pass
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North
2
pass
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East
pass
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After West wins the first
trick with the ace of hearts,
she leads the king of hearts
at trick two. The king also
wins the trick. Then she
continues with a third round
of hearts, leading her ten.
On this trick East plays his
queen, and that wins the
third trick. So far, East-West
have three tricks and
North-South have none.
Now the hand looks like
this, with East to lead:
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Now declarer has four tricks
and the defenders have
three tricks. Remember
declarer's plan to set up a
trick in the diamond suit?
Sharon now leads
the 4 of diamonds. Do you
think Wilma should win the
trick with her ace?
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I
once
heard an
expression
that aces
are made
to take
kings!
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Right, Wilma! You should
play a low diamond when
Sharon leads the 4.
After
the queen of diamonds
wins a trick, declarer leads dummy's 9 of diamonds.
East plays the ten and
Sharon plays her king.
Now Wilma plays the
ace, on the king.
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Wilma is on lead,
because she won the last
trick with the ace of
diamonds. Now Wilma plays
a club and Earl wins the
trick with his jack. Earl will
then play his queen of
clubs. But Sharon can
trump that!
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Questions
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Move
over ?
for answer |
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1. Why did West lead the ace of hearts?
West
9 7 6
A K 10
A 8 6 5
9 7 6
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2. Why did South get to declare the hand instead of
North?
South
1
pass
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West
pass
pass
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North
2
pass
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East
pass
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3. How many tricks did South need to make her contract?
South
1
pass
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West
pass
pass
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North
2
pass
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East
pass
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4. How many tricks did South begin with, in "top
tricks"?
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I
hope you enjoyed playing through a
hand. Every time you play a bridge hand,
for the rest of your life, you will have a
chance to practice what you've already
learned, or learn something brand-new.
In
this course, we have one more hand
to study. On to Lesson #3!
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