Spades Hearts  Diamonds Clubs
Full Screen Print Page Latest Enhancements Help
Release 2.16b

Home Page
Information
News Page
Calendar
Results
Competitions
Interesting Hands
Puzzles and Things
Bridge Classes
Bidding Systems
EBU Information
Useful Links
Web Administration
BridgeWebs

Telephone Number
The Emergency Telephone Number to contact the Club is on the Member's Only Page.

EBU Rule Changes
There have been a number of rule changes that came into force on August 1st.  Click here for details.

Recent Updates
Home Page
18th November 2008
Hall of Fame
18th November 2008
Winners 2008/2009
18th November 2008
John's tip of the Month - November
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

W
e
s
t		 North
E
a
s
t
 
 
 
South
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bidding
N E S W
. . . .
Promotional Material

It is the time for pigs – as in Can Radar Track Flying Pigs – an aide-memoire for defenders thought processes when battling against a declarer’s suit contract. The following deal arose last November in our own Men’s pairs event - and the question? What does West lead at trick three!? Take a look at the scene from the West seat. It is game-all and South, as dealer, opens the bidding with a weak two hearts (known to be a six card suit and five up to nine, or possibly a poor ten, points). West bids two spades and North ends the auction with his jump to four hearts.

The opening lead for West is clearly not a problem. The king (asking partner for a count signal) of spades is chosen. Dummy follows small, East plays the ten (clearly either a singleton or the start of a peter - showing two spades) and declarer tables the six. At trick two, on the lead of the spade ace, East completes the count signal by playing the eight and declarer follows with the last spade. So what is next for West?     

(When you've had a think - Press Show Answer)

Any side suit lead gives declarer the obvious eleven tricks - six trumps four clubs and a diamond. So continue spades and hope that East’s only trump is the knave or the queen. Either of those cards with East and the lead of a spade at trick three generates an extra defensive trick in the trump suit – a trump promotion (Pigs in the aide-memoire).In the actual event West chose to continue with a low spade rather than the queen thereby making sure that his partner used whatever trump he held.

(Now press Show All Hands)

Success!  East did have the spade knave and used it to good effect – promoting West’s trump holding to provide a winner.

Three points in conclusion:-

(i) Even if West had continued with the spade queen East should still have played his trump!

(ii) The play of the trump knave in any similar situation has often been called an ‘uppercut’. In response Declarer’s counter punch would normally be to refuse to over ruff and to discard a loser instead. In the deal above he did not have a loser to play and so over ruffed the knave with his queen thus establishing an important extra trick for the defence. An fundamental point therefore arises and that is: - For a trump promotion to succeed defenders must, if possible, remove declarer’s losers first. Next month’s hand, I hope, will emphasise that very point.

(iii) A more general point. The contract was not beaten – but it was match-pointed pairs and getting that third defensive trick, compared to settling for ‘4♥ + 1’, would most probably have netted an extra 2% (i.e. a half top) in East/West’s final score,




Last updated : 30th October 2008 15:01
This site is updated with BridgeWebs, the easy web solution for bridge clubs.