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♠ K J 2 ♥ J 10 7 ♦ A Q 10 4 ♣ 9 6 4 |
South is playing 3NT. Your partner, West, leads the ♥6. You play the ♥A and South follows with the ♥9. How will you defend? (scroll down) | |||
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♠ ♥ 6 ♦ ♣ | N W E S |
♠ 10 8 5 4 ♥ A 8 4 ♦ K 8 ♣ Q J 7 3 | ||
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♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ |
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♠ K J 2 ♥ J 10 7 ♦ A Q 10 4 ♣ 9 6 4 |
South is playing 3NT. Your partner, West, leads the ♥6. You play the ♥A and South follows with the ♥9. Using the Rule of Eleven tells you North, East and South began with 5 ♥s bigger than the 6. Dummy had 3 and you had 2, so that accounts for all 5. BUT SOUTH PLAYED THE ♥9! Does this mean the Rule of Eleven is wrong??? Not at all, the Rule is just fine. But it only applies when the opening lead is a 4th-down lead. So you conclude that partner must have led top of nothing from a weak ♥ suit. So rather than return a ♥ you play a small ♣, trying for some tricks in that suit. You can see that this approach will pay off, but just playing back a useless ♥ would hand South the contract. | |||
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♠ 9 7 3 ♥ 6 5 4 2 ♦ 7 6 5 ♣ K 5 2 | N W E S |
♠ 10 8 5 4 ♥ A 8 3 ♦ K 8 ♣ Q J 7 3 | ||
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♠ A Q 6 ♥ K Q 9 ♦ J 9 3 2 ♣ A 10 8 |