LESSON 8: Planning a Notrump Contract

Notrump Contracts

If you declare a notrump contract, the opponents will usually try to establish some length winners. If they can exhaust you of a suit and then obtain the lead, even very low cards in their suit will win tricks because there are no trumps and you cannot contest the issue. Thus, any short and relatively weak suits that your side possesses are potentially dangerous, because that is where the opponents will have the least trouble establishing length winners. Therefore, in addition to counting your winners and losers, keep a close watch on danger suits at notrump contracts. For example:

(a)

	DUMMY ♠ K 4 ♥ 10 3 2 ♦ J 10 5 2 ♣ A K 5 3
	DECLARER ♠ A 8 ♥ K Q J 5 ♦ A K 9 3 ♣ 7 6 4

(b)

	DUMMY ♠ 7 4 ♥ 10 3 2 ♦ J 10 5 ♣ A K Q J 5
	DECLARER ♠ A 8 ♥ K Q J 5 ♦ A K 6 ♣ 8 6 4 3

In each case, your contract is three notrump and West leads a spade. In hand (a), you can count six top winners and have two possibilities for developing the nine tricks you need. A diamond finesse will produce two tricks if successful and one trick if it fails, and driving out the heart ace will promote three heart winners.

Suppose you win the spade lead in dummy with the king and take the diamond finesse, which loses. West will continue spades to drive out your last stopper (sure winner that the enemy must dislodge before they can run the suit), and you will have only seven tricks to cash (two spades, three diamonds, and two clubs). You will have to play hearts to have any chance of establishing nine tricks, and the enemy will grab the ace of hearts and run enough spades to defeat the contract. With no trump suit and no more spades, you will be helpless to stop the procession of spade winners and will have to discard your winners on the opponents' good tricks—a most unenviable fate.

Instead of fooling around with the diamonds, you should take the sure route to nine tricks. Win the opening spade lead and drive out the ace of hearts. When you regain the lead with your second spade stopper, cash your nine tricks (two spades, three hearts, two diamonds and two clubs) and spurn the diamond finesse like the plague. With no more spade stoppers, it is suicidal to risk allowing the opponents on lead. Don't risk your contract for an overtrick!

In example (b), however, matters are different. You can count eight top tricks, and can build up three more in hearts by knocking out the ace. Unfortunately, spades are a disaster area. If you play hearts the opponents will take the heart ace and run enough spades to set the contract before you can regain the lead. You cannot afford to lose the lead at all so you do not have time to set up the hearts. Is there a quick way of getting a ninth trick? Yes, the diamond finesse offers a chance (in fact, the only chance) for the contract. The correct play is to win the ace of spades, cash the ace of diamonds (in case of a singleton queen in the West band), run five club tricks and discard a spade (the opponents may make a mistake if forced to make some discards), and lead the jack of diamonds and take the finesse. If it wins, quickly cash the diamond king for your ninth trick. If it loses, you may be set an extra trick, but this is a small price to pay for a chance to bring home your contract.

Hold-Up Plays

Sometimes a danger suit can be rendered harmless by refusing to part with your stopper until the last possible moment, thereby disrupting the opponents' communications. For example:

	DUMMY ♠ 7 5 ♥ K 7 4 2 ♦ 7 5 ♣ A Q J 6 3
WEST ♠ Q 10 8 4 ♥ 10 6 ♦ K 10 8 6 2 ♣ 9 8		EAST ♠ 9 6 3 ♥ Q J 9 5 ♦ Q J 9 ♣ K 7 5
	DECLARER ♠ A K J 2 ♥ A 8 3 ♦ A 4 3 ♣ 10 4 2

West leads the six of diamonds against your three-notrump contract, and East plays the jack. You have six top tricks and can secure the additional three tricks you need to make your contract once the club king is gone (regardless of whether the finesse wins or loses). Unfortunately, if the opponents gain the lead they may be able to cash enough diamonds to defeat the contract.

If you win the first trick with the ace of diamonds, you will be set very quickly. When you finesse in clubs, East will win with the king and fire back the queen and another diamond, and West will run his suit. The opponents will score four diamond tricks and one club trick—down one. Now suppose you permit East to win the first trick by playing a small diamond from your hand—in other words, hold-up your ace. East continues with the diamond queen, and once again you play low. East continues with a third diamond, and you win with the ace and lead the ten of clubs for a finesse. East wins, but (thanks to your hold-up) is now out of diamonds and must permit you to regain the lead and cash nine tricks. Even if East has a diamond to return, you are in no danger, for the suit is splitting 4-4 and the defenders can take only four tricks in all.

Here's another situation in which a hold-up is well judged:

	DUMMY ♠ A 8 6 3 ♥ 6 ♦ K 5 4 2 ♣ K Q 8 6
WEST ♠ J 9 5 4 ♥ K Q 10 9 4 ♦ 9 ♣ 9 7 5		EAST ♠ 10 7 ♥ 8 5 3 2 ♦ Q J 10 7 6 ♣ A 3
	DECLARER ♠ K Q 2 ♥ A J 7 ♦ A 8 3 ♣ J 10 4 2

Against your contract of three notrump West leads the king of hearts. With only six top winners, you must look to clubs to make your contract. If West has the ace, you are in little trouble no matter what you do, for West cannot profitably continue hearts into your jack. If East has the club ace, however, you will go down if you win the first trick. East will lead a heart through your jack when he takes the ace of clubs and West will cash four hearts.

If you hold-up on the first trick by playing the seven, however, the defenders are helpless. If West continues the suit into your ace-jack, he presents you with two stoppers; if West shifts suits, you retain the ace of hearts for use later on. Either way, you have time to drive out the ace of clubs and establish the nine winners you need.

A hold-up is often correct even with two stoppers in the danger suit:

	DUMMY ♠ K 4 2 ♥ A 3 ♦ Q J 10 8 6 ♣ 6 4 3
WEST ♠ Q 10 7 6 5 ♥ J 10 8 ♦ K 5 ♣ 9 7 5		EAST ♠ J 9 ♥ 9 6 5 4 2 ♦ A 2 ♣ J 10 8 2
	DECLARER ♠ A 8 3 ♥ K Q 7 ♦ 9 7 4 3 ♣ A K Q

West leads the six of spades against your contract of three no-trump. If you win the first trick, the result will be disastrous. With only eight top tricks, you must attack diamonds to make your contract, and East will win the first round with his ace and return a spade. The defenders will drive out your last spade stopper (a hold-up now won't save you; West will overtake his partner's nine of spades with the ten and continue the suit) and West will cash the setting tricks in spades when he gets in with the king of diamonds. A hold-up at the first trick, however, will put the disaster on the heads of the defenders. Refuse the first trick and win the spade continuation; then play diamonds. If West wins the king, he can drive out your last spade stopper, but he has no entry to his established spades and you can knock out the ace of diamonds in perfect safety. If East wins the first diamond trick with the ace, he has no spades to play, and you retain your last spade stopper.

As with any bridge technique, there are times when a hold-up should not be used. Suppose that dummy holds the ten and three of spades and you hold ace, jack, five of spades, and spades is the danger suit. West leads a low spade, you properly put on dummy's three, and East plays the queen (or king). You should usually take the ace to guarantee two tricks in the suit. If you duck and West has the other spade honor, you will get only one trick (and one stopper). Also, don't hold up when another suit is even more dangerous; be happy that the opponents haven't found their best lead:

	DUMMY ♠ 7 3 ♥ 5 3 ♦ A J 10 8 ♣ K 10 8 4 2
WEST ♠ K 8 6 ♥ K 10 9 2 ♦ 6 4 2 ♣ 9 7 5		EAST ♠ Q J 10 9 5 2 ♥ Q J 7 4 ♦ 9 7 ♣ A
	DECLARER ♠ A 4 ♥ A 8 6 ♦ K Q 5 3 ♣ Q J 6 3

West leads the two of hearts against three notrump and East plays the jack. Ordinarily, your heart holding would justify a hold-up, but here the spade situation is even more frightening. If you hold up in hearts and East shifts to spades, the contract will surely be set; even if spades split as evenly as possible (5-4), the defenders will take four spades, one heart, and the club ace. Therefore, win the ace of hearts and drive out the ace of clubs, hoping that hearts split 4-4 and that the opponents cannot cash enough tricks to defeat the contract before you can regain the lead.

Avoiding the Dangerous Hand

At times, you can afford to lose the lead to one opponent but not the other. If so, look for ways of keeping the dangerous hand off lead:

	DUMMY ♠ 5 3 ♥ 8 4 3 ♦ Q J 10 7 4 ♣ A Q J
WEST ♠ A 10 8 4 2 ♥ K 10 6 2 ♦ 9 ♣ 9 8 5		EAST ♠ J 9 7 ♥ 9 7 5 ♦ 6 3 2 ♣ K 10 7 2
	DECLARER ♠ K Q 6 ♥ A Q J ♦ A K 8 5 ♣ 6 4 3

As usual, your contract is three notrump and West leads the four of spades. East plays the jack, and you win with the queen. You can count eight certain winners (one spade, one heart, five diamonds, and one club), and a successful finesse in either hearts or clubs will give you the ninth trick you need for your contract. Which finesse should you try? If you take the club finesse and it loses, East will return a spade through your king, and West will run an unpleasantly large number of spades. If, however, you try the heart finesse and it loses, West cannot continue spades without presenting you with a trick, and your ninth trick will be promoted in the heart suit. Therefore, lead a diamond to dummy's ten and take the heart finesse. You must now make your contract whatever happens. If West wins and shifts to a club, go right up with dummy's ace and cash your winners to make your game.

In the previous lesson we saw that the proper way to play an eight-card suit missing the queen is to finesse. When the finesse is into the danger hand, however, it may be best to consider other plans:

	DUMMY ♠ 8 5 ♥ Q 10 5 ♦ A K J 10 7 ♣ K 4 2
	DECLARER ♠ K 6 2 ♥ A K 8 ♦ 9 8 6 ♣ A 8 5 3

West leads the two of hearts against three notrump. You can count seven top winners and the diamond suit will eventually furnish at least two more, but the dangerous situation in the spade suit demands your attention. If East gains the lead and returns a spade and West has the ace, the opponents may do great damage to your contract. A spade lead from West will not hurt, however, because it will come up to your king. Since the count shows that you need only four diamond tricks and not five, the proper play is to win the first trick, cash the ace and king of diamonds, and follow with the diamond jack. If West wins, you will have lost an unnecessary trick, but the contract will be completely safe; and you want to avoid losing the lead to East at any cost.

A careful study of which is the danger hand will often tell you whether or not to hold up at the first trick. Examine these deals:

(a)

	DUMMY ♠ K Q 2 ♥ A J 7 ♦ A 10 9 5 ♣ 8 7 4
	DECLARER ♠ A 8 3 ♥ K Q 3 ♦ Q J 4 3 ♣ K J 3

(b)

	DUMMY ♠ K Q 2 ♥ A J 7 ♦ Q J 4 3 ♣ 8 7 4
	DECLARER ♠ A 8 3 ♥ K Q 3 ♦ A 10 9 5 ♣ K J 3

In each case, West leads the six of clubs against your contract of three notrump and East plays the queen. In hand (a), you have eight sure winners and must look to diamonds for your ninth trick. The danger is that if you win the first trick with the club king and the diamond finesse loses, East will return a club through your jack. If West began with five clubs, he can take enough tricks to set the contract.

To avoid this calamity, duck the first trick! East continues clubs, and the opponents permit your jack to win. Now you can take the diamond finesse in perfect safety. If West began with five clubs, East is now out of the suit and unable to return it; if East does have a club to play back, the suit is breaking 4-3 and you will lose only three clubs and one diamond.

In hand (b), however, the only opponent who can possibly gain the lead is West. Therefore, win the first trick with the king of clubs, enter dummy with a spade or heart and take the diamond finesse. Even if it loses, you are in no danger, for your jack of clubs is a sure stopper with West on lead.

Capsule Summary: Notrump Contracts

I. Count:
   1. The number of tricks that you need.
   2. The number of winners.
   3. The number of potential losers, with special attention to any danger suits.

II. Hold-up to disrupt the enemy's communications in the danger suit. Don't hold up when:
   1. It will cost you a trick in the suit.
   2. Another suit is even more dangerous, and a switch to that suit by the defense will doom the contract.
   3. The only opponent who can gain the lead cannot safely lead the suit if you win the first trick.

III. Check to see if either of the defenders' hands is more dangerous. If so, play to avoid losing the lead to that hand if you can.

REVIEW QUIZ

In each case your contract is three notrump. Plan the play.

(1)

	DUMMY ♠ 5 4 ♥ 10 7 5 ♦ K Q J 5 3 ♣ A Q J
	DECLARER ♠ A K 3 ♥ K Q J ♦ 10 8 4 2 ♣ K 6 3

Opening lead: ♠ 6

(2)

	DUMMY ♠ 8 4 ♥ 7 4 ♦ J 10 9 3 ♣ A K Q J 4
	DECLARER ♠ A 5 ♥ K J 3 ♦ A Q 8 7 ♣ 6 5 3 2

Opening lead: ♥ 5. East plays ♥ Q.

(3)

	DUMMY ♠ 4 3 2 ♥ J 4 ♦ K J 6 ♣ Q J 10 9 3
	DECLARER ♠ A K Q ♥ A K 5 2 ♦ A Q 8 ♣ 8 5 4

Opening lead: ♥ 6

(4)

	DUMMY ♠ 7 4 ♥ K Q 4 ♦ 8 5 3 2 ♣ A 10 9 2
	DECLARER ♠ A 6 3 ♥ A J 8 ♦ A K J ♣ K J 7 3

Opening lead: ♠ K

(5)

	DUMMY ♠ 6 5 2 ♥ 7 5 3 ♦ A K 8 6 4 ♣ J 2
	DECLARER ♠ A K 9 ♥ A K 4 2 ♦ 5 3 2 ♣ A 10 5

Opening lead: ♣ 4

Solutions

1. You have five top winners in the black suits and can obtain the additional four that you need in the diamond suit. Win the first or second round of spades and play diamonds until the opponents take their ace. If the opponents drive out your last spade stopper, cash your winners to make the game contract. You must avoid the heart suit, for you do not have time to drive out both red aces and hearts will not provide enough tricks.

2. Win the king of hearts, enter dummy by playing a club to the ace and finesse the jack of diamonds. If it wins, repeat the finesse. Even if the finesse should lose, you are cold for your contract (you have five club tricks, three diamonds, and one heart, and one spade) and no return by West can hurt you.

3. Put up dummy's jack. If it wins, you can afford to play for overtricks by attacking clubs; after driving out the ace and king, you will have eleven winners. If East covers with the heart queen, however, you must play low (duck). This ensures the contract unless one opponent has both club honors and five or more hearts, in which case there is nothing you can do. If you win the first trick, East may win the first club trick and return a heart, establishing West's original five-card suit while that player retains the club ace as an entry.

4. You have eight top winners and can finesse in diamonds or clubs for your ninth trick. Unfortunately, the defenders may run the spade suit if they regain the lead. To give yourself the best chance, hold-up your spade ace until the third round of the suit, cash the club king, and lead the club jack and let it ride (unless covered). If this wins, repeat the finesse to make your contract with an overtrick; if it loses and East has a spade to return, spades have probably broken 4-4 (leads against notrump contracts are usually from long suits) and you will lose only three spades and one club. It would be a serious error to take the diamond finesse or to lead the club ace and let the ten ride for a finesse; West, who probably has the long spades, is the danger hand and must be kept off lead.

5. Play low from dummy; if East plays an honor, win with the ace to ensure two stoppers. (If East plays low, win with the ten.) You will need a length trick from the diamond suit to make your contract, and must be careful to conserve an entry to dummy. Play a low diamond from both hands, conceding a trick at once. When you regain the lead, you can then run four diamond tricks if the suit splits 3-2. If instead you first cash the ace and king of diamonds, you will never be able to enter dummy to run the established spots even if the suit divides favorably.

This article is an adapted excerpt from "Bridge for Beginners" by Alvin Roth and Jeff Rubens.
Copyright 1970. Used by permission.

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