Bridge
6 June, 2026
Promoting a trump trick
Playing a suit that you know declarer can ruff isn't always a bad idea.
Playing a suit that you know declarer can ruff isn't always a bad idea. On this deal, you are vulnerable and your opponents are not. Partner passes and your right-hand opponent opens 1❤️. You pass, left-hand opponent responds 1♠️ and partner overcalls 2♣️. The opponents blithely push on to 4♠️. Partner leads ♦️Q and this is what you see:
The first trick goes ♦️Q, 2, 3 (you play "low encourage" to signal attitude) and 9. Partner continues with ♦️J which you overtake with the king as declarer follows with ♦️4. Now you lay down ♦️A and are pleased to see declarer follow with the ten as partner discards ❤️7. What next?
If partner has ♣️A, the contract is clearly going down. However, partner didn't signal encouragement in that suit by discarding a low club, so it seems likely that she doesn't have the ace. Is there a chance for a trick from anywhere else?
If partner has ♠️K and another, she will win that trick anyway. But what about if instead she has ♠️Q and another? In that case declarer's holding will be ♠️AKxxx and he will be able to drop the missing honour – unless you play a fourth round of diamonds! Now if declarer ruffs with ♠️A or K, partner's queen will be promoted into a winner, while if he ruffs with a lower card hoping that you hold ♠️Q, partner will be able to over-ruff.
That would indeed have been the best defence, because this was the full deal:
A diamond continuation enabled your side to take the contract down, for a shared top!
Sometimes, even if both declarer and dummy can ruff the card you lead, you can force a high ruff which then promotes a trump trick for partner.
Rakesh Kumar
The Southern Highlands Bridge Club runs three duplicate sessions every week (Mon 1:00 pm, Wed 6:30 pm, Sat 1:00 pm) at the East Bowral Community Centre. Highlands players and visitors welcome!
For more information: https://shbc.bridgeaustralia.org
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