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Andrew:
Tip: Win your stopper on the shorter holdings last card
When, declaring a notrump contract, the opponents lead a suit in which you have just one ‘stopper’ (a certain trick such as the ace), the warning light should appear. Withholding the stopper will not see the opponents switch to another suit; they will force out your stopper. But there is nonetheless a very good reason for withholding the stopper: you hope to exhaust the partner of the leader of his cards in the suit. If you can make sure you later lose the lead to him, he now has no further cards in the long suit to lead.
Question: How many times should you withhold your one stopper?
Answer: Try to gauge how many cards each opponent holds. Win your stopper on the final card of the opponent with the shorter holding.
Click to play this deal
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South Deals N-S Vul |
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| West | North | East | South |
| 1 ♦ | |||
| 1 ♠ | 2 ♣ | 2 ♠ | Pass |
| Pass | 3 ♦ | Pass | 3 NT |
| Pass | Pass | Pass |
| 3 NT by South |
| Lead: ♠ 3 |
| Made 3 |
What happened?
Declarer won ♠ 3 led (to East’s ♠ Q) with ♠ A and led ♦ 3 to ♦ K. East won ♦ A and followed with ♠ 10 (top of the remaining doubleton). West overtook ♠ 10 with ♠ J, then cashed ♠ K, ♠ 9 and ♠ 2. Down one.
What should have happened?
The bidding has told declarer that West has five spades (for his overcall) and East three (for his support). He must therefore delay winning his ♠ A until the third round, so that East has no more spades. He then flushes out ♦ A and, because East holds the card (lucky!), the spade attack is thwarted. He wins East’s ♥ 10 return with ♥ A and cashes fi ve diamonds and ♣ AK. Nine tricks and game made.
Tip: Working out how many cards each opponent has in their long suit will tell
you how many times to withhold your stopper. Win it on the shorter holding’s
last card.