Three Reasons for Delaying Trumps

Although drawing the opposing trumps straight away is the default setting on the Bridge machine – you don’t want your winners to be trumped – there are many occasions where it is folly. Here are three of the most important reasons to delay:

• (A) To dump loser(s) from hand on winners in dummy.
• (B) To void dummy of a shorter suit and ruff loser(s) in dummy.
• (C) To establish a suit. Sometimes two (even three) of the above apply on the same deal.

South was minimum for his preemptive 3 ♥ ,and 4 ♥ would have been unmakeable on the lead of either major suit. West led a normal ♣ 10, however and declarer could now get home – provided he used the correct strategy.

Because there were fewer clubs in dummy than in hand, declarer had the opportunity to score an extra trump trick by rung as third club in dummy, the short trump hand [Reason (B), above]. However because this involved giving up a trick, he rst had to dump a spade on dummy’s second top diamond [Reason (A)].

Declarer won West’s club lead with dummy’s ♣ A and promptly and necessarily cashed ♦ AK, dumping ♠ 5. At trick four he led ♣ 3, to void dummy of clubs.

East won ♣ Q and the defence did the best they could, East switching to ♠ 6 to West’s ♠ Q. Refraining from trying to cash ♠ A [if declarer’s club play made sense, he had to have a club in his hand; his other seven cards had to be hearts to justify his three-level opener; no room for another spade], West switched to a heart.

Spurning the heart finesse [play low from dummy – in the hope West held ♥ K – and East would win ♥ K and lead a second heart, removing dummy’s hearts before the club could be ruffed], declarer rose with ♥ A. He ruffed ♦ 6 to get back to hand then led ♣ J and ruffed it with ♥ 5 (the crucial extra trick). His remaining six cards were ♥ QJ10743, of which he had to score five (all bar ♥ K). 10 tricks and game made – via ♦ AK, ♣ A, six trumps plus a ruff in dummy.