Defenders can improve their success by watching the bidding and using the information to defend more accurately.
When you and partner bid, you are describe your hands to each. The opponents are doing exactly the same thing.
Watch what they bid. You too will learn more about the opponents hand shape and high card point strength.
Why do we bother? Because this gives you clues about the shape and strength of your partner’s bridge hand. Which might help you defend more accurately, and stop your side giving away tricks unnecessarily.
PLUS IT’S QUITE FUN TO SEE THROUGH THE BACK OF THE CARDS!
It takes practice to create a picture of declarer’s hand so this week we are giving you a variety of exercises to get your brain thinking.
Task 1: Shape or no shape?
Each of the hands in the quiz below is held by North. your task is to match the actions by North to the hand North must have to bid this way.
LEARNER: Look at each hand. Think about how you would bid it. If you have guessed correctly you will find the bidding sequence to match your guess.
ADVANCED: You can also do it the other way – create your own hand shape and strength that would fit North’s bidding for each sequence. The compare the hands to your own and make the match.
The task is to match each North hand to the North’s bidding then submit your responses.
Now look at what we have learned from the bidding sequences in words.
1NT openers might be mini, weak or strong. Whatever the HCP strength, 1NT describes a balanced hand and so should fall into one of three hand shapes 5332, 4333 or 4432. This hand can be tough to defend. Whatever the range of the NT we know the high card points almost precisely. North has the highest in the given range, And South has precisely the number needed to invite.
North has precisely four hearts, so as soon as dummy appears you know how many partner has. Watch the play of the other suits to learn if North has four cards in clubs or diamonds, or 333 in each of the other suits.
Use that to help you decide which keep the cards at the end of the game so the opponents don’t win extra tricks needlessly.
This is a deceptively descriptive hand. Always expect the unexpected on an auction like this. North has bid a quiet 1D then 2D (in principle 5 or 6 diamonds and 12-14HCP). North has a shortage somewhere! 9 of North’s are definitely in two suits. How are the hearts and clubs lying? you can look at your hand to make an educated guess about which is shorter, and plan a defence to maximise enjoying tricks. This is a very good time to lead the unbid suit to snaffle up declarer’s losing hearts to be enjoyed by your side!
