From               Wednesday Game Archives

                                                       Theme             Giving Count

                                                       Difficulty         * *

                                                       Dlr North        N-S Vul

Those opponents have certainly bid a lot on this hand!  Didn’t they notice the vulnerability?  You lead a Heart, and when Dummy hits, you wonder why on earth you did not lead a trump.  Anyway, the opening lead is ruffed on the board, and a Club is led to Declarer’s Jack, Partner playing the Two.  Plan the defense.

SOLUTION

Here are your choices:

(a)    On the assumption that Declarer is 7-3-2-1, win that first Club trick, lead a trump, and end up collecting couple of Hearts and a couple of Aces.  Down 2!

(b)   On the assumption that Declarer is 7-3-1-2, duck the first Club, allowing Declarer to get that second ruff on the board, but eventually scoring 2 Aces and just one Heart.  Down only one!

Guess wrong, and it will be -850!  But who said there was a guess involved here?  Not if you can rely upon Partner to give a count signal in this situation.  After Dummy ruffed the opening lead, and a Club was led at Trick 2, Partner played the 2♣.  Yes, of course, he is giving count!   So, Partner has an odd number of Clubs, surely 3.  Armed with this knowledge, it’s quite safe to duck that first round of Clubs, and settle for down one.

If you and your Partner are not in the habit of giving count signals when the opponents lead a suit, then now is a good time to start!  When they lead a suit and we play low, we are showing an odd number … if we play a high spot, then we are showing an even number.  Get in the habit of making these signals religiously, and also get in the habit of watching Partner’s own religious signals.  Then, when you and Partner have reached a level of trust on this subject, you can occasionally false card when you are sure that fooling Declarer is more profitable than informing Partner.

Keys to Success

   - Giving count signals when Declarer leads a side-suit