grizz: Hi everybody, thanks for attending another of a series of lessons on Defense. grizz: Chat logs and hand records are stored in your computer for later review. For information on how to retrieve them, go the BIL homepage or email me. rogernz: hi grizz: I teach private individual, pair, and small group lessons. If you would like to know more please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com. grizz: Archives of old sessions are available at GrizzBridge.com, on the Lessons and Archives page located at: http://www.grizzbridge.com/Lessons_and_Archives.php grizz: There will be lots of questions. I want to address them all, but in a manner helpful to all, so please ask them in open chat. grizz: If I forget a question while answering another, please remind me. grizz: I encourage participation by all kibitzers grizz: So jump right in with a comment, question, or bid at any time, but please do so in open chat. grizz: There are only 5 basic types of defensive strategy at the beginning of a hand. grizz: By the way, these concepts are out of the book "How The Experts Win At Bridge" by Burt Hall and Lynn Rose-Hall. grizz: By way of review, and for those who are new here, the 5 lines of defense are: grizz: 1. Force declarer to ruff, and lose control of his own trump suit. grizz: 2. Active defense. grizz: 3. Passive defense. grizz: 4. Reduce ruffing power. grizz: 5. Create trump tricks. grizz: We have looked at Forcing, Active and Passive defense, Reduce ruffing power and Create Trump Tricks for several weeks, and now it is time for us to put that knowledge to work by ... grizz: choosing opening leads. grizz: Briefly, here are the guidelines for each of these different strategies. grizz: 1. Forcing defense - lead your side's strongest suit. grizz: 2. Active defense - also, lead your side's strongest suit. grizz: 3. Passive defense - top of a sequence, or a worthless suit grizz: 4. Reduce ruffs - start a trump grizz: 5. Creating trump tricks - lead from your own or toward partner's shortness grizz: There are some special leads for special situations too, but these 5 cover more than 90% of all hands so we will examine them in great detail. grizz: The rules seem simple, and in some ways they are, but as with so many topics in bridge there is more than meets the eye at first glance. grizz: 1. Forcing defense - lead your side's strongest suit. How do you know which is your side's strongest suit? analisals (Lobby): oh Ijust thought you were using it-what about when and how you get paid! :-) ->analisals: i'll get back to you on that, lesson in bil now - c'mon over grizz: If you are looking at it in your own hand, there is no problem. grizz: If not though, you must do some detective work. grizz: The auction will frequently tell you, if you know how to analyze it correctly. grizz: Some information comes from partner, and some from ops, grizz: But you must be sensitive not only to what is bid, but more importantly what is NOT bid grizz: Negative inferences are a huge part of bridge logic, and there are many opportunities during the auction for partners to tell each other where their strength is or is not. grizz: "Lead directors" tell your partner where your strength is grizz: Silence tells your partner where you are weak. grizz: The following bids are lead directors: grizz: 1. Overcalls grizz: 2. Preempts grizz: 3. "Convenient minor" openers grizz: 4. Lead directing doubles grizz: 5. 3rd hand light openers grizz: "Pass-Pass-Bid" auctions are frequently made on subminimum hands, and/or with shorter than normal suits, grizz: ...on the premise that LHO is strong and likely to become declarer, and partner will be on lead. grizz: 10-11 hcp hands are common, as are good 4-card majors grizz: The other side of that coin is that if partner does NOT make any of these bids, one of two possibilities is at work: grizz: 1. He does not have a suit worth bidding, or grizz: 2. He does but cannot do so conveniently grizz: In other words, if partner is known to have some values but did not bid, he might have interest in a suit ranking lower than ops have bid. grizz: For example, if LHO opens the auction 1!s-? partner could have any of these hands and not be able to bid: grizz: 1. !Sxxx-!HAQxx-!DAxx-!Cxxx grizz: 2. !Sxxx-!Hxxx-!DAQxx-!CAxx grizz: 3. !Sxxxx-!HAx-!Dxxxxx-!CAQ grizz: 4. !SJxxx-!HAK-!DKQ-!Cxxxxx grizz: See the problem? They are all pretty good hands, with serious flaws. grizz: None of them have a suit good enough to bid at the 2 level grizz: And none of them have the shape for a takeout double, even the 13-pointer. grizz: They all have defensive values that partner can't bid. grizz: In any case, if partner does not make any of those 5 lead-directing bids, the suggestion is that he is voting for some other lead. billdg: couldnt you double on the first to as a neg double? Telling pard you have 4 hearts? grizz: not in the overcall seat grizz: negative double applies to the responder seat, after pard has opened and RHO has overcalled grizz: and none of these hands has the proper distribution for a takeout X billdg: thats right sorry forgot grizz: np, i'm glad we cleared that up grizz: without cards to look at, this can be confusing grizz: In addition to those 5 lead directors, another good way to identify strength is to double ops' artificial bids. These could be: grizz: a. Stayman grizz: b. Transfers grizz: c. New minor forcing grizz: d. 4th suit forcing grizz: e. Cue bids PedroG: bergen grizz: f. Blackwood responses grizz: g. Bergen raises grizz: h. Fit jumps grizz: And many others too ->PedroG: thx :) grizz: Here again we listen not only for a double, but for silence. rq4mulae: any artificial bid you can't/shouldn't X for lead-direction? :) grizz: no - partner is entitled to make a negative inference if you pass over such a bid grizz: so if you want partner not to make that inference, you should X grizz: Passing when there is the opportunity for a lead-directing double suggests interest in some other suit(s). rq4mulae: besides, red card helps get p's attention grizz: lol grizz: Here is an example: PedroG: Pete what type of suit needed? grizz: RHO opens 1!s, you pass and the auction continues: bluehi: this strength what grizz: one that can stand a lead PedroG: can a suit missing AK be worth it? grizz: AKx, AQx, AJx, KQx, etc, maybe with more xx'es bluehi: or were they additional lead ask grizz: in this instance the X says nothing about your total hand strength, only that a lead in that suit is safe rq4mulae: generally, one that can win 2nd round of suit if not first? grizz: sure PedroG: ty grizz: back to the example grizz: RHO opens 1!s, you pass and the auction continues: grizz: 1!s-P-4!s-P grizz: 4NT-P-5!d-P grizz: 5NT-P-6!c-P grizz: 6!s-all pass rq4mulae: don't lead a spade, diamond or club? :) grizz: Partner could have doubled either 5!d or 6!c but chose not to. grizz: So unless there is some other obvious lead in your hand like !DAK, lead a !h grizz: Here is another example. LHO opens 1!d, partner passes and the auction continues: grizz: 1!d-P-1NT-P grizz: P-3NT-all pass grizz: Partner could have overcalled either major but did not. grizz: If you have just a couple points in your hand, partner is marked with 10+ but did not overcall. grizz: So either his major holdings are good but short, or he has !cs but could not bid them. grizz: If you have a long major then lead it grizz: Otherwise try !cs in an effort to hit partner's suit. Dianne0516: long meaning? grizz: 4+ Dianne0516: thnks grizz: Another example: you have !sxxx-!hKTxxx-!dvoid-!cKxxxx grizz: After 2 passes RHO opens 1NT, and the auction goes: grizz: P-P-1NT-P grizz: 2!c-P-2!s-P grizz: 3NT-all pass grizz: Other things being equal you have a natural !h lead on this hand, but wait... grizz: LHO bid Stayman first, then NT when opener showed !Ss. grizz: So odds are that LHO has !hs, and the positional value of your !hs sitting in front of dummy is poor. grizz: So lead !cs grizz: Here is the full hand: grizz: on a !h lead declarer lets it run to the J, and scores 3!h tricks kcgal: what is the 2 club bid??? grizz: 2!c is stayman kcgal: omg I knew that lol lol senior moment grizz: :) grizz: I mentioned earlier that there are some special lead situations. grizz: For those of you who need to know, here they are. grizz: 1. Gambling NT - lead an ace, look at dummy and try to locate declarer's weakness. grizz: 2. NT slams - if you and partner have not bid, lead top of a sequence or a worthless suit, avoid giving declarer a free finesse or other help. grizz: 3. Suit grands slams - a trump is almost mandatory, unless both ops have bid and raised a suit and you have the Ace. grizz: 4. Doubled part-score contracts - lead trump, try to kill ruffs in side suits. grizz: There are some special rules for lead-directing doubles: grizz: 1. If neither defender has bid, ops bid a NT game or slam and partner doubles, lead dummy's first bid suit. grizz: 2. If only partner bid and later doubles, lead his suit. grizz: 3. If only you bid and later partner doubles, lead your own suit. grizz: 4. If both you and partner have bid and partner doubles, lead the suit of the stronger hand - that is where the entries are. grizz: 5. If ops have not bid any suits (e.g. 1NT-3NT) and partner doubles, lead your shortest major. grizz: Next week we will have some example hands on Choosing a Lead. grizz: Please go over these guidelines, there is a lot to remember here. grizz: Are there any other questions? ydannac: Great guide lines, THANKS!H!H grizz: :) baccib: thank you :) doldridg: ty grizz: Though we have worked on those strategies for several weeks, the leads are not obvious PedroG: thanks Pete cdt: Thanks Grizz !H mer_cedes: Gracias,great lesson JohnnyHiLo: thanks grizz: so this list wraps up the package rogernz: Thanks - very useful dotfl: Thanks Pete IraCT: Thanks Pete :) bhr: Thanks spum1: tu grizz: That concludes today's lesson, and next week we will have some quiz hands on opening leads. Miksa: Thanks, your teaching is very helpful, as usual ladygolf: ty Grizz grizz: BTW, your satisfaction is guaranteed, or the next lesson is free! :) billdg: thank you rq4mulae: rofl PedroG: !h cdt: lol grizz: If anybody needs help retrieving the hand records or chat log, please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com. wyoming33: thanks:) PedroG: I will charge u that grizz: I teach private individual, pair, and small group lessons. If you would like to know more please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com. grizz: I am planning three different one-day courses on Defense, Declarer Play and Balancing, so it you are interested in any or all of these topics please drop me a line at ... grizz: Grizz@GrizzBridge.com grizz: Thanks for your interest and participation, and I hope to see you next week. grizz: Thanks also to Maureen, Rosemary, Fred and the wonderful people at BBO who make this all possible. grizz: Thanks all for coming, i'll see you in a week PedroG: cya emmee: thank you for your time and effort you spend helping us grizz: Bye now mer_cedes: adios and gracias