grizz: Hi everybody, thanks for attending another in 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 at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com.
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 previous sessions are available at GrizzBridge.com, on the Lessons and Archives page located at:  http://www.grizzbridge.com/Lessons_and_Archives.php
grizz: There are more than 50 sessions logged there now, with lots of good information.
BILManager (Lobby): => Club: !D!HBILmembers--please join grizz in the BILounge for today's lesson---the table is open!D!H
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: These concepts are out of the book "How The Experts Win At Bridge" by Burt Hall and Lynn Rose-Hall, the Bridge Book of the Year in 1997.
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, go get your own tricks.
grizz: 3.  Passive defense, let the lead come to you.
grizz: 4.  Reduce ruffs.
grizz: 5.  Create trump tricks.
grizz: Again, if you need review on the 5 Lines of Defense check out http://www.grizzbridge.com/Lessons_and_Archives.php
grizz: Scroll down the page until you find those lessons under the BIL listings.
grizz: Briefly, here are the lead 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 - lead a trump
grizz: 5.  Creating trump tricks - lead from your own or toward partner's shortness
grizz: So choosing a lead depends on what your defensive game plan is, referring back to the 5 Lines of Defense.
grizz: When you know WHAT you intend to accomplish, it is easier to decide HOW to get it done.
grizz: This week we are going to continue looking at example hands and auctions, consider defensive plans and choose leads.  
grizz: These example hands are not predealt, they are random.
grizz: So I have not analyzed them, rather we are all looking at them for the first time.  
grizz: The bidding will be done by the bots, though I must sit in one of the seats during play to control the pace.  
grizz: I have no idea who the declarer will be or which seat will be on lead, so you may kibitz all 4 hands.
grizz: We will put our heads together and come up with a defensive strategy based on the auction, the hand on lead, and the 5 Lines of Defense.
grizz: well that didn't go quite according to plan!
grizz: we will go back when the bots are done and see whether we agree with the lead
grizz: E led the !hQ, a bizarre lead
wyoming33: right - they almost always lead singletons and top of doubletons
grizz: if E were not going to lead the suit he bid and pard raised, then another strategy would be my second choice here
grizz: even if trump?
wyoming33: yes - 
grizz: singleton trump is rarely a good lead
grizz: very rarely
wyoming33: their carding is crazy
grizz: y
grizz: anyway, if E decides not to lead a !S, and a trump is bad, then choose a minor
grizz: leading from the AJT98 is likely to give up a trick
wyoming33: unsupported aces
grizz: so !!cs are out
grizz: ah, but there is a second possibility in !ds
grizz: creating a ruffing trick
grizz: if pard has the K
grizz: no guarantees of course, but that is the best available strategy for E
wyoming33: I like that but have beeen told its not a very good idea
grizz: it would not be my first choice -
grizz: creating ruffing tricks usually has a better reason for choosing it that what we see here
grizz: and doubleton ruffs seldom work
grizz: for a couple reasons
grizz: if pard has the A and doesn't hold up, you don't get the ruff
grizz: and pard may not hold up the A, thinking you have a stiff
grizz: ok, let's move on
grizz: 2!h would be a bad overcall on this trash, so S passes
grizz: do we have any guidelines vs suit slams?
tonguedog: yes please
grizz: vs. small slams, it pays to be aggressive
grizz: except vs. 6NT, or any grand, where you should be passive
grizz: S can see that !ds are splitting well
grizz: and ops have cuebid every suit in the deck!\
grizz: maybe pard is short in !hs
robzim: impossible hand to defend -- they make 7
grizz: no way to stop 7 here
grizz: but still, even if the hand seems hopeless,
grizz: even if the hand IS hopeless,
grizz: try to work out a plan for the defense
grizz: any questions on this one?
dae: i would open 2  c?
grizz: i can't resend that hand, but it was a bit short of a 2!c opener
dae: only 3 losers
grizz: i can't put it back up, so can't comment on that
dae: np
dae: ty
grizz: let's second-guess the bots on this one
grizz: the hand does call for a red suit lead, with N bidding both black suits strongly
grizz: and W's !d suit is ever so slightly better than !hs
grizz: but most good players would lead a !h on this auction
grizz: on the grounds that the strong side is likely to bid !hs if either player has them, but may well conceal long !ds while bidding NT
grizz: now that is a really silly play, with all due respect to the bots
grizz: NEVER finesse your partner that way!
grizz: should i play this out?
meshmeshaa: y
dae: it sets  3 NT?
grizz: time out
wyoming33: is that allowed LOL
grizz: lol   friendly ops here
BILFRIEND4: i want  to do tnat a lot  lolol
Cvet: the first line of play was better :)
grizz: :)
grizz: defense can't beat this one, but declarer can beat himself
maysie: AND yr P did not say a word - rofl
grizz: as i was on the way to proving
grizz: but the bot violated the first rule of 3rd hand play to Trick 1 -
Cvet: It seems to me that you was ok
grizz: win the trick if possible, unless there is a good reason not to
grizz: if W led from the K, then the A or Q from E makes no difference
grizz: but if W led from the J, then a trick is surrendered unnecessarily
grizz: and if W had 5!ds instead of S, it would be even more right to win the first trick and knock out the stopper
grizz: with possible entries in !s and !h and more !d to continue with later
grizz: there is a huge difference between finessing your partner, which is what E did here, and finessing dummy
grizz: if for instance W led a low !d, dummy had the K and E has the AJ, E should play the J
grizz: if W has the Q, they may take all the !d tricks
grizz: and if S has the Q, he scores only the Q
grizz: otherwise if E takes the A, the K and Q score separately
grizz: any other thoughts on this hand?
Cvet: What if East was with longer !d and no entry aside - it would be ok tu play Q?
grizz: no, not from AQ98
Cvet: ty
maysie: Is this just for trick 1?
grizz: win the A, knock out the stopper with the Q, and then use the 98 for continuation
->maysie: public chat plz
JohnnyHiLo: also once east gets the lead he doesn't return his partner's lead in diamonds
wyoming33: you would lead back the Q - even with 4 cards
grizz: y, this was not textbook defense
grizz: good question
grizz: E could tell that the W lead was not from 5+
grizz: since W would lead 4th best, and he actually led the 2
grizz: so E is entitled to think that W led from 4
grizz: in that case, win the A and lead the original 4th best
grizz: either that will knock out declarer's stopper, or EW are still in to lead another one
grizz: but if W led from 5+, then E would be correct to win the A and continue the Q
grizz: unblocking in the shorter !d hand
grizz: and unblocking plays like that should become as natural as breathing
grizz: a kib asks, "Is this just for trick 1?"
grizz: well, no - but it's especially important at Trick 1
grizz: because nobody knows much about the hand yet
grizz: the detective work has not yet started
grizz: and nobody knows whether it's right to continue that suit, or that strategy, or switch to a new one
analisals: since nobody knows much, I don't understand why the 2 cant be a lead from jxxx?
grizz: could be, certainly
grizz: but not possible for that to be 5+, if they play 4th leads
grizz: and if not 5+, then the unblock play is not important
grizz: it may be hard to see that without an example hand, but i don't have one up my sleeve
grizz: we did lots of them last year though, so they are in the archives
wyoming33: so here should win the ace and return the 8?
grizz: y, exactly
grizz: any other questions on this one before it goes away?
analisals: I never could understand that unless it has something todo with the rule of 11
grizz: yes, 4th best leads do play into the rule of 11
analisals: ty
grizz: subtract the number of the card from 11, and you know how many higher cards are in the other 3 hands
grizz: likewise if it's 3rd best, use the Rule of 10
grizz: or 5th best, and Rule of 12
grizz: next hand
grizz: interesting sidebar issue here on bidding
sharon J: i believe gib plays 3/5
grizz: S is an unpassed hand, so if S bids 1NT it should have 8-10 hcp
grizz: a passed hand might have as few as 6
grizz: and the wide open !s suit is a red flag too, but the hand is too good to pass
grizz: hang on, i want to get the URL for the bot convention card
mamadee: go ahead and play there  i am fine
wyoming33: wonder if the bots have had a tuneup since they came online - 
JohnnyHiLo: i've heard they also use the MOSQUITO bidding system
tripodpod2: you can click the bott twice and something comes up-not always truth
grizz: i can't access the bbo page without leaving the table, but the notes say that GIB plays 3/5 leads
wyoming33: they can make some strange bids and some of the explanations make no sense
grizz: right
TactAnita: can  you please explain what a 3/5 lead is?
grizz: and 3/5 doesn't really mean that, either - it means 3rd from even, and low from odd
grizz: but even pairs that play 3/5 usually play 4th best vs. NT
grizz: let's say that W is about to lead, and chooses to lead a !c
grizz: playing 4th best, W would lead the 5
grizz: and E would subtract that from 11, and know there are 6 cards out higher than the 5
grizz: so E is looking at 4 of the 6
grizz: and knows that declarer has only 2 card higher than the 5
grizz: if W is playing 3/5 leads, he would lead the 4
grizz: lowest card from an odd number
grizz: or 3rd best from even
TactAnita: ty
grizz: so 3rd hand must do some mental gymnastics playing 3/5 to figure out who has what
tripodpod2: lord help us
grizz: back to the action now
grizz: yikes!   we are both bidding each others' suits!
grizz: E's 3!d was a superstrong takeout for the other two suit
grizz: s
mamadee: yes  and I am waiting to see how it comes out
PedroG: check the description is funny
grizz: rofl!
grizz: "forcing to 3NT" means that the auction can't be dropped short of 3NT, but can go higher with no !d stop
wyoming33: is that Western cue?
wyoming33: west hasnt been bidding at all
grizz: no, West had not bid
grizz: so in this auction the 3!d is just a superstrong takeout
grizz: well, i have no beef with that lead
grizz: if we have any !d tricks coming, we better grab them before they go away on a side suit
grizz: so that is a case for Active Defense
grizz: and another instance where if you have a suit headed by the AK, you should lead it unless there is some very compelling reason to do anything else
grizz: any other ideas before this hand goes away?
Cvet: What signal should South give on North's lead when dummy is void in the suit and South did bid the P's suit - count or attitude or suit preference?
grizz: ah - good question
grizz: 3rd hand's top priority is telling his Attitude about that suit
grizz: but where Attitude is known, or clearly irrelevant, then the next priority is Suit Preference
grizz: the SP signal excludes the suit played and trumps (if any)
grizz: so high card means high suit, low card means low suit, etc.
Cvet: and in this case the !d6 is... ?
grizz: in this case the signal hardly mattered - continuing a !d is obviously wrong
grizz: !s is obviously wrong, with AKxx in dummy
grizz: so !h is the only possible switch
grizz: and the bot found it
Cvet: ty :)
grizz: there are only 3 types of signals
grizz: Attitude, Count, and Suit Preference
grizz: and 3rd hand as i said before should first of all show Attitude
analisals: :)
grizz: where attitude is either known or clearly irrelevant, as here, then the next preference is Suit Preference
grizz: but here SP is obvious too
grizz: so the 6 was Count
grizz: on the off chance that it might be of any value  :)
Cvet: thanks again, good answer, if I may say so :)
grizz: any other questions on this one?
grizz: ty  :)
PedroG: n ty
grizz: one more then, before we wrap this up
grizz: ok, the !d was an obvious lead, but i have an issue with the choice of card
grizz: N has no entries outside of !ds
grizz: so a low lead from that combination is a better choice
grizz: this might work anyway, but not because it's good technique
grizz: well, i blew the defense again   :(
grizz: anybody see where?
cdt: lol
JohnnyHiLo: didn't take your sure winners
cdt: undo
Cvet: !c?
Cvet: taking K!C?
grizz: paying too much attention to the chat, and not enough to the cards - sorry!
grizz: on this hand the lead didn't make any difference
grizz: but in general a sequence lead in NT should be made from 3 cards
wyoming33: nornally lead shold be the 6 at NT?
grizz: y, the textbook lead on this one is the !D6
grizz: QJTxx
grizz: or the 3rd card missing by just 1 spot
grizz: QT9xx
grizz: and if W has only a single stop, i might be able to get back to him in !ds
cdt: i thought it had to be qj9 for the series
grizz: in suits, a lead from that combination is fine
grizz: since rarely do you get 3 rounds without somebody ruffing in
grizz: but vs. NT, a sequence lead should be a chunkier sequence
grizz: any other questions on this one?
Cvet: why declarer didn't took trick 1 in hand?
grizz: maybe W wanted N to think that S might have the K?
grizz: and continue the suit later instead of finding some killing switch?
grizz: turns out that S has inconvenient cards for signalling here
ydannac: Thanks for great lesson Grizz!H!H
Cvet: It seens that he has 12 easy tricks if don't play !h
grizz: indeed
Cvet: 4 in !s, 6 in !c, 2 in !d ans 1 in !H
grizz: quite right
grizz: and no entry problems, either
grizz: bad play
Cvet: thanks for the lesson, it's great, as usual
JohnnyHiLo: get out the flagellum
wyoming33: thanks - important lessons - defense - so hard to learn
grizz: thx for attending, you guys make it interesting  :)
grizz: If anybody needs help retrieving the hand records or chat log, please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com.   
analisals: thank Pete
ladygolf: thanks Pete:)
cdt: Thanks Pete great lesson :)
grizz: I teach private individual, pair, and small group lessons.  If you would like to know more please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com.
JohnnyHiLo: thanks again
BILManager (Lobby): => Club: !D!DBIL Jackpot Indy Tournament for Beginners through Intermediates starts in about 10 mins. Please register to play for fun, prizes $, and BBO Masterpoints. The more that play, the bigger the prizes!H!H
norrito1: tks Pete
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.
tripodpod2: tu grizz, enjoyed (even 3/5)
grizz: Thanks all for coming, i'll see you in a week
grizz: Bye now