grizz->Lobby: !s!h Grizz on Defense will start in 2 minutes in the BIL. All members are invited to attend. Today's topic is Opening Leads !d!c 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. grizz: I teach private individual, pair, and small group lessons. I am available for tournaments as well. If you would like to know more please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com. onoway: hi Pete I tried to email you but my dumb computer wont let me email anyone who hasn't emailed me first :( ceblair (Lobby): Is Ewen's book still in print? BILManager (Lobby): => Club: !D!DGrizz's teaching table on DEFENSE is now open in the BIL. All members are invited to attend this most instructive session.!D!D glogo->Kibitzers: hi all ->onoway: oh!!!! what is your email? alyslee (Lobby): how do you get into the BIL? onoway: whistlestop2@hotmail.com sascha3: so is it all 1 hour later for me now? ->alyslee: ->sascha3: starts now, since we went off DST 2 weeks ago 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: I encourage participation by all kibs. grizz: So jump right in with a comment, question, or bid at any time, but please do it in open chat... grizz: ...since I can't always respond to private chat. sascha3: ok - so IAC is also later then grizz: There have been a lot of dropouts today, so if I disappear without notice please rejoin me here. ->sascha3: right grizz: The opening lead depends on your defensive strategy - as in chess, you must be thinking several moves ahead. 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. Create trump tricks - lead away 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: That is the difference between strategy and tactics. 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: I will try to remember to insert the board numbers in the Chat Log, so you can match up the log with the hands file in the future. grizz: If you wonder what a GIB bid means, click on it - the bots play 2/1. grizz: Here is the GIB convention card: http://online.bridgebase.com/doc/gib_system_notes.php grizz: grizz: well, the bot chose his lead - how do you all vote on it? grizz: the !d almost cannot be wrong sascha3: yes think its ok amabel: p suit ok doubleton 8 grizz: one thing is for sure, a trump lead is terribe against a preemptive auction grizz: and leading away from the !cKJ would also be a bad idea grizz: leading pard's suit is almost never a bad idea, and there is no problem with it here btsplk: yet kuritsa: or her Chat log of Bridge Base Online session for grizz starting at: Sat Nov 15 14:40:05 2008 ->grizz: Account Balance: BB $5.25 MB $10.77 grizz: rehi, everybody onoway: today may be a challenge for you sascha3: :) grizz: There have been a lot of dropouts today, so if I disappear without notice please rejoin me here. Juiceplus: hi you are playing all by your self??:) ->Juiceplus: y tomad (Lobby): As a member of BIL am I not permitted to watch your table and teaching? ->tomad: sure, c'mon over Juiceplus: we don ttalk about the ones watching lol grizz: here is an interesting problem sascha3: last hand Pete, before we lost it - the robot lead back a club - why not continue with !D and let partner overruff tomad: thx grizz: exactly, the bots made a mistake on that board grizz: but we didn't finish it so bbo didn't save it, and i can't get it back sascha3: ok ths:) i understand that they did in fact clear the !C suit but that was always going to be ok with the queen there, right grizz: most folks play Capp vs. ops' NT grizz: and this hand will be a problem for them grizz: 2!h would show !h and a minor, but tend to show a longer major grizz: and 2!c to show a single suiter would lose the !h suit grizz: this hand is a good one for DONT, with 2!d showing !d and a higher suit grizz: so let's pretend we agreed on DONT grizz: oops! bots play Capp, and 2!d shows the majors sascha3: yes - lol - u cant fool them grizz: well, i'm an innocent bystander here foxylives: :):) grizz: so i will replace one of the bots, to get a handle on the pace PedroG: 1!c? grizz: opening lead-wise, if you have an AK and choose some other lead, there should be a compelling reason PedroG: sry grizz: hola Pedro! PedroG: :) grizz: and from the 3rd hand side, when dummy is now void that is an opportunity for a Suit Preference signal grizz: unfortunately W has nothing to signal about grizz: the internet seems very slow today grizz: There have been a lot of dropouts today, so if I disappear without notice please rejoin me here. sascha3: yes for me also grizz: any questions on this one? sascha3: no ths PedroG: nty grizz: grizz: obviously this X is for takeout, not for penalty grizz: and though S has a !s stack there are not enough defensive values in the hand to convert for penalty grizz: but the second X was for business PedroG: hehe grizz: or should be, anyway PedroG: you need to get the improved BOT's Pete grizz: so let's convert it and see what happens - maybe we can work some defensive magic grizz: :) grizz: let's talk about a couple interesting features in this hand grizz: many players would lead the stiff !h automatically grizz: after all, pard bid the suit and we rate to have some ruffs grizz: the !h lead may be right, but it should not be automatic grizz: let's consider some reasons dotfl: was this the last Dance grizz: pard has bid strongly, so has some defensive strength grizz: so there is no reason to think we must take our tricks and run - this is not an Active Defense hand raja5000 (Lobby): hi grizz: we have 5 trumps, so we should think about Forcing Defense ->raja5000: :) grizz: if we can run E out of trumps, we can cash our side suit winners at our leisure grizz: and the way to do that is not by looking for ! ruffs, but by forcing E to ruff in the long trump hand grizz: it may turn out that leading !hs is the best way to do that, but let's think a little deeper Juiceplus: he may not return the lead ? grizz: the takeout X shows that pard has at least 3 cards in each minor grizz: and W opened !ds, and reluctantly supported !s after passing - grizz: so W has only 2 or 3!ss grizz: and E rates to be short in !d grizz: so maybe !d is the forcing suit grizz: no guarantees, but that would be my best guess grizz: we have a choice to make here - grizz: the 2-for-1 trump play stands out, kills a ruff in each op hand grizz: and establishes 2 trump winners at the same time grizz: not bad, +500 on a hand that we don't make game on :) grizz: so the key concept here is that when you have a trump stack, think first about Forcing Defense grizz: when Forcing works, it's spectacular grizz: and rarely does any other form of defense score as well grizz: so lead your side's best suit, and try to make declarer shorten himself in trump that way grizz: this is not a classic Forcing Defense layout, but certainly a good result grizz: any questions? ydannac: great play Grizz!H!H ->ydannac: !H grizz: let me say that another way - grizz: when you are long in trumps as a defender, don't go looking for ruffs grizz: try to force declarer to ruff YOUR suit, and figure out what suit that might be grizz: grizz: most of you know about Negative Doubles, but here is a case that shows the value grizz: Neg X shows 4 cards in the other major, and 7+ hcp at the 1 level grizz: so pard doesn't have to wonder whether you have 4 or 5 grizz: AND pard also knows that you have at least 7 hcp, so you have some defensive values too grizz: and W is put to a choice here, knowing that S has 4!ss grizz: ordinarily W would just bid 1!s, but is that wise here? grizz: W already knows about the bad split grizz: so rather that bidding 1!s, i would tend to bid 1NT here grizz: lol N needs to come to more of these sessions! grizz: ok, let's talk about Lead Directing Doubles grizz: if pard has bid and didn't, and later you X, that tells pard it's ok for him to lead his suit grizz: and that you have some defensive values, you expect to set it grizz: but does W really want to go hunting for ruffs here? isn't this like the last hand? grizz: and besides, we don't want to double a part score into game - so we go quietly grizz: the worst bid W could make would be 2NT grizz: which has all the risk of 3NT, with none of the reward grizz: and we have another example of a terrible lead bilmanager (Lobby): => Club: !D!D # 1825 Indy BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE JACKPOT TOURNAMENT starts in 45 minutes. Please go to the "All Tournaments" room to sign up. You can collect BBO Mpts and Jackpot points towards the November prize pool. !D!D grizz: when defending against suits, leading an unsupported ace is usually a bad idea grizz: but underleading an unsupported ace is even worse!!! grizz: E would be forgiven for leading the A and continuing the suit expecting a ruff grizz: but this lead gives away a trick for nothing grizz: and let me address another signalling topic here grizz: in standard methods we give count in the trump suit, using the Trump Echo grizz: so with three or more trumps we signal hi-lo, to show that we can ruff some side suit if pard gets in grizz: but the ruffing situation doesn't happen very often Chat log of Bridge Base Online session for grizz starting at: Sat Nov 15 15:20:45 2008 ->grizz: Account Balance: BB $5.25 MB $10.77 Bridge Base Online Mail message from fishit received at: Sat Nov 15 15:20:45 2008 fishit left you a message on 2008-11-15 16:40:11 will y b back? To reply, type in a message and click OK, or simply click OK for the next message sascha3 (Lobby): :( sascha3 (Lobby): poor u ->sascha3: heavy sigh sascha3 (Lobby): yes !!! i had never heard of the trump signal before grizz->Club: back now grizz: sry about that grizz: There have been a lot of dropouts today, so if I disappear without notice please rejoin me here. sascha3: :) grizz: before i dropped out, i was talking about trump suit signals ydannac: !H!H grizz: the Trump Echo is hi-lo from 3 or more, telling pard that you still have one to ruff with grizz: but that signal is rarely useful grizz: so another is preferable, imho grizz: at the lower left of the ACBL convention card there is a box to check for Trump Suit Pref. grizz: and here is the rationale grizz: when declarer gets in, he almost always clears trump first grizz: so we can use the trump suit to show our side suit entry loubel: am listening grizz he'l also be in int adv club later, grizz: maybe i can demonstrate on this hand grizz: hmmmm should we play !s in a 7 card fit? grizz: might be better than playing 3!d in a 6-0, 6-1 or 6-2 grizz: but the preemptive !h call tends to say that we can expect a bad split in !s grizz: and pard must have some !d tolerance, so here goes grizz: there is no real opportunity for Trump Suit Pref here, but this is how it works: grizz: both defenders can signal where their side suit entries are, by the size of their first play to trumps grizz: so if W had a !c entry, he would play a low !d grizz: and if W had a !s entry, he would play a high one grizz: of course, nothing is to be gained by playing an honor here grizz: S may have the KJ in hand, and take the finesse on the second round grizz: but E took advantage of the opportunity - playing his lower first when it didn't matter in the !d suit, tends to show an entry in the lower side suit grizz: so the lower !d showed a !c card grizz: there is no need to ruff the !c here, except as an entry to dummy to take the !s finesse sascha3: well done:) grizz: hmmm, i guess we overtricked that one! grizz: let's do one more - any questions on this one first? grizz: sascha3: nty grizz: the S hand has that horrible 4333 shape, but good values with a king and 2 aces sascha3: 9 losers grizz: y, indeed grizz: but S has ways to drag anchor on the rest of the auction sascha3: :) grizz: and EW are placed in defensive bidding position bilmanager (Lobby): => Club: !D!D # 1825 Indy BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE JACKPOT TOURNAMENT starts in 25 minutes. Please go to the "All Tournaments" room to sign up. You can collect BBO Mpts and Jackpot points towards the November prize pool. !D!D grizz: W has an awkward hand here, enough points to X but not the right shape grizz: and if W Xes here, he would deserve it if pard jumped in !hs! grizz: dragging anchor now grizz: NOW W can X without telling a fib, to get the other 2 suits in play grizz: hmmm grizz: this is a fairly common situation - pull it, or play it? grizz: pard may have only 4!hs, and playing 2 in a 7 card fit when ops have some stuff is not very appetizing grizz: so i vote to pass and cut our losses grizz: maybe we can work some voodoo and actually make it grizz: ok, another opening lead problem for W grizz: first off, what defensive strategy sounds right? grizz: Active or Passive? kyno40: off. kyno40: act grizz: those are the only 2 choices vs. NT grizz: and vs. an iffy part score, Passive is usually best grizz: if W had a 5 card suit headed by 2 honors, then a lead in that suit would stand out grizz: but a lead from either of these 4-baggers is likely to cost a trick Bruno54 (Lobby): hey man! ->Bruno54: hey! grizz: so a sequence lead or a worthless suit is a good Passive lead grizz: lol i made a play mistake already grizz: may need the !cA as an entry later, if we can set up the !hs grizz: hua! this puppy makes! bilmanager (Lobby): => Club: !D!D # 1825 Indy BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE JACKPOT TOURNAMENT starts in 10 minutes. Please go to the "All Tournaments" room to sign up. You can collect BBO Mpts and Jackpot points towards the November prize pool. !D!D grizz: that pass from E was a really risky one - he doesn't have enough D to make that one pay off very often grizz: though W rates to have a pretty good hand, N is weak, and the W cards are on the correct side of declarer grizz: E has an entry or 2, so can lead through declarer to pard's strength grizz: but the pass can be a very expensive decision at either imps or mps grizz: more so at mps, where -180 could be a cold zero grizz: Do we have any final questions? grizz: That concludes today's lesson, and next week we will have more quiz hands on opening leads. grizz: If anybody needs help retrieving the hand records or chat log, please 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: Thanks also to Maureen, Rosemary, Eileen, Fred and the wonderful people at BBO who make this all possible. grizz: Thanks all for coming, i'll see you next week. bbo_iac (Lobby): => Club: Grizz session in about 40 inutes in club. Discussion of the bidding play and defense of random hands. All are welcome to participate sascha3: ths Pete, was great lesson coco24: great lesson tks:) grizz: Bye now. sascha3: bye sascha3: !H