On some hands the declarer does not attempt to draw trumps at any point of the play. Instead, he makes as many tricks as he can in the trump suit by taking ruffs in each hand.
When North, in response to the Blackwood four no- trump, shows two aces by his five-heart bid, South judges that the small slam may require a successful heart finesse, at worst.
The play of the hand will depend to some extent on the defense. Suppose, first, that West begins with two rounds of clubs. After ruffling the second round South can see twelve almost certain tricks by way of a CROSSRUFF. He will plan to make all the trumps separately. First he should cash the ace and king of spades and the ace of hearts. Then he can claim all the rest of the tricks, for nothing can prevent him from making the next eight tricks with high trumps.
Suppose, however, that West leads a trump at trick 2. South will need then to finesse the queen of hearts, cash the ace, and proceed with the crossruff as before. If the opening lead is a trump, South must be careful about the order of play: win in dummy, finesse heart queen, ruff heart; ace and king of spades, ruff heart; ruff spade, ruff last heart.
Reversing the Dummy
While it is usual to look for ruffs in the hand that is relatively short of trumps, sometimes it pays to take several ruffs in the longer hand. Suppose you begin with three trumps in dummy, five in your own hand: if you can ruff three times in your hand, then draw the outstanding trumps from dummy, you have extended the trick-winning power of the trump suit from five to six.
South plays in a contract of six hearts and West leads the king of spades. The declarer has eleven top tricks. Looking at it the other way, he has two possible losers in clubs.
The simplest way to make a twelfth trick may appear to lie in club finesse. A much stronger line is to take three spade ruffs in hand. This is called REVERSING THE DUMMY.
South wins the spade lead, ruffs a spade, and can afford to test the trump situation by leading the ace of hearts and a heart to the 9. If it turned out that the trumps were 4—1 he would have to abandon the dummy reversal and rely on the club finesse. As it is, all players follow to two rounds of trumps.
South ruffs the third round of spades, crosses to the jack of diamonds, and ruffs the last spade. Then he enters dummy with the king of diamonds and uses the last heart in dummy to draw the outstanding trump. It is the mark of reverse dummy play that at the finish dummy has the long trump.
As all have followed to four rounds of spades, it is safe now to finesse the queen of clubs for an overtrick. The finesse loses but South makes the rest of the tricks.
Establishing a Suit by Huffing
One of the most valuable uses of the trump suit is to establish a side suit by ruffing. At no trump not much can be done with a combination such as A x x x x op. posited a singleton, but in a trump contract it is quite common for the declarer to establish the fifth round. Here the side suit is somewhat stronger:
South plays in a contract of four spades. The defenders take the first three tricks in hearts and then West switches to a low club.
It is unlikely that West would have led a club from the king at this point, and as he has other chances South goes up with the ace. His general plan is to establish a winner in diamonds, on which his club loser can be discarded.
It would be a mistake to draw more than one round of trumps, because the trump suit may be needed for entry to the table. Declarer takes one round of spades with the ace, and then plays the king and ace of diamonds, followed by a low diamond from dummy.
When East follows to the third diamond South has to decide whether to ruff low or with the queen. Since the contract will be safe if either trumps are 2—2 or diamonds 3—3, it is right for South to ruff with the queen, avoiding a possible over ruff. When West shows out, South plays a spade to the jack, and his worries are over when both opponents follow suit. He leads a fourth diamond and ruffs, then enters dummy with the king of spades and cashes the fifth diamond, discarding the queen of clubs. His last card is a winning trump.
When North, in response to the Blackwood four no- trump, shows two aces by his five-heart bid, South judges that the small slam may require a successful heart finesse, at worst.
The play of the hand will depend to some extent on the defense. Suppose, first, that West begins with two rounds of clubs. After ruffling the second round South can see twelve almost certain tricks by way of a CROSSRUFF. He will plan to make all the trumps separately. First he should cash the ace and king of spades and the ace of hearts. Then he can claim all the rest of the tricks, for nothing can prevent him from making the next eight tricks with high trumps.
Suppose, however, that West leads a trump at trick 2. South will need then to finesse the queen of hearts, cash the ace, and proceed with the crossruff as before. If the opening lead is a trump, South must be careful about the order of play: win in dummy, finesse heart queen, ruff heart; ace and king of spades, ruff heart; ruff spade, ruff last heart.
Reversing the Dummy
While it is usual to look for ruffs in the hand that is relatively short of trumps, sometimes it pays to take several ruffs in the longer hand. Suppose you begin with three trumps in dummy, five in your own hand: if you can ruff three times in your hand, then draw the outstanding trumps from dummy, you have extended the trick-winning power of the trump suit from five to six.
South plays in a contract of six hearts and West leads the king of spades. The declarer has eleven top tricks. Looking at it the other way, he has two possible losers in clubs.
The simplest way to make a twelfth trick may appear to lie in club finesse. A much stronger line is to take three spade ruffs in hand. This is called REVERSING THE DUMMY.
South wins the spade lead, ruffs a spade, and can afford to test the trump situation by leading the ace of hearts and a heart to the 9. If it turned out that the trumps were 4—1 he would have to abandon the dummy reversal and rely on the club finesse. As it is, all players follow to two rounds of trumps.
South ruffs the third round of spades, crosses to the jack of diamonds, and ruffs the last spade. Then he enters dummy with the king of diamonds and uses the last heart in dummy to draw the outstanding trump. It is the mark of reverse dummy play that at the finish dummy has the long trump.
As all have followed to four rounds of spades, it is safe now to finesse the queen of clubs for an overtrick. The finesse loses but South makes the rest of the tricks.
Establishing a Suit by Huffing
One of the most valuable uses of the trump suit is to establish a side suit by ruffing. At no trump not much can be done with a combination such as A x x x x op. posited a singleton, but in a trump contract it is quite common for the declarer to establish the fifth round. Here the side suit is somewhat stronger:
South plays in a contract of four spades. The defenders take the first three tricks in hearts and then West switches to a low club.
It is unlikely that West would have led a club from the king at this point, and as he has other chances South goes up with the ace. His general plan is to establish a winner in diamonds, on which his club loser can be discarded.
It would be a mistake to draw more than one round of trumps, because the trump suit may be needed for entry to the table. Declarer takes one round of spades with the ace, and then plays the king and ace of diamonds, followed by a low diamond from dummy.
When East follows to the third diamond South has to decide whether to ruff low or with the queen. Since the contract will be safe if either trumps are 2—2 or diamonds 3—3, it is right for South to ruff with the queen, avoiding a possible over ruff. When West shows out, South plays a spade to the jack, and his worries are over when both opponents follow suit. He leads a fourth diamond and ruffs, then enters dummy with the king of spades and cashes the fifth diamond, discarding the queen of clubs. His last card is a winning trump.
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