DEFENDER PLAY

• Count points - guess partners point range, could partner have them?
• Watch how declarer plays to work out declarers hand

• When dummy goes down focus and plan the defensive strategy
• Try to pick partners long suit
• Watch for partners signals - attitude, count, suit preference, honour signals

• Lead higher of touching cards but play lower if it has been lead to you
• Second player plays low (if can)
• Cover an honor with an honor
• Do not cover touching honors
• Lead through strength and up to weakness
• Leading a new suit can give away a trick

1. Count the points
2. Think about hand shape
3. Watch the cards
4. Plan the strategy

DURING PLAY USE ALL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

• inferences from the bidding or play, both positive and negative
• counting points
• defensive signaling
• counting tricks
• counting distribution

1. Forcing Declarer to ruff (The Forcing Defence)
2. Active Defense
3. Passive Defense
4. Creating trump tricks
5. Cutting down on Declarer's ruffing power

By forcing declarer to trump multiple times you can gain control of the trump suit and you force declarer to lose control of the hand.

WHEN TO DO THIS:

• Declarer has a two-suited hand
• When the defenders have a long strong suit and there are low card int he suit in the dummy
• 4-3 trump fit
• when you have 4 trumps or you believe partner does
• any time you can force the declarer early in the hand

TO DO THIS - lead the partnership's strongest suit (even a 10-Ace)

Any time tricks may disappear, defend actively. Take risks you would not ordinarily take

WHEN TO DO THIS:

• long running suit in dummy or declarer
• your side suits are breaking evenly
• confident, enthusiastic bidding (failed slam try?)
• any time tricks can go away

TO DO THIS - lead Ace without the king, lead from a 10-Ace, under lead a king, break new suits

Most of the time, you should defend passively, wait for your tricks to come to you. DO NOT do the declarer's work for them.

WHEN TO DO THIS:

• there is no evidence of a strong side suit
• declarer is very strong and dummy is weak (or vice versa)
• they have bad splits in key suits
• misfitting hands
• you have an attractive suit when leading against NT
• defending against 6NT or any grand slam
• when opponents have bid tentatively or may have overbid 
• when you have key cards in their suit
• you hold scattered honors but no strong attacking sequence

TO DO THIS - do not lead away from a King, do not break new suits, lead tops of sequences, return declarer's leads, lead worthless suits, or some other suit that will not do declarer's work for him, leading trumps is a passive lead

TIP: against NT contracts, be cautious about leading from a ragged 4 card suit headed by one honor, instead try and find partners suit

3 types of dummies:

• dummy with shortness in a side suit so that can declarer can trump - YOU SHOULD lead trumps
• dummy has a long suit  that serves as a parking space for declarers losers - play aggressively
• balanced dummy - no shortness, no long suits, play passively

An excellent way to develop enough tricks to upset a contract is to create trump tricks instead of Ruffing

WHEN TO DO THIS:

• you are short in any unbid suit
• you have length in opponents suit
• you have a weaker hand with no better line of defense

TO DO THIS - promote trump honors and make use of the uppercut

WAYS TO CREATE TRUMP TRICKS

• trump promotion ie lead trumps through declarers trump hand if dummy has:

                      - only low level trumps 

                      - is short of trumps or 

                      - you hold touching honors in trumps

• uppercuts - defender ruffs high to force defender to ruff with highest trump, in the hope that partner will take a trump trick
• ruff declarer's tricks 

LOOK FOR RUFFS WHEN:

• when you have no natural trump tricks
• when you have a high trump honor
• when the situation is desperate and there is no better line

Reduces opponents options

WHEN TO DO THIS:

• dummy is short in trumps
• declarer is playing the second suit in bidding - declarer will want to ruff losers in dummy
• your suit preference was taken
• your side has a trump stack - take ownership of the trump suit, declarer will be wanting to ruff losers in either hand
• the hand is a misfit
• bidding suggests dummy has a shortness in a suit (may have bid 2 suits and raised a third)
• dummy denied no trumps due to a flaw
• you control the other suits
• the opponents are sacrificing

FROM RED DIRT BRIDGE (YouTube video)

1.  Play the lower of touching cards, consider dummy’s cards if RHO ie you have J9x, RHO has 10 but does not play it - play the 9. Aim to win the trick as cheaply as possible.
2. When partner plays 3rd-hand-high, the card played denies the next lower card in the suit
3. Stop and count the card in a suit after 2 rounds have gone
4. If partner plays the cards in an abnormal order. Partner is sending you a message, usually a suit-preference signal. Eg Partner has AKQ43 - if partner takes first trick (diamond lead) with AD and play KD and lead 4D - partner wants higher suit back. If partner takes first trick with QD and plays KD and then leads 3D you want clubs back.
5. If partner starts discarding from the suit led initially, this normally means that you should not return the suit
6. Beware of switching to a new suit if dummy has no long suit which can provide discards for declarer
7. Take the tricks that are yours unless they cannot vanish in a NT contract.
8. If dummy has a long suit which can provide useful discards for declarer, take your tricks quickly in a suit contract.
9. When your play within a suit is immaterial, the card you play can be helpful as a suit-preference signal

Source: Ron Klinger's 100 Winning Bridge Tips

1. MUD - Middle Up Down
2. BOSTON - Bottom Of Something, Top of Nothing

If the suit you are going to lead is poor do you lead the top of the suit or the second one?

The top one clearly is a high card and if you play reverse signals (low I like) then this is clear that the suit is not good. However this makes it harder to tell partner that you have an odd number of cards. When you play your second lower card partner may mistake it for a doubleton.

Playing the second then the first card gives a clear signal that you do not have an even number of cards. However partner may get confused in that the first led card may not be high enough to show that you do not have an honour in the suit.

1. Lead partners bid suit (if you know they have 5 cards and you only have 4 card suits)
2. Your best suit either:

•     Top of 3 card sequence (or more) - solid sequence, broken sequence, internal sequence
•     No sequence -fourth highest of best suit (rule of 11)
• if your 4 card suit has no honors lead second highest not 4th highest

NOTE: Can lead away from an Ace

1. Lead partners bid suit (can lead Ace without the King)
2. Top of 2 card sequence (internal sequence is Ok). Never lead an A (or K) unless have A and K 
3. Singleton if you think partner might have the Ace and only if you have trumps available to use (see section below)
4. Low from an honor (Kxx is better than Kx) (aggressive lead)
5. Top of doubleton (top of nothing) 
6. MUD (Middle Up Down) or Top of nothing is a passive lead

NOTE: Never lead away from Ace

AGGRESSIVE - the aim is to set up quick tricks for your side, often risky.

Leading from 1 honor or non-touching honors. Do this against:

• a suit contract when dummy has a good side suit (5+ cards)
• a small slam (but not if your partner has points)
• a pre-emptive opening

Leading from a sequence of honors is attacking but safer.

PASSIVE - you do not expect to gain anything, but unlikely to help declarer

Suits with no honors (top of nothing) or 2nd highest with 4 or more, a small doubleton (no honor), a trump lead from 2 or 3 small trumps. Do this against

• a grand slam
• 6NT if bid 'qualitatively' and no 5-card suit
• 1NT or 2NT (or 3NT if invitational) with no 5 card suit

• Singleton
• Top of a doubleton (7-2, J-5)
• Top of touching honors (Q-J-6)
• With no sequence lead lowest (J-7-6-3, K-8-5)
• If you raised partners suit , partner knows you have 3 cards, lead top of nothing (8-6-3), or low from an honor
• internal sequence (K-9-8-2)
• internal broken sequence (K-9-7)

• it is artificial
• 1C/1D and you have AK
• Leading trumps as dummy has only 2

• if there is a long side suit in dummy or you think there will be from the bidding eg 1H -> 1S -> 2S -> 4S

• Lead the non bid suit
• If all suits bid - lead declarers second bid suit (weaker??)
• Look at bidding, lead through strength (ie dummies first bid suit)
• Never lead an Ace as opening lead (unless you have the King, or unless it is your bid suit with partner) and avoid it later if you can
• Never lead away from an ace in trumps unless can see Kx in dummy on your RHS.
• Any time - watch to see if opponent is out of a suit and may still have trumps, lead that suit
• If partner ignores bid suit and leads another suit to your ace, lead back their suit (they may have a singleton)
• Once you open a suit, stick to it, changing lead gives declarer a trick 
• Do not lead away from king if declarer has shown a strong hand or partner is very weak

 Videos on YouTube

LEAD TRUMPS ON FIRST TRICK IF:

• partner has left your 1-level or 2-level takeout double in for penalty,  because they will have a lot of values are in that suit 
• opponents are sacrificing, 
• when declarer is playing in his second suit
• If opposition have bid 2 suits and agreed on a third, 
• they are playing in a misfit
• you or partner have done a penalty double

ALSO LEAD TRUMPS after dummy comes down:

• Anytime you think the declarer is going to start ruffing losers
• If there is a void
• If partner does not lead trumps they may have Kx or Qxx and want you to lead trumps
• You have touching honors in trumps

We were taught not to lead a side suit singleton unless you think that partner has the ace, however this has been proven statistically incorrect* against suit contracts when the auction is:

• they have reached game or a part score and your side has not bid e.g. 1S -> 2S -> 4S or 1S -> 3S 
• what if they have bid multiple suits? 1S -> 2C -> 2H -> 4S, a singleton in dummies suit also works well even if you have Qxx

A singleton can be even better than:

• KQxx or even AKxxx, however if you have 6 cards in the suit this lead can be better
• Even a singleton K can work as long as declarer does not have the Ace

NOTE: *Winning Suit Contract Leads by David Bird

We were taught not to lead from a doubleton however statistically* this is not such a bad lead if you do not have a singleton:

Against game or part score suit contracts when you have not bid:

• you are weak, a lead from Kx or Ax may show a missing honor in partners hand
• partner is strong a lead from a top card from a spot card doubleton such as 83 may work well
• when playing IMPs as overtricks are less important

A lead from a spot card doubleton is not good of you have A or K of trumps

NOTE: *Winning Suit Contract Leads by David Bird

• The lead of the queen denies the king. In a suit contract it almost always denies the Ace as well.
• If partner overcalled and then doesn't lead the suit, it is most likely he holds the Ace without the King. Partner needs you to lead the suit.
• With a doubleton, lead 'high-low' then partner will know you can ruff the third round. (especially if Ax is led to you and you take it with the King, lead the suit again!)
• Always try to remember the bidding, it can give you useful clues during the play.

• Do not lead a suit if opponents need to finesse that suit
• If partner leads a A signalling AK in a suit and you have a doubleton or Qxx give signals to keep partner in the suit (ATTITUDE) check dummy doing this
• First discard -play suit you want partner to lead
• McKenny Ruff - Play higher card to show lead a higher suit. Play lower card to day lead a lower suit 
• MUD - 3 rag cards, play middle up down
• Watch first discard - partner may signal their suit
• Signal odd or even number of cards (COUNT): even - high/low; odd - low/high
• Lead Directive Double (Pinch Bid) - DBL after an opponents artificial suit. One that is usually taken out (eg if opponents are slam bidding, Stayman, transfers)
• Playing against a NT contract use negative attitude, 

3 TYPES OF SIGNALS

1. ATTITUDE - especially important when your partner plays an honor on opening lead, two types see below
2. COUNT - high->low = even, low->high = odd
3. SUIT PREFERENCE - eg McKenny (high card = higher ranked obvious suit, low card = lower ranked obvious suit)

WHEN TO USE COUNT:

1. Typically given if attitude is known 
2. Can be used when Declarer is on lead or when partner is on lead

WHEN TO USE SUIT PREFERENCE

1. Partner opening lead if there is a singleton in dummy or if declarer may also have a singleton (from bidding and counting cards) or partner already knows your hand from bidding
2. Your opening lead
3. During declarer's trump suit play
4. When leading on defense in the mid-game

HONOR SIGNALS:

1. Leading top of an honor sequence
2. By playing the Q from QJx after an Ace signals you have the J
3. Playing to win the trick and you have equal honors to play, play the lower honor

EXAMPLES:

Attitude signals take priority e.g. if you have raised partners suit with or without the Q, and partner has led the A (from AK)

1. encourage the continuation of the suit if the shift to a side suit would not be helpful
2. discourage the continuation of the suit if the shift to the side suit is URGENT
3. discourage the continuation of the suit if is is apparent that a continuation is fruitless

Responder signals suit preference by

1. Playing an unnecessarily high card in the suit that partner led indicates a desire to switch to the higher ranking suit (excluding trumps)
2. Playing a low card in the suit partner led indicates a desire to switch to a lower (non-trump) suit
3. Playing a middle card (e.g. 7) tells partner that you have no preference

FROM RED DIRT BRIDGE - video on YouTube

 High to encourage, low to discourage 

• If you have 3 middling cards, play low to discourage. Partner should lead another suit and you lead the first suit when get a chance. Play highest card that you have left to clear path for partner to continue playing the suit.
• A lead of a middle card shows no particular interest in that suit

Low I like, high I don’t like

• Play low if have King to partners Ace

1. Keep equal length with dummy when discarding
2. Save at least one card in the suit partner led if you have an entry
3. Don't expose partner's holding
4. Discard a suit if your length is known (eg you bid a pre-empt)
5. Avoid discarding from a short suit unless you are signalling
6. Discarding an honor promises two honours below it but not the one above it

FROM RED DIRT BRIDGE -  video on YouTube

FROM RED DIRT BRIDGE -  video on YouTube