By Val Rhead
TO DRAW TRUMP OR NOT TO DRAW TRUMP, THAT IS THE QUESTION
When learning to play bridge, players often are told to always get rid of the enemy’s trump. It’s true that if you don’t demolish your opponent’s trump holding, you risk losing some of your valuable Aces and Kings and other good cards. However, this is only part of the story. Sometimes there are good reasons to delay getting out the trump and this fact is not emphasized enough.
The lead is made and the Dummy comes down. Before you do anything else, in a suit contract, count your losers. Pay particular attention to any short suits you may have in dummy. If you are short in a suit in Dummy and you have losers in your hand in that suit, at your first chance, play that suit. Attempt to ruff some of those losers before the trump in dummy have disappeared. If you wait until after you have drawn all the opponents’ trump, the trumps in dummy also may be gone. Alas, you will then lose a string of small cards to your opponent’s honours. So, in this case, hold off drawing trump and get busy ruffing as many of your losers as you can.
Sometimes, you want to get to the dummy hand so you can finesse tenaces in your hand. The problem is that the only entries you have to the dummy are in the trump suit. It is wise, in this case, to post-pone getting all the trump out until you no longer need those entries. It is a delicate balance but you have to think it out!
On your first or second lead of the trump suit, you discover to your horror that trump is split five – zero or four – one. The odds against these distributions are low, but somehow they often seem to happen. Perhaps, in your part-score contract, the best way to salvage tricks will be to use your small trumps to ruff the opponent’s honours and not draw trump at all. It is not fun to use two of your trump to pull one of theirs.
Sometimes your opponents have a good card, such as the King of Hearts and you have a singleton loser in dummy in Hearts. But you have the Ace and King of Spades in your hand and a singleton Spade in dummy. You can discard your losing Heart. This is your priority. Getting the trump out can wait.
So, always, always, pull the enemy’s trump, unless there is a reason not to!
If you wish to promote an activity in your bridge group or ask a bridge question, send the information to [email protected] and I will include it in this column.
HUNTSVILLE DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB
Games at the Huntsville Club until the end of March are Tuesday 1pm, Trinity United Church 33 Main Street. Games start the summer schedule April 4 at 7:15pm. Please arrive 15 minutes before game time. For partners and information call Susan Marshall 705 787-5454 or email [email protected]
PLEASE NOTE: For the rest of the winter, the game will be held downstairs in the warm basement. To avoid the long stairs, you also may enter from the door on Main Street.
The following winners are for Tuesday, Mar 14 with 11 pairs playing a Howell movement. First and Second place both had a great score over 71% 1. Susan Marshall and Jan Roberts; 2. Liz Barnes and Rod Dixon; 3. Liz Graham and Dorothy Russell; 4. Mary Simonett and Kel Andresen; 5/6. Carol Anne Robinson and Nancy Barber; 5/6. Val Rhead and Don Norman
MUSKOKA DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB (Bracebridge)
Games at the Bracebridge Club are at the Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Taylor Road 7pm Monday evenings. Please arrive 15 minutes before game time. For information or partnerships, call Brian at 705-645-5340 [email protected]
The following winners are from Monday, Mar 13 with 15 pairs playing a Bump Mitchell movement. 1. Liz Barnes and David Bryce; 2. Bev Parlett and Vern Foell; 3. Lyn Walisser and Don Evans; 4. Carol Anne Robinson and Nancy Barber; 5. Joyce Payne and Malcolm Payne; 6/7. Lynda Mochrie and Wayne Mochrie; 6/7. Val Rhead and Peter Rhead; 8. Pamela Jardine and Ralph Mitchell
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