Trump control Larry Hammick larryhammick@telus.net 2002.02.28 Contents ;Introduction ;The basic ideas ;;Trumps as stoppers ;;Pseudocontrol in pulling trumps ;;Excessively strong trumps for forcing ;;Ruffs and overruffs in the long trump hand ;;Positional controls in the forcing suit ;Declarer's manoeuvres for keeping trump control ;;If you need a side suit, work on it first ;;Don't endanger tempos in the trump suit ;;;Don't pull high trumps which you can afford to lose separately ;;;Don't take an unnecessary trump finesse ;;Avoid ruffs in the long trump hand ;;;Discard losers until dummy can ruff ;;;Concede a trump trick while dummy can ruff ;;;Develop a side trick while dummy can ruff ;;;Hold up a control until dummy can ruff ;;;Don't shorten the long hand to establish a side suit ;;Don't waste a control in getting to hand to pull trumps ;;Force the long defender while you have a trump in each hand ;;Notrump techniques ;;;Discard losers to break communication in the enemy suit ;;;Attack first the entry to the enemy length ;;Some "fork" plays that allow for loss of control ;;;Threatening to ruff may compel the defence to expend trump control ;;;Maintain the option of a high ruff or a high crossruff ;Introduction This article is about the forcing game and the struggle for trump control. Many of the simpler manoeuvres, for both sides, are illustrated. We don't get into the various other aspects of trump management, such as averting a ruff, pulling some trumps while retaining enough ruffers, and so on. ;The basic ideas "Control" is the ability of one side to develop and cash tricks before the other side does, with the result that the other side winds up discarding its winners on the first side's winners. ;;Trumps as stoppers Tricks in the trump suit often contribute to control: They are not just tricks, but also _stoppers_ against enemy long cards in a side suit. This property -- the ablility to interrupt the run of an adverse suit by ruffing -- is called trump control. AKxx xxx Kxx AKx xxx x AKQT Jxxx Axx JTxx xxx xxxx QJxxx xx Axx Qxx South has the same ten tricks whether he is in notrump or spades. But at NT, the defence can run five tricks first, while at spades, South can ruff in and take ten. So South's fifth spade is (at the suit) not just a trick but a heart stopper; the extra tempo which it affords makes a difference of two tricks. When the defenders try to run declarer out of such stoppers, they are said to play a "forcing" defence. AKx xxxx Kx AKJx 8xxx x AKQT Jxx Ax JTxxx xxx xxxx QJT9x xx Qxx Qxx In 4S declarer seems to have five trump tricks, four clubs, and a eventually a diamond. But West cashes two hearts and leads a third, forcing declarer to ruff. Declarer starts trumps but East shows out on the second round. The contract is doomed. If declarer pulls all the trumps he can run only 9 tricks before West makes DA and a third heart. If, instead, he develops a tenth trick in diamonds first, West leads another heart, establishing a long trump for himself if declarer ruffs. The defence has successfully played a forcing defence: plugging away in a long suit until declarer's trumps run out, thus establishing a long card for themselves, in much the same way as they try to do at notrump. As in that last hand, 4-card trump length with one defender or the other is often a pointer to a forcing defence. If declarer ruffs twice from 5-card length opposite three or fewer, or three times from 6-card length, the defence will have a trump trick. But if declarer has a 4-4 or 5-4 trump suit, he can ruff twice in one hand while preserving his length in the other for the purpose of drawing trumps. AKxx xxx Kx AKJx 8xxx x AKQT Jxxx Ax JTxx xxx xxxx QJT9 xx Qxxx Qxx Against 4S again, West leads out three high hearts, and declarer ruffs. He may pull two trumps but then must lead a diamond, establishing a tenth winner while he still has a trump in the South hand. If West takes the ace and leads a fourth heart, declarer ruffs in hand, crosses to a club, pulls trumps, and takes the remainder. ;;Pseudocontrol in pulling trumps A forcing defence is more promising with four trumps to a stopper than with four small. With Axxx it tends to succeed against a 4-4 as well as a 5-3. The defenders force declarer's long hand (or either hand, in the case of a 4-4), and when declarer starts pulling trumps, the opponent with the ace holds it up twice. If declarer leads a third round, the defender takes his ace and forces the last trump; if not, the defender eventually ruffs something with his small trump. To illustrate: KT98 KT9 xxx xxx AK AKx AKJx AKJx Axxx x Axxx x AKQT Jxxx AKQT Jxxx xx Jxxx xx Jxxx xxx xxxx xxx xxxx QJxx QJ8xx xx xx Qxxx Qxx Qxx Qxx Against 4S West leads out three hearts and South must ruff. Although he has only 3 losers, declarer cannot make ten tricks against proper defence. When he leads trumps, West holds up the ace twice. If a third trump comes next, West wins and forces either North or South with a fourth heart, establishing a trump trick for himself. When the defence's side suit is solid, Axxx or Kxxx in trumps may be enough to get control even from a 6-3 trump suit. Likewise Axx is sometimes sufficient against a 5-3. In those deals the defence relied on a special property of the trump ace: whoever holds it has the last word on how many rounds of trumps get pulled. We call that property "pseudocontrol", and we have more to say about it in another article at www3.telus.net/ldh/bridge.html. Well, if declarer is in danger of finding a defender with Kxxx or Qxxx in trumps, he may need to avoid cashing the A or the AK respectively, for then he would be in the same position as if he were off the ace: unable to leave the defence's master trump isolated. Two examples follow. JT9x Jxx KJTxx A AKxx xx AQx Qxxx Against 4S the defence starts with 3 heart rounds, and South ruffs. Declarer may cash the trump ace but should then lead a trump to the 9. If a defender shows out but the Q has not appeared, declarer cashes the spade ace (leaving the adverse trump queen bare) and starts diamonds, losing in all only two hearts and a trump. AQJT Jxx KJTxx A xxxx xx AQx Qxxx Again in 4S declarer is forced by three rounds of hearts. He leads a trump to the Q and, if it holds, leads the 10. It that also holds, declarer cashes the trump ace and starts diamonds. A little extra footwork may be needed. Qxx x Kxxx AJT9x These are trumps and the South hand is forced early. To guard against Kxxx with East, declarer leads the J from hand. If it holds he crosses to dummy to finesse the ten next. ;;Excessively strong trumps for forcing A defender's four-card trump holding may be too strong to benefit from a forcing defence. Keep in mind that the purpose of forcing is to promote your side's _small_ trumps. But if your trumps contain stoppers which might explode in the endgame (e.g. AQTx or KJ9x), you should endeavour to score them before it is too late. Forcing declarer in such a case will only help to bring about the trump reduction that declarer will need to escape a trump loser or to cause the defence's trump winner and side-suit winner to fall on the same trick. Moreover, when declarer has trump weakness he may resort to a crossruff; in that case also, forcing him will further his own cause. When a defender has _five_ trumps, a forcing defence tends to be profitable against declarer's 5- or 6-card trump suit, but not against a 4-4 or 4-3. In the latter cases the defender already has the long trump and should normally lead one each time he is in, drawing two for one. ;;Ruffs and overruffs in the long trump hand You have often seen a defender score a ruff, only to see declarer shortly table his hand and claim the contract: As a result of the ruff, he can now pull trumps in one fewer round, leaving himself with an extra trump which can control an enemy suit, serve as an entry, or help him establish his own tricks. Just as declarer's control is weakened when he ruffs in his longer trump hand, it is strengthened when the defence ruffs in their longer hand. This deal from Reese & Dormer will illustrate. K64 K64 T7 -- Q5 -- AJ8642 AJ864 97 T52 97 T52 KQ962 AJ843 62 J AJ93 T AJ -- Q5 KT93 Q5 KT93 AQJ83 AQJ 5 -- K87642 K876 7 7 Against 4S the defence attacks in hearts. Declarer ruffs the second round and leads a diamond to the Q and a diamond back, on which East throws a heart. West wins with the 9 and leads a third heart. This gives declarer a ruff-and-sluff, but kills his long diamonds. Suppose declarer ruffs in hand and, in the position at right, ruffs a diamond in dummy low. East must not overruff! If declarer ruffs the third heart in dummy instead, he again cannot use the long diamonds; for he then needs to ruff himself to hand to set them up, and runs out of trumps too soon. In that deal, trump control made a difference of two tricks -- declarer's two long diamonds. Hence it was feasible for East to sacrifice one trick by refusing to overruff. The ruff-and-discard lead was not, in this instance, really a gambit; but a sacrificial r&d lead is sometimes definitely correct when declarer must establish both his trump suit and a side suit. ;;Positional controls in the forcing suit A "positional stopper" is a tenace which controls a suit from a lead up to it but not from a lead through it. Kx AQx ? AQ ? KJx xx xxx Against a lead by West, declarer has no control at left and one control at right. But against a lead by East, he has one or two controls respectively. Now consider: Kx AQx ? AQ ? KJx -- x This is a side suit in which, since he is short, declarer has some ruffing control. Dummy's K or Q respectively contributes an additional control against a lead by East but not by West. Such positional stoppers can make one defender "safe" in the same way as they do at notrump contracts. The following deal illustrates a rather little-known technicality about forcing against a postional control. JTx QJxx xxxx Qx x xxxx ATxx K9xx JT98x AQ Axx xxx AKQxx x Kx KJTxx South is in 4S after the defenders have competed in hearts. West leads DJ to East's ace. Say East returns a low heart. West wins and leads another to the J, K, and a ruff. Now declarer pulls all four trump rounds and drives out CA, still having HQ on the table to control the suit. But suppose, instead, that East cashes HK at trick two and continues with a low heart. If South ruffs and pulls trumps, the defence ends up with two hearts and both minor aces. An important general principle underlies this defence: It is better to lead through an enemy control than to lead up to it. (In this instance the control involved is declarer's ruffing control of the second round of hearts.) It costs the opponent a trick to go in second hand with his control, and a tempo not to. For more on this principle, see the article _Avoidance Plays_ at www3.telus.net/ldh/bridge.html. ;Declarer's manoeuvres for keeping trump control ;;Don't endanger tempos in the trump suit There are many times when declarer can afford to lose trump tricks but cannot affort to lose tempos in the process. ;;;Don't pull high trumps which you can afford to lose separately. x xxxx QJxx Axxx AKxxxx -- KTxx KQx Against 4S West leads a heart. You ruff and cash SAK, both following. You must start the minors next, thus losing only two trumps and a diamond. If you played another trump, hoping for a 3-3 split, you would either make an overtrick or go at least two down. xxxx Axxx AJx Kx Axxx x KQTxx Axx Against 4S West leads HK. Declarer just wins, cashes SA, and starts the minors, losing just three trump tricks unless they are 5-0. ;;;Don't take an unnecessary trump finesse. Jx Axxx Kxx QTxx AKT9x x AQJx KJxx Against 4S, West leads a heart. Declarer is safe if trumps are not worse than 4-2: he just wins trick 1, cashes SAK, and starts clubs, losing two trumps and a club. ;;Avoid ruffs in the long trump hand. ;;;Discard losers until dummy can ruff. Q9x xxx Kxx Kxxx AKJTx xx Axx AQx Against 4S, West starts with HAKQ, East following. Declarer just discards a diamond on the third heart. Now dummy can ruff if hearts are continued. ;;;Concede a trump trick while dummy can ruff T9 xxx AQJx Txxx AKQxx xx Kx AKxx Against 4S, the defence starts with three rounds of hearts. Declarer ruffs in and leads a trump to the 9. Axxx -- AJxx KQxxx KQxx xxxxx KQ Ax Against 6S, West leads a heart. Declarer just ruffs in dummy and ducks a trump, protecting against 4-1 trumps. If an opponent may have two trump stoppers, it may be necessary to concede the _lower_ stopper first: 9x KQJ87x This is the trump suit and declarer gets forced early. If he can afford two trump losers, he should concede the 7 of trumps to the enemy 10. An opponent with ATxx can duck the K but cannot profitably hold up his 10. It may be necessary to concede a trump to a specific opponent, or to allow for a bad trump break in either of two directions. K9x x AJxxx xxxx AQTx xxx KQx AQx Against 4S, West cashes a heart and switches to a diamond which looks like a singleton. Declarer wins in hand, ruffs a heart, and runs the 9 of trumps. ;;;Develop a side trick while dummy can ruff This is one of several ways in which it can pay to work on a side suit before pulling all the trumps. Kxxx x xx Kxxxxx AQx AKQJTx x Qxx East opened the bidding with 1D and South is in 4H. West leads DQ, which holds, and a diamond to East's K. Declarer ruffs and leads CQ to East's A. (By leading the Q instead of low to the K, he protects the new trick from a ruff by West.) Axx xxx KQxx Axx KQJTx Q xx Kxxxx You are in 4S. The defence begins with two heart rounds and you must ruff. If you pull trumps, then, even if both black suits are 3-2, you will have only nine tricks before the opponents get a chance to cash a heart. To survive, you would need hearts 6-3 or 7-2 with no entry in the long hand (i.e. either CA or a spade trick, depending on whether you start diamonds or clubs after pulling trumps). A better start at trick three is CAKx. If they force again, take SK and develop a diamond trick, while you still have SA on the table to control hearts. This should do it if both black suits are 3-2. But the best move at trick three is a diamond toward the Q; this is more constructive than CAKx, in that West might have the ace. If he ducks, you have stolen a tempo and can switch to CAKx, needing only clubs 3-2. If West goes up with DA and forces, you have a good chance for ten tricks on a dummy reversal, needing spades 3-2 but little else. (You ruff West's diamond exit and take SKQ, DQ, D ruff, CA, SA, DK, and CK.) And if DQ loses to the ace, you are no worse off than in the second plan, again needing both black suits 3-2. ;;;Hold up a control until dummy can ruff KJx x xxxx AKQJx QT9x Axxx AQ xxx West overcalled in hearts but South is in 4S. West leads HK. Declarer ducks this, obliging West to shift, and later knocks out the trump ace and pulls trumps. This technique has a positional variation; in the hand below HQ is a control only against a lead by West. KJx -- xxxxx AKQJx QT9x Qxxx AK xxx West opened the bidding and leads HK against 4S. Declarer throws a diamond from dummy, obliging West to shift. In certain drastic cases this principle can be used by the defence as well. Holding up a stopper in declarer's side suit is often good defence (quite usually, in fact), and if control is at stake it may bring partner's trumps into play, as in this hand from Reese. AJ9863 K32 K63 3 42 KQT7 764 985 T984 AQJ7 A542 76 5 AQJT 52 KQJT98 Against 4H the defence starts with 3 diamonds and South must ruff. When declarer leads high clubs, West ducks 3 times, dummy discards 2 spades, and East ruffs the third club. East now leads his remaining diamond in this position: AJ98 K32 -- -- 42 KQT7 764 98 8 Q A -- 5 AQJ -- T98 Declarer goes down whether he ruffs in the North or the South hand; he cannot ruff out CA and pull trumps ending in hand. ;;;Don't shorten the long hand to establish a side suit x KTx KQxxx AK8x ATxx AQJx Ax 9xx Against 6H, West leads the trump 2 to dummy's ten. Declarer simply ducks a diamond at trick 2, and has 12 tricks whenever the red suits are not worse than 4-2. AQ xxxxx A AKxxx Kxxxx A QJT9x xx West leads a heart against 4S. Declarer may cash SA but then should clear DA, overtake SQ with the king, and plug away in diamonds. This surely costs a trump trick, but gains an entry to the South hand without shortening trumps. This rare gambit was dubbed the Coffin Coup by its discoverer George Coffin. ;;Don't waste a control in getting to hand to pull trumps Another time to be chary of side controls is when you expect to expend your last trump to pull the opponents', and will still have to lose the lead thereafter. KQJ Axx KQJx AJx Axxxx x 9xxx Txx Against 4S West leads a trump to dummy's J, but when declarer pulls a second round East shows out. If diamonds are 3-2, declarer still has ten obvious tricks, but there is a control problem. He draws a third trump with the K. If he now cashes HA and ruffs a heart, he thereby expends two controls against hearts: the ace and his long trump. Instead, he should lead a _low_ heart away from the ace. Say the defence leads back another heart. Declarer ruffs, pulls the last trump, and starts diamonds. A losing club later goes on HA. ;;Force the long defender while you have a trump in each hand The idea is to use a strong side suit to shorten the long defender at such time as he cannot shorten you in return. Axx xxx QJx Axxx KQxx x AKTxx Kxx Against 4S West starts with two top hearts. The contract is cold if trumps are not worse than 4-2. Declarer ruffs the second heart and pulls two rounds of trumps with the KQ. This leaves only two trumps out, and preserves a small trump in hand to control hearts. Then declarer plays diamonds. If an opponent ruffs, declarer (unless he makes the error of overruffing) has at least ten tricks. Suppose they discard on diamonds instead. With declarer needing two more tricks, the position becomes: A x -- Ax x -- -- Kxx Declarer starts clubs with the K or A, and must make either a club or his small trump. In that hand declarer had ten ready winners, the defence only one. South could therefore afford to lose two ruffs provided that he got two in hand, or one ruff if only one. In the next example declarer has 11 ready tricks but the control is inferior in that dummy has four small in the enemy suit. KQx xxxx KQx KQx Axxx x AJxx AJxx 4S is no longer completely cold against a 4-2 or (on this line of play) a 3-3 break. West starts with HKQ. One idea is to discard on this trick, ruff the next heart, and pull three trumps. This will succeed if trumps are 3-3 or if a defender with four trumps has only three hearts. (We will examine this holdup technique a little later.) But consider: Declarer has 11 top cards; if he ruffs trick two as well, he can afford two adverse ruffs. So he ruffs the second heart, pulls SQA (retaining a small one to control hearts), and starts, say, the diamonds. If an opponent ruffs the first or second round and forces with a heart, declarer can almost certainly get to dummy with a club and pull the last trump, making five-odd. If they ruff the third diamond and then force, declarer plays his last diamond and _throws dummy's last heart_. A defender might ruff this or any subsequent trick, but declarer has the remainder. Likewise if they don't ruff diamonds until the fourth round, or at all, a heart goes from dummy and they make only two trump tricks at most. It would take a lot of bad luck to go down on this line of play: KQx xxxx KQx KQx Jxx xxx AKQTx Jxx xxxxx x -- xxxxxx Axxx x AJxx AJxx West leads HKQ, and South ruffs in and pulls SQA. Starting clubs now would succeed, by forcing the defender who has length in hearts. But declarer misguesses and takes DQ and tries DK. East ruffs and leads a heart (not a club). South must ruff and now needs to guess again. A club to dummy will fail only if West has a club void, the last trump, and one or both missing hearts. A diamond will fail whenever East has the last trump and one or both hearts. The odds favour a diamond, and declarer goes two down. "Opponents in the other room are making six- odd, no doubt." Forcing the long defender can help a 5-2 or 5-3 fit against a 5-1 or 5-0 break. xxxxx Qx KQx xxx Ax AKJxx AJxxx x South reaches 4H and West unexpectedly doubles, advertising 5-card length in trumps. Clubs are led. Declarer may throw a spade on the second club but must ruff the third. He leads a trump to the Q, and if East follows, starts diamonds. West eventually ruffs, but there is a trump in dummy to prevent a force of the long hand, and South has SA with which to get to hand and pull the remaining trumps. Here is a subtler specimen, from Kelsey's _Advanced Play at Bridge_. A643 AJ873 94 J9 KQJ9 5 Q7 AKT862 Against 4S the defenders cash two diamonds and exit with a heart to the ace. You take SKQ and East throws a diamond on the second round. You want to run the club suit through West, but the way to do so, which saves you from 4-1 clubs, is this: Take CA, unblocking the J, and continue with CT. If the ten holds, you can ruff a club with the ace, and return to SJ to continue clubs. If the ten loses, your clubs are good and the play is similar. ;;Notrump techniques If declarer expends his last trump to pull the defenders', the deal simplifies into notrump. But that is not always fatal for declarer: if the defenders' long suit cannot be reached, declarer escapes. ;;;Discard losers to break communication in the enemy suit. K73 Q4 K854 9762 QJT2 AKJ83 AJ6 5 Against 4H, West leads out CKQ. Declaer throws a diamond on the second club, ruffs the next, and pulls trumps. If trumps are 4-2, he is now in a notrump deal, but still makes if clubs are not 4-4 and SA is not with the long clubs. xxxx Kx Axx Axxx Q AQJTx KQx QJxx South is in 4H again, West having come in vulnerable with a 1S overcall. West leads out SKA. Declarer discards a club on the second spade, ruffs the third, pulls trumps (4-2, say), and runs CQ to East, who is presumably out of spades by now. ;;;Attack first the entry to the enemy length. JT Q9x Axxx KJxx AQ987 AKJx x Qxx East has come in with a 3-level diamond overcall, and South is in 4S. West leads DT to dummy's ace. Declarer leads a club to the Q and, if it holds, another club to the J. East might win and force in diamonds, but then comes HQ and the trump finesse. If it loses, West is presumably out of diamonds and, even if he can give his partner a club ruff, declarer loses only three tricks. ;;Some "fork" plays that allow for loss of control When declarer has trump control, he tends to pull trumps and develop tricks in the side suits. When he doesn't, he cashes side winners and sets about scrambling ruffs. Occasionally he can arrange to go in either direction, at the defenders' option. ;;;Threatening to ruff may compel the defence to expend trump control Q5 N E S W 7 1D P 1S 2H AK842 P 3H 3S P QJ654 4S End KJT98 A85 73 K93 West leads HQ. Declarer wins, ruffs a heart, and leads a club toward the king. If it loses, opponents can pull a trump and cash one heart, or they can force the dummy; either way, declarer loses only three tricks. Cashing the trump ace costs the defence a tempo, and turns over trump control to declarer. ;;;Maintain the option of a high ruff or a high crossruff -- QJTx AKT9xx Jxx xxxx AKxx x AKxx South reaches 6H after intervention that indicates 5 spades with West and 4 with East. West leads SA. Declarer ruffs in dummy, takes CAK and DAK, throwing a club, then leads a diamond. If East follows, he needs to ruff high and try to split the trumps 3-2. But if East shows out, he can crossruff for 12 tricks. This hand is based on one in Kelsey. This last hand, from Reese, is a really odd one. xxxx W N E S KT 1S P P Dbl Jxxx P 2D P 2H Kxx 2S 3H End xx QJ9xx AK AQxx West starts with SAKQ, East discarding a diamond on the third, and South ruffs. He cashes DAK, CA, CK, and leads a club. When East follows, South ducks! This assures the contract whenever trumps are 3-3 or 4-2, and when they are 5-1 with the ace singleton. If opponents play ace and another trump, CQ will cash; otherwise it will be ruffed high. The play would be similar with KTx opposite AJxx in clubs. Declarer would end with AK and another club, declining to finesse in either direction.