Careful Technique

[OliverC]

Careful technique is all about giving yourself the optimum chance to make the maximum number of tricks, often within a particular suit. Imagine you have J97 opposite KQ654 and you're trying to yourself the best chance of making 4 tricks from the suit leading from the hand with J97. Clearly you never have a problem if there's a 3-2 split. Careful technique, however, suggests you should start with the 7 towards the KQ, in case LHO has a stiff Ace (and you can still make 3 tricks when RHO has A108xx). A108x with LHO you can catch, but you'll need to have X-ray vision to catch RHO with A10xx or a stiff Ace.

It's a variation on a theme I've covered before, just taking the suit in isolation,eg:

KQxx opposite A10xxx (Start off with the K in case LHO has J9xx)
AQ9x opposite Kxx (Ace then King, in case LHO has stiff or doubleton 10 or Jack)

Sometimes outside entries and communications do affect how you play a suit, but the key issue is normally to consider possible unfavourable distributions, what you can catch and what you can't, and how best to protect yourself. Take this hand:

Game All, Dealer West

North is in 3NT after bidding 1NT-3NT.

South (Dummy)
96
K2
KJ76
KQ654

2 led

North
AKJ2
964
A94
J97

It's a reasonable enough contract to get to, but Hearts will always be a worry, even though you've escaped an initial Heart lead. You play low from Dummy and take West's 8 with your 9. Now what?

Clearly Clubs are the key suit here. You want to find the line that gives you the maximum chance of making 3 Club tricks (to add to your probably 4 Diamonds and 2 Spades). You have 2 probably entries to Dummy in Diamonds, but you don't want to use them up prematurely (leading a Club from Dummy would protect you if West has the stiff Ace of Clubs). In practice either opponent with  A10xx is going to cause you a problem because you're unlikely to take a second round finesse of the 9 against West (who can't lead Hearts without giving you a Heart trick) and if East has A108x you are unlikely come to 3 tricks without giving them 2 tricks first.

So were're back to guarding against a stiff Ace with East, so start with the 7. If East wins and switches to a Heart and the Ace is offside, there's nothing you can or could have done differently (3 Spades and 4 Diamonds aren't enough).

Partner started off with the Jack and East did indeed have a stiff Ace of Clubs, so now only 2 Club tricks could be gathered without giving West a 2nd Club. Fortunately, East was asleep and switched to a Spade (from Q8xx). Partner now made short work of it, played a Club to the Queen, 2 Spades and then 3 Diamonds (West showed out on the second round of Diamonds and discarded 3 Hearts ending with the Jack).

The situation was now

South (Dummy)
-
K2
-
K6

North
2
96
-
7

Partner did the only sensible thing and endplayed West with the 4th Club to give her a Heart trick at the end and an overtrick. Well Done!

Assuming East doesn't switch to a Heart at trick 3, careful play in Clubs would have yielded 11 tricks in total (because now Declarer can ditch a losing Heart from Dummy on the 3rd Spade rather than a Club winner). Immaterial in practice since most of the room were going off, but it's always worth cultivating careful technique, because sometimes it will be the difference between making and not making a contract.