In a notrump contract, you usually work on a suit with a minimum seven-card fit to establish length tricks to go with high-card winners. You look for the suit that has the best chance of producing a fourth-round trick.
While it is the usual play to look from length tricks in a suit where you have the majority of cards, it is sometimes best to look for your length tricks from a suit where your partnership has just six cards together.
When you have a suit where your partnership has a six-card fit, and the suit contains four of the five honour cards or all five honour cards, you can make length tricks if the suit has four or more cards in one hand.
Your honour strength will ensure the fourth card (and sometimes the fifth card) will be the best in the suit, even if you have not exhausted your opponents of the suit.
The most obvious situation is when you have a suit of ♦AKQJ4 in one hand and ♦7 in the other hand. If you play the top four honours, the suit will divide 4-3 most of the time (62%) and you will make a trick from ♦4.
A suit with a six-card fit containing four honours is better to play then a suit with a seven-card fit that requires an even break to make a fourth-round trick, even if you have to lose a trick in the suit with the six-card fit.
Example: With ♦AQ76 ♣107 in your hand and ♦K54 ♣KQJ3 in the dummy, you should look to play on clubs to make a fourth-round trick. Lead ♣10 and continue clubs.
You can force out ♣A to ensure a fourth-round club trick. If you play your ♦A, ♦K and ♦Q, you will only make a fourth-round diamond trick when the suit divides 3-3, just 32% of the time.
Even weaker suits with six cards can be played if you are certain to set up a fourth-round trick by playing the suit.
Example: With ♦J9 in your hand and ♦Q1054 in the dummy you can play to force out the opponents’ ♦A and ♦K. You will win the third-round trick with ♦Q and the fourth-round round trick with ♦10.
Note that you don’t lead a suit with just six cards if you can’t make a fourth-round trick from the suit.
When your six cards together have three cards in the declarer’s hand and three cards in the dummy’s hand you should not play the suit as you will establish a fourth-round trick for an opponent.
Here is a hand from a Bridge Today session.
You are north with ♠AK63 ♥J932 ♦A72 ♣AJ. Partner raises your 1NT opening bid to 3NT. ♠Q is led and the dummy reveals ♠542 ♥Q10 ♦KQ85 ♣K743.
Your long suits are spades and diamonds; however, they have just seven cards and will produce one length trick each if both suits divide 3-3, not a likely scenario.
The heart suit with just six cards offers a certain two extra tricks as you can play hearts to force out ♥A and ♥K. You establish a third-round trick with your ♥J and a fourth-round trick with your ♥9.
Duck the ♠Q lead and win the next spade with ♠A. Now play on your hearts. The opponent who wins ♥K, returns a club (no spades left to lead) and you end up with 10 tricks when your ♣J wins. Another top score!
© 2022 John Roberts