T contracts – Resumè (by V. Mollo)

(1) When you fear that the defence may endanger a NoTrump contract by making too many tricks in a particular suit‑presumably the suit opened by West‑your first concern should be to SEVER COMMUNICATIONS between your two opponents.

(2) You endeavour to HOLD UP your control card in the suit until one of the opponents has no more.

(3) lf eight cards of the suit are out against you, the danger is that it may be split 5‑3 or 6‑2. You are not concerned with an even 4‑4 division.

(4) With five of the danger suit between your two hands, hold up until tbe THIRD round, because either: (a) the suit will break 4‑4, or (b) one of the opponents will have no more after the third round.

(5) With six of the suit in the two hands, hold up once. Unless the suit breaks 4‑3, the opponent with the shorter holding will run out after the SECOND round. But hold up twice, if you fear even a four‑card suit.

(6) Seeing seven cards of the danger suit in his own hand and dummy, declarer needs no hold‑up to protect himself against a five‑card suit.

(7) Having held up his stopper long enough to make sure that‑if a five‑card suit is out against him‑one of the opponents will have no more of it, declarer tries to prevent the other opponent from getting the lead.

(8) To keep out the DANGEROUS opponent, declarer may take unnatural finesses. Or he may play for a drop when, in other circumstances, it would be correct to finesse (9 x opposite A K J 10 x).

(9) With a double stopper‑‑e.g., A K x opposite x xdeclarer should still HOLD UP, if he may have to lose the lead twice.

(10) When the lead must be lost twice, declarer should seek to lose it to the DANGEROUS opponent the first time. Next time, if the other opponent gets in, he may have no more of the suit to play back. It follows that an Ace should be driven out before an honour, which can be finessed away from the dangerous opponent. But if a finesse must be taken into the DANGEROUS hand, this should precede the attack on a suit in which opponents hold the Ace.

(11) Do not HOLD UP at all, when a switch by the defence to another suit appears to carry greater danger.