Shooting (bridge) - Examples

Examples

Miles gives these hands as examples of shooting in the play:

West leads the ♠4 against the normal 3NT. South wins East's ♠K and plays the ♣K, East and West following with the ♣6 and ♣10. The correct play now at rubber bridge or IMPs is to duck a round of clubs. By ducking, declarer maintains an entry to dummy if he gets a 3-1 split. Doing so guarantees the contract. At pairs, if South is shooting, he might lead the ♣9 to the ♣A, hoping for a 2-2 split (only somewhat against the odds). If he gets that split, South wins at least 11 tricks. This will be a likely top, because declarers who are not so desperate, and who duck a club in deference to the odds, will win a trick fewer. Of course if South doesn't get a 2-2 split, he'll probably go down one or two, for a bottom.

This 4♠ contract is complex. At rubber bridge or IMPs, South should play to ruff two hearts in dummy, to guard against either opponent's holding of queen-fourth of spades. That play would hold South to ten tricks (losing two spades and a heart when either opponent holds ♠Q 8 x x) but gives South the best chance of ten tricks against either a 3-2 or 4-1 trump split.

But at pairs, South should not give up on overtricks to guard against the 8.4% possibility of ♠Q 8 x x. After winning the opening lead of the ♥K, strong declarers will finesse the ♠10 at trick two. If the finesse loses, the ♠K will stop the hearts. If South gets the more likely 3-2 spade split, he'll win 12 or 13 tricks, depending on the success of the finesse at trick 2. (Miles does not discuss the 9.6% possibility of a 4-0 club split.)

If South wants to shoot, Miles notes that declarer could adopt the rubber bridge approach of ruffing two hearts, in effect playing for the spades to split badly. But a better shot is to lead to the ♠K and then finesse the ♠J. This play will get South a top when East holds one, two or three spades to the ♠Q. But if it's West who holds ♠Q x or ♠Q x x, South will get a bottom.