In particular situations, it can be critical for us to keep our partner out of the lead. These situations occur the most frequently during the endplay stage of the hand. How can we be better informed so that we are alert for these situations?

We know how imperative it can be to force a particular position into the lead during the later stages of the hand, particularly during Tricks 10 and 11. This can allow us to garner finessed tricks that would remain useless from any other positional lead (assuming perfect defense, of course).

This same principle holds true for the opposition. Because of this, we must often protect our partner from being forced into the lead on Tricks 10 and 11.

Consider the following situation. West leads the K and North/South need two more tricks to fulfill their contract:

North Q 5 4 -- -- -- West K 10 -- -- K East 6 10 J -- South 7 J 8 --

When North is forced to trump, East refuses to overtrump after realizing the importance of forcing North into the lead. South quickly evaluates the situation. He knows that North must have one of the top two spades to fulfill his contract, and he considers where the other top spade might lie. If North holds the K, all is well. However, what if his holding is Qxx? Since East did not overtrump, South knows he probably doesn't hold either of the honors. South has also been keeping track of West's counted tricks taken, and can deduce that he likely holds one of the remaining spade honors.

Assuming that West might have either of the honors, South must overtrump North. Thus, North can fulfill his contract by either of South's leads on Trick 12 with an en passant finesse.

During endplay situations, we need to be particularly alert for where the bosses are located so that we can possibly dictate who is in the lead. Sometimes this can mean overtaking our partner's winner to protect against West's tenaces.

-- Dustin Stout

[This is truly a fine article. It emphasizes the importance of alertness. South may have already taken his "own" tricks, but he cannot relax and assume Partner can handle the rest. One thing more -- it is quite possible that North may have West's spades, K 10 4, and West holds Q 5. The bidding and play would likely have been identical in both cases. Now South's alert overtrump wins all of the tricks. -- Master Spades]