Defense against Endplays
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 end of the hand. How can we be better informed so that we are alert for these situations?
Tricks 10 and 11 are of particular interest, as these tricks are where players get endplayed the most often. Forcing a particular opponent into the lead on trick 10 and 11 can force him to lead a suit that can gain us an extra trick.
This same principle holds true for the opponents – they can sometimes force you or partner on lead which causes a lost trick. 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:
When North is forced to trump, 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? South knows East probably doesn't hold either of the honors, otherwise he would have likely overtrumped. 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 most likely holds either of the honors, South must overtrump North. Thus, North can fulfill his contract by either of South's leads on Trick 12 by simply overtrumping West.
Note: it is quite possible that North may have West's spades, ♠K104, and West holds ♠Q5. The bidding and play would likely have been identical in both cases. Now South's alert overtrump wins all of the tricks.
During endplay situations, we need to be particularly alert for where key cards are likely located. This can allow us to help dictate who is on lead at the correct time.