A Blocked Suit
Example 1
Dummy
♠ A Q 6 2
♦ 2
You
♠ K J
♦ 7 5 3
A suit is considered “blocked” when you lack the necessary small card to lead to high cards (masters) in the opposite hand.
In this case, the spades are blocked because there isn’t a small spade in your hand to lead to dummy’s spade winners after cashing your ♠K and ♠J. As a result, the lead will remain in your hand while the two remaining spade winners are stranded in the dummy.
Unblocking
Example 2
Dummy
♠ A Q 6 2
♦ A
You
♠ K J
♦ 7 5 3
If there is a side-suit winner in the dummy, such as the ♦A shown here, you’ll be able to cash all four of your spade winners. To do this, you must first play your ♠K and ♠J to remove them from the way before leading to dummy’s ♦A.
This process of removing high cards to ensure smooth play is called “unblocking.”
After unblocking, you lead to the ♦A. With the lead now in the dummy, you can then cash your ♠A and ♠Q.
Example 3
Dummy
♠ A Q 6 2
♥ A 6 5 4 2
♦ A
♣ 8 7 2
You
♠ K J 4
♥ 9 7 3
♦ K Q 8 6 3
♣ A 4
Your contract is 3NT.
The opponents’ opening lead: ♣K.
To fulfill your contract, you need nine tricks, and you already have nine high-card winners—four spades, one heart, three diamonds, and one club.
However, take a closer look at both your high cards and the accompanying lower cards. They may hold the key to managing your entries and ensuring you can successfully cash all your winners.
Which suit is blocked?
To take your nine tricks you must play carefully. First, you win the opening lead with the ♣A.
Then do you… ?
- Play the ♠KJ. (Play the honors from the short hand first.) Or…
- Unblock the ♦A. (Play it to clear it out of the way.)
Example 4
Dummy
♠ A Q 6 2
♥ A 6 5 4 2
♦ A
♣ 8 7 2
You
♠ K J
♥ 9 7 3
♦ K Q 8 6 3
♣ A 4 3
This is almost the same as the last hand. Your contract is still 3NT.
Opening lead: ♣K
You still need nine tricks and you have the same nine masters. But this time both the diamonds and the spades are blocked.
Which suit do you unblock first? Remember, you must be able to cross the lead to your unblocked masters. You have to lead them to win tricks with them.
A Challenge Problem
Example 4 (repeated)
Dummy
♠ A Q 6 2
♥ A 6 5 4 2
♦ A
♣ 8 7 2
You
♠ K J
♥ 9 7 3
♦ K Q 8 6 3
♣ A 4 3
Watch how the lead crosses from one hand to the other:
- win the opening lead with the ♣A (the lead is in your hand)
- unblock the diamonds (the lead will then be in the dummy)
- unblock the spades (this gets the lead back in your hand)
- cash the diamond masters (the lead is still in your hand)
- return to dummy with the ♥A (the lead crosses to the dummy)
- cash the last two spade masters. Nine tricks.
Now for the challenge…
Consider how you would have to change your plays if the opening lead is a heart instead of a club.
Your ♥A will be played at trick one. How do you untangle your nine winners?
Review
Review 1
Dummy
♥ K Q
♣ 7 5 2
You
♥ A J 8 5
♣ A
✓ A suit is blocked if you have no small card left after you play the honors from the short hand first. Like this…
After you play dummy’s ♥K and ♥Q, you will have no small heart in the dummy to lead to your other two heart masters. The hearts are blocked.
Review 2
Dummy
♥ K Q
♣ 7 5 2
You
♥ A J 8 5
♣ A
✓ You can unblock a suit by playing the honors from the short hand first. Then, you can cross to the blocked honors with a winner in another suit.
After unblocking the hearts, the ♣A allows you to cross to your own hand to enjoy your ♥A and ♥J.
✓ When unblocking a suit, plan your sequence of winners so you will be able to cash all your masters.
A Reminder
The challenge with blocked suits arises when the lead ends up in the wrong hand after winning tricks with the blocking honor(s). To resolve this, you’ll need to use a different suit to transfer the lead back to the hand holding the remaining high cards so you can cash them.
We’ve explored different strategies for winning tricks by leading high cards. Before moving on to a new topic, let’s try a quick quiz.
Ready for the next topic? Let’s continue!
Quiz