Keep this safely in your folder so that you can refer back to it.
|
I
am blocked
|
Blockages
Even if one has played one's best, it happens that one cannot make all the tricks of a suit because of a blockage.
Examples :
 Q
J 5 2 |
 K
Q 4 3 |
or even: |  A
5 2 |
 |
|
|
|
| A
K |
A |
K
Q |
You can recognise the threat of a blockage by the presence of isolated honours in one of the two hands.
Overcoming a blockage
There are two ways of doing it:
| 1) | First play the honours which are blocking (that is called unblocking) then use a communication in another suit to cross over to get the master tricks in the other hand. | |||
| Example: | 3 |
|
A |
|
| A
K |
|
Q
J 5 2 |
||
| West plays Ace and King of Hearts then Spades for East's Ace. He is then in the right hand to play Queen and Jack of Hearts. The difficulty of this manoeuvre is that you must think of it at the beginning of the deal. | ||||
| 2) | Sometimes you can allow yourself to take one of the blocking cards in the other hand on condition that you possess equivalent honours. | |||
| Example: | A Q | |
K J 2 | |
| West first plays the Ace then takes the Queen with the King: in this way he can make the trick with the Jack without needing a communication outside the suit. | ||||
Leading the head of a sequence
One can lead the "head of a sequence" when one possesses a sequence and a higher honour.
| Examples: | A J 10 9 3 | the Jack |
| Q 10 9 8 2 | the ten | |
| A Q J 10 4 | the Queen |
Then one says that one is leading "the head of a broken sequence".