When defending, you should shift to BOSTON (an acronym coined by famous bridge teacher/author Barbara Seagram) . That stands for "Bottom Of Something, Top Of Nothing." This is a way to tell your partner if you have interest in the suit you are shifting to. From, say, 872, you would lead the 8. (Note that this is opposite from standard signalling--where throwing/playing an 8 would say you like the suit and playing/throwing a 2 would show dislike). From K73, you would lead the 3. A low-card shift means you are leading from something. When partner sees a high-card shift, he will assume it is top--from nothing.
You might also consider getting Larry's book on Defense HERE which includes a section on BOSTON or try Larry's Defense Webinar series which you can find HERE.
In the middle of the hand, you decide to shift to this suit. Which card should you (East) lead?
DUMMY | |
1076 | |
EAST | |
K52 |
2
5
K
2. Shift to a low spade (Bottom Of Something)
In the middle of the hand, you decide to shift to this suit. Which card should you (West) lead?
DUMMY | |
J76 | |
WEST | |
9842 |
2
4
8
9
9. Shift to the 9, Top of Nothing.
In the middle of the hand, you decide to shift to this suit. Which card should you (East) lead?
DUMMY | |
J43 | |
EAST | |
AK72 |
2
7
K
A
K. When shifting to an honor, lead the top from a sequence (J from J10, Q from QJ, K from KQ). But, with AK, shift to the king. This is different than opening lead (where the modern way is to lead the Ace from Ace-King). Why? Because, on opening lead, you would "never" lay down an ace without the king--so we use the ace to show AK on opening lead (and K to show KQ). But, in the middle of the hand, you often might decide to cash (lead/lay down) an ace--based on the previous tricks and what is in the dummy. So, in the middle of the hand, we revert to the "old way" -- where the king lead is ambiguous (either AK or KQ).
In the middle of the hand, you decide to shift to this suit. Which card should you (West) lead?
DUMMY | |
1064 | |
WEST | |
Q972 |
2
7
9
Q
2. Low from Something. Note that with more than 3 cards, when shifting to a low one, you should select the 4th-highest card. So, from Q9532, you would shift to the 3. From K10872, you would shift to the 7--but if you aren't sure partner would read it as "low" you could play the 2--to make sure he knows you are leading from "Something."
In the middle of the hand, you decide to shift to this suit. Which card should you (East) lead?
DUMMY | |
1076 | |
EAST (you are playing after the dummy) | |
KJ98 |
8
9
J
K
J. Very sneaky of me to insert a "Surrounding Play." This is a rare situation--which comes up more in books and newspapers than in real life. To see why the jack is the right play, picture declarer with Q54. Your jack "surrounds" dummy's 10 and traps declarer's queen. Whatever he does, he can't take a spade trick. Had you shifted to a "low" spade, he could play low, and your partner would have to take the ace. Eventually, declarer would get his queen. This is the layout you are aiming for:
1076 | ||
A32 | KJ98 | |
Q54 |