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BOSTON (Defense)

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
    ♥ 
    ♦ 
    ♣ 

     

    Choose One:
    1. -

    ♠2

    2. -

    ♠5

    3. -

    ♠K

    Answer: 1

    ♠2. Shift to a low spade (Bottom Of Something)

    Your result so far:
    Next
  • In the middle of the hand, you decide to shift to this suit. Which card should you (West) lead?

     DUMMY
     ♠ J76
    ♥ 
    ♦ 
    ♣ 
    WEST 
    ♠9842
    ♥ 
    ♦ 
    ♣ 
     

     

    Choose One:
    1. -

    ♠2

    2. -

    ♠4

    3. -

    ♠8

    4. -

    ♠9

    Answer: 4

    ♠9. Shift to the 9, Top of Nothing.

    Your result so far:
    Next
  • In the middle of the hand, you decide to shift to this suit. Which card should you (East) lead?

    DUMMY 
    ♠ J43
    ♥ 
    ♦ 
    ♣ 
     
     EAST
     ♠ AK72
    ♥ 
    ♦ 
    ♣ 

     

    Choose One:
    1. -

    ♠2

    2. -

    ♠7

    3. -

    ♠K

    4. -

    ♠A

    Answer: 3

    ♠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).

    Your result so far:
    Next
  • In the middle of the hand, you decide to shift to this suit. Which card should you (West) lead?

     DUMMY
     ♠1064
    ♥ 
    ♦ 
    ♣ 
    WEST 
    ♠Q972
    ♥ 
    ♦ 
    ♣ 
     

     

    Choose One:
    1. -

    ♠2

    2. -

    ♠7

    3. -

    ♠9

    4. -

    ♠Q

    Answer: 1

    ♠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."

    Your result so far:
    Next
  • 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
    ♥ 
    ♦ 
    ♣ 
    Choose One:
    1. -

    ♠8

    2. -

    ♠9

    3. -

    ♠J

    4. -

    ♠K

    Answer: 3

    ♠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
    ♥ 
    ♦ 
    ♣ 
     

     

    Your result so far:
    Next