Comme nous allons le voir, au bridge on n'affranchit pas que les cartes postales.

Bien ménager rentrées et communications — la couleur d'atout sert aussi à naviguer entre les mains.

Les impasses “ras le caniveau” — deep finesse.

Savoir abandonner délibérément un pli au bon moment.

Bref, lorsque vous entreprenez d'affranchir une couleur cinquième avec un doubleton en face il est souvent nécessaire d'effectuer une impasse en profondeur, une sorte de coup à blanc. C'est le cas chaque fois que les communications font défaut.

Sometimes declarer does not have an intermediate card available for a deep finesse, yet he would still like to lose the first round in order to keep communication. That’s easy; just give away the trick. The loser is usually inevitable anyway, so the net result costs nothing.

If a deep finesse is not available, you can achieve the same objective by ducking the first round of the suit.

When trying to establish a suit, pay close attention to intermediate cards in that suit. Tens, nines and eights — occasionally even sevens and lower — may become significant cards, especially if they are in sequence. If you can promote one of these spot cards into a winner, it will simplify your task.

At a suit contract the presence of intermediate cards may allow you to take a ruffing finesse against one of the defenders.

Watch the enemy plays. An important card may drop from one defender, thereby increasing the power of your remaining cards.

The trump suit often provides a flexible means of communication from hand to hand. By using your honors and spot cards wisely you can usually manage an additional entry where it is needed most.

A common error by many players is to draw trumps too soon, thereby destroying their transportation. In most cases it is necessary to postpone drawing trumps.

Draw trumps immediately only if you see a clear path to set up your side suit afterwards. When in doubt, do not draw trumps.

Using your trumps to establish a side suit may place you in jeopardy of losing trump control. The more ruffing you have to do to establish a suit, the fewer trumps you will have left for the purpose of drawing the enemy trumps.

The term “trump control” means that declarer has drawn (or is able to draw) the enemy low trumps so he can enjoy his remaining winners. Do not confuse with “suit control” which is the ability to win the next trick in a specific suit.

Avoid ruffing early in both hands unless you intend to play for a crossruff.

Sometimes your trump holding is not long enough or strong enough to have any hope to establish a suit by ruffing out all of the enemy stoppers. Or it may be that trying to do so will subject you to an enemy overruff or uppercut.

If your ruffing ability is limited, consider giving up an early trick in the suit you wish to establish.

Le surcontre produit en Est est une déclaration de force, 10-11 points, qui indique que sa ligne est en attaque, ou presque. Une condition pour chercher à jouer légitiment ou pour contrer punitivement l'adversaire.

Ouest prend l'entame de l'♦ As avant d'appeler le ♦ Valet sur lequel il écarte le ♥ 3, assurant 10 plis en affranchissant un honneur dans la couleur d'entame. Il faudra deviner la position du Roi d'atout pour la 11ème.