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The basic ones.

Just Checking.

Most players believe they will be defending 90% of the time, or so it seems, because they and their partner always get poor hands. (True?) So, just checking on your defence here.

 

South’s 2NT showed the normal balanced 20-22 with North hoping their “bits and pieces” will be enough for 9 tricks. You elect to lead fourth highest of your longest and strongest (5) with the first trick being won by your partner’s king. Great so far. Back comes 9 with South producing Q on the second round. Your play to trick 2 and if you win the trick, to trick 3?

What should you know so far? You know that South has at least two diamonds, maybe three. If three, then by ducking, your chances of making any more diamond tricks seem slim. So, you could win your ace (a certain winner!) and play a low diamond back, hoping that one of your black suit honours comes good.

That scenario is possible but declarer will be at pains to stop you winning the lead and then your hand will take no more tricks, not even A.

So, you have to hope, hope that your partner has the missing diamond and that they can win the lead and play that card. With dummy so weak, chances are reasonable that East can win a trick with their remaining 4-6 hcp. (Declarer has a minimum 20 and you and dummy have a combined 11. You have seen K in the East hand. So, 4-6 remain for partner.

As it happened, your partner needed to have just one very useful jack to regain the lead and beat the contract, as long as you ducked at trick 2.

 

The chances were quite good that East held the remaining diamond, 4 as South might well have played low on the first two rounds unless perhaps they wanted you to win the second trick to create an entry to dummy with J.

That was possible but not the case here. Had you won A at trick 2, you may as well start writing down -400. Duck and hope. See the disappointment on South’s face when you discard (hopefully not a diamond) on the second high club. They had to surrender the lead to East and if East still had a diamond in their hand, then the defence will have 5 comfortable tricks.

Note the importance of East playing 9 instead of 4 at trick 2(“present count”, high low showing a doubleton left at that point). Had East returned 4, West would take their ace as East would for certain have started with K4 doubleton.

“Standard defence” you might say and indeed it is. Yet, it does no harm to give a reminder of that every so often as you said you are defending so often!

Oh, how South wished they had opened 1 (and stayed low) had you got the defence correct. Their slightly off-balanced opening had not worked out… but next time, they might get a more favourable club break!

Fri   play tomorrow for our newer players.

Richard Solomon

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