Defense in bridge is not easy if we cut out the normal element with routine follow up. As for instance, when dummy comes down with a singleton side suit holding 3 trumps and you hold the ace of trumps, your defense would obviously be to knock out those little trumps making it difficult for the declarer to ruff his side suit losers twice. That is a normal routine defense.
But as in all fields, there are heights to scale and defense has a lot of potential to discover means and ways with which to scale those heights of glory in defense. In other words, some defences in bridge are so extraordinary brilliant that they can bring down the otherwise ice cold contract in the only way possible. Defense rest on assumptions and visualisation of not only the declarer's distribution but also in trying to decipher his mind set in as much as how he would embark on his making of the contract. Of course a lot of help to the defense comes through the analysis of the bidding made by the opponents.
Much depends on the opening lead too. If it is a killing one that gives the momentum to the defense, the pressure mounts on the declarer and it is up to the defenders to make sure that there is no let up. But when everything seems to be going in the declarer's favour with the right distribution for him, the right key cards placed and the suits breaking favourably for him, the defense needs to rise to new heights to extract out of no where some hope of the beating the contract. Amongst the last remnants of defense artillery is what we call the web of deception. This is the one weapon which if successfully and skilfully executed can make any excellent declarer go wrong, deceived in logic and execution of a reasonable assumption of the lie of the cards.
Today's illustration is one such exercise in deception weaved by the defense to kill the otherwise ice cold contract. In that deception, the defense has no other means but to take that last chance. The opening lead is the 5 of spades. Place yourself in the east seat and conjure up the defense that gives some hope of beating 5C, which is otherwise on the face of it ice cold. For declarer has one trump loser and one diamond loser, with the heart finesse clicking in his favour.
Yet east managed to shy the contract. Can you work out how? It looks improbable looking at east's, hand who unfortunately is not even getting any entry in hand and is almost on the face of it, quite out of the picture to do anything at all. For it is west who has the winning tricks in clubs and diamonds. Bridge is a funny game isn't it? For east, there was no hope of breaking this contract, for from the bidding it was quite obvious that declarer held a massive 2 suiter hand of probably 6 clubs and 5 diamonds. The lead of the 5 spades, looking at the dummy was the 13th spade, which meant declarer was void in spades, which blew all defense hopes of having a trick in each suit.
Do you foresee now how the web of deception was put around the declarer by east? Yes, when declarer played the JS, he played his ace, (not the QS) ruffed by the declarer. Honestly now, putting yourself in declarer's seat would you risk the heart finesse now when you know for 'sure' from the AS coming from east that the spade Q surely lay with west. So after knocking the AC out, when west played the 10H. Declarer rejecting the finesse, took it with the ace and played KS for a what he thought would be a completely safe discard of the heart loser - Bingo - the sky fell!
Let us give you the hands and the bidding first.
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North West East South
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KJ973 5 AQ108642 --
AQ K107643 J98 52
QJ4 K52 86 A10873
985 A107 3 KQJ842
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The bidding:
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W N E S
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2H 2S P 3C
P 3NT P 4D
P 5C ALL PASS
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