Sometimes defense becomes real tough and it is in such a situation of crisis that the defender's caliber at Bridge is tested. Let us illustrate by example. NS are in 6H on the following bidding. The bidding As west you hold:
Knowing declarer holds the spade ace, west opens with QD and the following dummy surfaces: Declarer wins with the ace and cashes AK of trumps. Next he plays the KD and ruffs a diamond. Now he puts west on lead with the trump to his queen. As west, how would you proceed now? It is here that the level of caliber shows. A defender end- played as he is, can play a low club and that would perhaps setup dummy's A10 of clubs if his partner's JC is taken by declarer's likely holding of KC. This would only show that west is an inexperienced player. Did you do better? Yes, did you play the QC to deceive the declarer into placing you with QJ and taking the finesse of club in the wrong hand. Putting declarer to such a guess is no doubt clever guile. But this still shows that the defender in west's seat is not a top notch player. For had he been one he would by now have counted declarer's hand to be a 2-5-2-4 hand with the following holding:
Do you see what alertness at counting declarer's hand sets the defender on the right track. Yes, the defender at the top of his game will lead a diamond or a spade with the supreme confidence that a ruff and sluffwon't help the declarer even if it unnerves the partner a bit first for declarer would still be burdened with a club loser he cannot avoid.
Of course the defenders try their best to beat any contract that may at first look ice clad when all seems lost, defenders have the deception strategy to fool the declarer as for example in a NT contract west holds.
J 9 7 2 of a suit and makes an opening lead of 2, east holds A K 5 3. He cunningly takes the A of the suit and plays back a low card. If declarer's holding is Q 10 4 opposite dummy's holding of 86 declarer is bound to guess wrong by playing the 10 as his only hope of bringing the KH from west and is jolted when west's JH holds the trick and now the suit is run trapping declarer's otherwise good queen. Let us end with another illustration to show how defender's deceptive maneuver show his skill in communication to defeat the contract on the following hand:
West leads 4S against 3NT and it is up to east to show his defensive skill. As east how would you proceed? Most of us in the heat of the moment would hit the AS and return QS. But do you see that if declarer holds up his KS till the third round and now takes the heart finesse to east, the defense is kaput! For east has no spade to return and west has no other entry before NS cash their tricks by taking 3 hearts tricks, 3 diamond tricks, 1 spade trick and 2 club tricks. Can you spot the correct defence? Yes east must curb his excitement and put up the QS first before the AS. Declarer can hardly duck KS for fear that it could be a dead duck if west has led from A J X XX. Such a deception by the defenders is not common as for example.
Declarer play's low to the Jack which holds. If he now cashes the ace, west must drop his Q to fool the declarer into placing E with 10 8 7 2 and taking the backward finesse of the 9 to fall in the Defenders trap when east wins with the 10. With such a defense in Bridge nothing can be more thrilling.
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W N E S
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Pass 1C 2S 3H
3S 4H Pass NT
Pass 5H Pass NT
Pass 6H Pass Pass
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9 5 2 A Q A X
Q 8 3 A K J 6 2
Q 5 10 2 8 5
Q 4 2 K X XX
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NORTH
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K 6
10 9 7 5
A K 4
A 10 6 3
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North West East South
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10 5 J 9 6 4 3 A Q 8 K 7 2
A Q 10 4 7 3 K 8 6 5 J 9 2
K 8 6 5 10 3 J 9 7 2 A Q 4
K 7 5 Q 10 9 2 J 3 A 8 6 4
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North West East South
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A J 3 Q 10 4 8 7 2 K 9 6 5
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