Bridge has many stories of clever strategies to tell. Most of them from actual play reveal the greatness of the players in action when they perform brilliantly at the table in the heat of the moment. Such plays and defence measures can only come when the declarer or the defender has the skill, stamina and patience to not only work out the distribution of the opponents, but also place the key cards rightly to increase his chance of success. These come from mental alertness on the table to pick the inferential clues that come from the bidding, the opening lead and the counter measures put forth to blunt the opponents strategy.
Let us learn by example from an actual play that had a rather ironic ending despite the brilliant defense strategy worked out in which the contract of 3NT bid by north south as under was bound to flounder despite the right and favorable distribution that was there for 3NT to make.
Here are the north and east hands: The bidding was short and swift. South playing a strong NT of 16-18 HCPs opened 1NT and north raised it to 3NT.
The opening lead from west was the 9H. This is a rather open and shut example of high card point placement for east who was defending 3NT. This is a case of defending best as east. So let us place the reader in east's seat and see how you plan to salvage something out of an otherwise hopeless situation for the defence. When dummy played low to the opening heart lead, east naturally wins with the QH. Now is the time to plan your defense strategy. One look at the bidding and the dummy spread out with 10 HCPs, you as east can easily gauge that giving south the 16 HCPs for his minimum opening of 1NT, there would be a zero point hand for west as east himself held the remaining 14 HCPs. What does that imply? A picture of south's possible hand with his 16 HCPs would give him the king of spades and the king of diamonds along with all 4 top club honours to make up for his 16 HCPs. So is there any hope for the defence, for as you can see that the spades are breaking nicely for the declarer even after he concedes one trick of spade to east's queen. Do you think with foresight and concentration? If so, you would easily judge that with declarer's 3 spade tricks assured along with his 4 solid club tricks besides one heart trick, all that declarer needs is the KD to be right for his vital 9th trick which as the cards are placed, will definitely yield him his much needed trick and enable him to make his 3NT. Unless to thwart an unkind fate for the defenders in store, east can come up with a brilliant defence strategy that could change the course of play.
Can you spot what east planned to do? Well he had to find a way that could lead the declarer astray from his chosen path of an unbeatable contract. Well after taking the QH, and the AH, west naturally played back a heart. East knew the declarer would tackle the spades first. Surely as expected, declarer after winning the heart lead in dummy, crossed to the KS and went for the finesse of the JS.
Well here is where the defence brilliance surfaced. East ducked nonchalantly. Now from the declarer's point of view he had the contract firmly in his hand for he could now see all 4 spade tricks by repeating the spade finesse, which added to his 4 club tricks besides the heart trick taken would yield him the required 9 tricks. The diamond trick was now no longer relevant at the stage. So when south repeated the spade finesse... he was kaput, cut off from dummy when east would win with the QS. Forced to play diamonds from hand, declarer would fail. It was a brilliant defence strategy. But alas in the actual play when east played low to the JS finesse, west stretched out his hand to collect the trick playing rubber bridge. This was a clear blowing up of east's brilliant defence strategy. South now banged the AS to kill the QS in east's hand. So fate won after all.
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North
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A J 10 6
K J 6
J 8 4
9 7 4
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East
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Q 9 7
A Q 5
A Q 10 3
10 6 2
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