April 2004

FOR THE DEFENSE

Defense is the hardest part of bridge. Most of the time success comes from winning just one extra trick. Look at it from the declarer’s viewpoint. Usually he has certain losers that can’t be avoided - tricks that the defense will get no matter what. Sometimes he has the possibility of additional tricks, depending on how the defense plays. This is where defense makes the difference.

You are South and the bidding goes:

North       East       South       West
                1 H        Pass          2 C
Pass         3 H        Pass          4 H

East first shows an opening hand, then his jump further defines it to contain six good hearts and 17 or 18 points. West has at least 10 points, good clubs (probably five) and two or three hearts.

Your hand:
S) A 2
H) 8 7
D) K Q J 4 3
C) 8 6 5 3

Partner has at most one trick. The only way to set this contract is to take two diamonds (hoping both declarer and dummy hold three diamonds) and the spade ace. Then hope partner has a trick. Lead the diamond king to drive out the ace while you have the spade ace as an entry. Then take whatever diamond losers declarer has.

FOR THE HUMOR

At a social bridge party, one woman said to another, “Aren’t you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?”

The other replied, “Yes I am. I married the wrong man”.

BridgeSnaps newsletter is produced by John S. Thomas, author of Standard American 21.