Tournament Bridge Tips on Defense: Fourth Edition 2020

By Ken Casey

This book is designed to give a comprehensive and systematic view of the rules for defense. The various subjects contain rules for how to defend against a long suit, when and how to ruff, how to defend against a squeeze play or an endplay, when and how to duck, when to play 2nd hand high or 3rd hand low, how to play from E, when to underlead your Ace, how to discard and to deceive, how to defend against a Notrump contract, how to signal and how to lead. Under each subject, there are numerous examples of how to handle each rule of defense.

Ken has published more than 15 bridge books. These books have now been consolidated into a series of 5 core tournament books as follows: Tournament Bridge for Beginning Players (4th ed. 2020), Tournament Bridge for Intermediate Players (4th ed. 2020), Tournament Bridge for Advanced Players (3rd ed. 2019), Tournament Bridge for Notrump Contracts (4th ed. 2020) and Tournament Bridge Tips on Defense (4th ed. 2020).

The above 5 books have themselves been condensed into a two-volume set called The Complete Book of Bridge Hands, Volumes 1 and 2 (2d ed. 2019). In addition, Ken has published a book on bidding, called The Casey 2/1 Bridge Bidding System (4th Edition 2021).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664147027

Ken Casey

Ken served as a Russian interpreter during the Vietnam War and then spent over 30 years practicing as a tax attorney. Ken also has an MBA in accounting and a CPA.

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Copyright © 2021 by Ken Casey.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Rev. date: 12/11/2020

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CONTENTS

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

LONG SUIT DEFENSE

1: KILL DUMMY’s ENTRY BY SACRIFICING YOUR HONOR

2: KILL DUMMY’s ENTRY BY LEADING N’s LONG SUIT TWICE BEFORE TRUMPS ARE PULLED

3: KILL DUMMY’s ENTRY BY REMOVING ENTRY, e.g., BY LEADING A TRUMP

4: KILL DUMMY’s ENTRY BY FORCING DUMMY TO RUFF

5: DUCK TO PREVENT S FROM GETTING TO DUMMY

6: KNOCK OUT S’s WINNER BEFORE S SETS UP SIDE SUIT TO DISCARD LOSER

RUFFING DEFENSE

7: LEAD TRUMPS TO CUT DOWN ON S’s RUFFS IN DUMMY

8: UNDERLEAD ACE TO SET UP RUFF

9: REFUSE TO RUFF OR OVERRUFF WITH 4-CARD TRUMP SUIT

10: CASH SIDE ACE (OR K) BEFORE GIVING PARTNER RUFF

11: WITH TRUMP ACE, SET UP TRICK BEFORE GIVING PARTNER RUFF

12: AGAINST RUFFING FINESSE, TAKE 1ST TRICK

13: DO NOT RUFF WITH NATURAL TRUMP WINNER UNLESS S’s TRUMPS ARE WEAK

14: REFUSE TO RUFF AIR

FORCING DEFENSE

15: FORCE S TO RUFF TO MAKE S LOSE TRUMP CONTROL

16: DUCK S’s TRUMP LEADS UNTIL N IS VOID

17: E SHOULD PLAY LONG SUIT TO PROMOTE W’s TRUMP

18: W SHOULD PLAY LONG SUIT TO PROMOTE E’s TRUMP

19: W SHOULD PLAY LONG SUIT TO ALLOW E TO UPPERCUT TO PROMOTE W’s TRUMP

20: PLAY LONG SUIT TO ALLOW PARTNER TO DISCARD SIDE SUIT FOR LATER RUFF

21: FORCE N TO RUFF TO PREVENT FINESSE OF E’s TRUMP HONOR

22: DISCONTINUE SUIT IF N HAS 4 CARDS TO PREVENT S FROM USING DUMMY REVERSAL

SQUEEZE PLAY DEFENSE

23: HOLD UP AT NOTRUMP

24: ATTACK DUMMY’s ENTRY

25: UNDERRUFF, IF NECESSARY, TO GUARD OTHER SUITS IN A SQUEEZE

TRUMP COUP DEFENSE

26: ATTACK DUMMY’s ENTRY

27: UNDERRUFF TO KEEP PARITY WITH S’s TRUMP LENGTH TO PREVENT BEING ENDPLAYED

ENDPLAY DEFENSE

28: PLAY HONOR TO AVOID BEING ENDPLAYED

29: STEP UP WITH HONOR TO PREVENT PARTNER FROM BEING ENDPLAYED

30: W, WITH 4+ TRUMPS, MUST PREVENT S FROM ENDPLAYING HIM WITH 4TH TRUMP

31: WEST SHOULD DUCK S’s HONOR ON 3RD TO LAST CARD OF HAND TO PREVENT ENDPLAY

32: W, IF ENDPLAYED, SHOULD PLAY HONOR IF IT IS FINESSABLE BY N

33: W, IF ENDPLAYED, SHOULD RISK RUFF-SLUFF

DUCKING

34: DUCK 1ST TRUMP & TAKE YOUR 2ND TO LAST TRUMP TO PREVENT S’s RUFF

35: REFUSE TO SPLIT HONORS UNLESS OPPONENT HAS x OR xx

36: AT SUIT CONTRACT, DUCK PARTNER’s DOUBLETON WITH ACE AND NO OTHER ENTRY TO GIVE RUFF ON 3RD ROUND

37: AT NT, E MUST DUCK TO PREVENT S FROM GETTING TO DUMMY’s LONG SUIT

38: AT NT, W SHOULD DUCK E’s 2nd ROUND OF HIS SUIT WITH NO SIDE ENTRY TO PRESERVE COMMUNICATION

39: AT NT, W SHOULD DUCK S’s LEAD TO PRESERVE ACE ENTRY TO HIS SUIT

40: AT NT, E, WITH LONG SUIT, SHOULD DUCK ONE ROUND IF S HAS A STOPPER TO PRESERVE COMMUNICATION

2ND HAND LOW EXCEPTION FOR NOTRUMP DEFENSE

41: E MUST STEP UP WITH HONOR TO PRESERVE ENTRY TO W’s SUIT

42: W MUST STEP UP WITH HONOR TO KILL ENTRY TO N’s RUNNABLE SUIT

43: E MUST STEP UP WITH HONOR TO PREVENT S FROM STEALING A TRICK IF CONTRACT WILL LIKELY BE SET

44: DANGER HAND MUST STEP UP WITH HONOR TO PREVENT S FROM LOSING TRICK TO SAFE HAND & SETTING UP SUIT

3RD HAND HIGH EXCEPTION FOR E

45: E SHOULD PRESERVE COVER CARD TO KILL ENTRY TO DUMMY

PLAYING FROM EAST

46: IF E SURROUNDS N’s HONOR, E SHOULD LEAD CARD ABOVE IT

47: IF W SURROUNDS N’s HONOR, W SHOULD LEAD CARD BELOW IT

48: DUCK DUMMY’s SINGLETON LEAD HOLDING ACE

49: OVERTAKE W’s LEAD TO KNOCK OUT S’s HONOR OR LEAD SINGLETON

50: DON’T RETURN W’s SUIT IF IT CAN’T SET UP IN TIME

51: DON’T COVER HONOR WITH HONOR IF IT WON’T PROMOTE TRICK

52: DON’T COVER 1ST OF N’s (OR S’s) TOUCHING HONORS UNLESS IT IS DOUBLETON

ACTIVE VERSUS PASSIVE DEFENSE

53: UNDERLEAD FROM ACE, K OR Q IF DUMMY HAS A RUNNABLE SUIT

54: UNDERLEAD AN ACE OR K IF S HAS A RUNNABLE SUIT OR IF CONTRACT IS COLD

55: PLAY PASSIVELY IF DUMMY HAS NO RUNNABLE SUIT

HELPING PARTNER OUT OF A QUANDARY

56: SIGNAL PARTNER

57: WAIT FOR PARTNER’s SIGNAL, HOPING PARTNER IS VOID ON NEXT LEAD

58: OVERTAKE

59: E SHOULD RUFF W’s GOOD HONOR TO GAIN ENTRY

STRANDING S IN DUMMY

60: MAROON S IN DUMMY IF E OR W HAS TRUMP OUT

DISCARDING

61: E SHOULD SHOW COUNT & LACK OF INTEREST IN SUIT OF 1ST DISCARD

62: E SHOULD DISCARD HIGH HONOR TO MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR E LACKS INTEREST IN THAT SUIT

63: KEEP PARITY (SAME LENGTH) WITH DUMMY’s (OR S’s) LONG SUIT

64: IN A SQUEEZE, DISCARD N’s SHORT SUIT IF S IS NOT RUFFING OR N’s LONG SUIT IF N HAS NO ENTRIES

65: AT NT, SAFE HAND MUST DISCARD HONOR TO PREVENT S FROM LOSING TRICK TO SAFE HAND & SETTING UP SUIT

66: AT NT, E MUST DISCARD HIS HONOR SO THAT W CAN GET INTO THE LEAD TO RUN HIS SUIT

DECEPTION

67: FALSECARD BY FEIGNING SINGLETON

68: FALSECARD BY FEIGNING DOUBLETON

69: INDUCE S TO MAKE LOSING FINESSE, e.g. BY PLAYING UPPER END OF TENACE

70: INDUCE S TO REJECT MAKEABLE FINESSE, KNOWING SIDE SUIT IS SPLITTING BADLY

71: DUCK REPEATABLE FINESSE

NOTRUMP DEFENSE

72: TO PREVENT S’s HOLDUP, E SHOULD PLAY Q OR J

73: SACRIFICE HONOR TO KILL ENTRY TO N’s (or S’s) LONG SUIT

74: E MUST UNBLOCK HONOR SO THAT W CAN RUN HIS SUIT OR VICE VERSA

75: E MUST SACRIFICE HIS HONOR TO GET W INTO THE LEAD: THE DESCHAPELLES COUP

76: SWITCH SUITS IF SUIT WILL NOT SET UP

77: THE RULE OF 11

ASSUME PARTNER HAS CARD THAT WILL SET THE CONTRACT

78: PLAY PARTNER FOR THE CARD THAT WILL SET THE CONTRACT

SIGNALS

79: ATTITUDE: HIGH ENCOURAGES, LOW DISCOURAGES (HELD)

80: COUNT SIGNALS: A LOW DISCARD SHOWS 1, 3 or 5; A HIGH DISCARD SHOWS 2 or 4

81: SUIT PREFERENCE SIGNALS: LOW CARD IS PREFERENCE FOR LOWER SIDE SUIT

82: UPSIDE-DOWN COUNT & ATTITUDE (UDCA): LOW ENCOURAGES, HIGH DISCOURAGES

83: SPECIAL SIGNALING CONVENTIONS

LEADING

84: LEADING AGAINST SUIT CONTRACTS: LEAD x, P’s SUIT, HHH, Axxxxx, xx, HHxx, HHx, Trump, Hxxx, xxxx or Hxx

85: LEADING AGAINST NOTRUMP CONTRACTS: LEAD MAJOR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

DEDICATION

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Issac Newton

Normally I try to avoid showering praise on a single individual since most projects are a group effort. Nevertheless, I will make an exception here. Frank Stewart, a world-renowned bridge columnist has done more than anyone I know to advance the science of bridge and to inspire others.

A large part of my learning has come from Frank even though we have never met nor even know each other. My books are infused with his teachings. There is no one to whom I owe more. Thank you Frank; I can never repay you for all you’ve taught me. Frank is the champion of counting points and distributions. My two favorite books of his are called Who Has the Queen? and Play Bridge With Me. Other award winning books published by Frank are Winning Defense for the Advancing Bridge Player, Frank Stewart’s Bridge Club and Frank’s World of Bridge.

My second hero is Eddie Kantar. No one comes up with more interesting hands in the Bridge Bulletin. I avidly read his Chalk Talk and his Test Your Play in every edition. I love his books, Take All Your Chances at Bridge, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. Some of his other great books are Eddie Kantar Teaches Modern Bridge Defense, Eddie Kantar Teaches Advanced Bridge Defense, and Eddie Kantar Teaches Topics in Declarer Play at Bridge. When it comes to defense, you will always find yourself immersed in Eddie Kantar’s hands. He is a genius at all aspects of bridge, not just defense.

My third hero is David Bird. He is the king at giving tips. His 3 books, 52 Great Bridge Tips, Another 52 Great Bridge Tips, and 52 Great Bridge Tips on Declarer Play are 3 books that must be included in any expert’s bridge book collection. These 3 books alone would make David one of the greatest bridge authors. Then David published Winning Suit Contract Leads, and Winning Notrump Leads, two books which destroyed all previous thinking on leading. David would be my first to be included in any Bridge Hall of Fame for bridge authors. David has also written several other award winning books including Notrump Contracts, Miracles of Card Play, Win at Bridge in 30 Days, Secrets of Expert Card Play, Secrets of Expert Defense, and Defensive Signaling at Bridge. Two other excellent books are Squeezes for Everone, Yes, Even You and Bridge Endplays for Everyone, Yes, Even You.

William Root is another favorite author of mine. Reading William Root’s books is like dancing with a fine dancer. He anticipates your every move. He anticipates your questions before the question even arises in your mind. His explanations are always succinct and to the point. At one point, bridge players wanting to learn how to play bridge would read Louis Watson’s book, Watson’s the Play of the Hand. Today that honor goes to William Root for his book, How to Play a Bridge Hand. He has also written three other fine award winning books: Modern Bridge Conventions, Commonsense Bidding, and How to Defend a Bridge Hand."

My favorite books on bidding are Betty Starzec’s Bidding in the 21st Century, Audrey Grant’s Better Bridge Bidding, and Audrey Grant’s Opening the Bidding.

My favorite books on conventions are Barbara Seagram & Marc Smith’s, 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know, William Root & Richard Pavlicek’s Modern Bridge Conventions, and Audrey Grant’s Popular Conventions.

My favorite books on the 2/1 System are Audrey Grant and Eric Rodwell’s 2 Over 1 Game Force, Mike Lawrence’s Workbook on the Two-Over-One System, Max Hardy’s Two-Over-One Game Force, Max Hardy’s Standard Bridge Bidding for the 21st Century, Paul Thurston’s 25 Steps to Learning 2/1, Paul Thurston’s The Rest of the Story, and Marty Bergen’s Understanding 1NT Forcing.

My favorite books on slam bidding are Marty Bergen’s Slam Bidding Made Easier, Ron Klinger & Andrew Kambites’ Understanding Slam Bidding, and Eddie Kantar’s Roman Keycard Blackwood. Two good books on squeeze play are Stephen Kennedy’s Crocs on Squeeze Play, Vol. 1&2. If you buy Marty Bergen’s book on Slam bidding, you also get a full explanation of the Bergen point count system, which I find to be the best point count system.

My favorite books on defense are Frank Stewart’s The Bridge Player’s Comprehensive Guide To Defense, Frank Stewart’s Winning Defense for the Advancing Bridge Player, Frank Stewart’s Two-Minute Bridge Tips, Boris Schapiro’s Boris Schapiro on Bridge, Victor Mollo’s Bridge: Case for the Defence, Eric Rodwell’s The Rodwell Files: Secrets of a Bridge Champion, David Bird & Marc Smith’s Planning in Defense, H.W. Kelsey’s Killing Defense at Bridge, Hugh Kelsey’s More Killing Defence at Bridge, Marty Bergen’s Bergen for the Defense, Terence Reese & Julian Pottage’s Positive Defence, Terence Reese & David Bird’s Bridge Tricks of the Trade, Audrey Grant’s Defense, Barbara Seagram & David Bird’s 25 Ways to be a Better Defender, Eddie Kantar’s Modern Bridge Defense, Eddie Kantar’s Advanced Bridge Defense, Ron Klinger & Wladyslaw Izdebski’s Deadly Defence, David Bird’s Defensisve Signaling at Bridge, David Bird & Taf Anthias’ Winning Suit Contract Leads, David Bird & Taf Anthias’ Winning Notrump Leads, Ron Klinger’s 100 Winning Bridge Tips, and Ron Klinger’s 100 Winning Duplicate Tips.

Some other favorite books of mine are Ned Downey & Ellen Pomer’s Standard Bidding with SAYC, David Berkowitz & Brent Manley’s Precision Today, Andy Stark’s The Weak Notrump, Ron Andersen’s The Lebensohl Convention Complete, Victor Mollo’s Card Play Technique and Ruth Harrison’s The Player’s Guide to the Rules of Duplicate Bridge.

INTRODUCTION

In playing a tournament, be aware that the hands are designed to thwart the average player. Leading is the 1st order of priority. In 2012, David Bird published a revolutionary book called Winning Suit Contract Leads. David Bird generated 5000 computer simulations for hundreds of different hand combinations and ended up debunking many well accepted slogans such as the following: Never lead an unsupported Ace except at slam, only beginners lead from a J, when in doubt, lead a trump, lead a trump against an obvious sacrifice, leads from a K or Q are better than neutral leads (i.e. leads topped by a spot card), lead 4th from longest and strongest, do not lead a singleton if dummy bid the suit, do not lead a doubleton without sufficient trump control (i.e. at least 3 trumps or an honor), do not lead a doubleton with an honor such as Kx or Qx, leading a doubleton is just slightly better than a neutral lead, attack when dummy has a long suit (i.e. lead away from a K or Q), attack small slams (i.e. lead away from a K or Q), lead a trump against a grand slam.

What is Bird’s order of priority for suit contracts? 1) Lead a singleton automatically, 2) lead your partner’s suit, 3) lead a triple sequence, e.g. KQJx or QJ10x, unless S bid the suit, 4) lead the Ace from a 6-card suit, e.g. Axxxxx, 5) lead a sequence from a 6-card suit, e.g. KQxxxx, 6) lead the A from Axxxx if dummy bid the suit, 7) lead a doubleton, 8) lead a double sequence from a 4-card suit, e.g. AKxx, KQxx or QJxx, 9) lead an honor sequence from a 3-card suit, e.g. KQx or QJx, 10) lead a trump, 11) lead a spot card, e.g. 7xxx or 8xx (with a 9 or 10, lead next highest card), 12) lead from a lone honor with a 4-card suit, e.g. Kxxx or Qxxx, 13) lead from a lone honor with a 3-card suit, e.g. Qxx, 14) lead from a 4-card separated honor, e.g. KJxx or Q10xx. Lead the shorter of two unbid suits over a bid suit. Lead a major if opponents end up in a minor suit. Lead through dummy’s strength. Leads from a Qxxx are less risky than from a Kxxx and leads from a long suit are less risky than from a shorter suit. The best leads at IMPs are usually the best at matchpoints, as well; however, doubletons fare better at IMPs.

In 2011, David Bird published a profound book called Winning Notrump Leads. For Notrump contracts, Bird concludes that there is a strong major suit preference. If the suit is a minor, do not lead 4th highest from the suit if it is your strongest and longest suit. The only time you would lead a minor with a 5-card suit is when the minor is headed by a triple honor sequence or the minor is supported by a side-suit Ace or other sure entry. A 5-card minor with an entry is equivalent to a 4-card major with equal strength. You should not lead a 4-card minor unless you hold the AKxx or AKJx.

For Notrump contracts, Bird further concludes that you should always lead a 2-card honor sequence even in a 3-card suit. For example, holding AKxx, you would lead the Ace. Holding QJxxx, you would play the Q. With a 5-card suit, there is some possibility of finding partner with an Ax or a Jx, causing a blockage, but this is a small price to pay. The previous thinking was that you would only lead the top honor from a triple honor sequence or a triple honor broken sequence such as KQ10xx or AKJxx. If you held the KQ832, you would play 4th highest i.e. the 3. In the computer simulation, this turned out to be the worst lead. If you have a broken sequence, such as KJxx or AJxx or if you have a lone honor such as Kxxx, you will lose ½ of a trick by leading low; it is better to lead the other major. A sequence is always better than leading from an unsupported honor. For example, the QJx beats a low lead from AJxx. A doubleton honor sequence such as KQ or QJ beats a 5-card major with Qxxxx. It does not matter which card you lead from 109xx; they will all have the same result. I would recommend the 10 to show partner you have no honor.

A useful guideline to leading when the opponent has a tenace is to lead through strength and lead up to weakness. For example, if W has

xxx, N has AQ10, E has KJxx and S has xxx, W should lead through N to get all of the tricks to which the defense is entitled. Likewise, if W has 109x, N has Kxx and E has AQJx, W should lead through N’s strength. If N does not have a runnable suit, W should play passively, letting S earn his contract. Suppose W leads a suit which cannot set up in time. E must switch suits. If N has spot cards in a weak suit, E should lead up to that suit.

If W has led a low card and dummy has played low, E must generally play 3rd hand high. For example, if W plays the 2 from A1082 and E holds the KJ3, E should play his K to protect against the possibility that S has the Q. The same is true if E holds the Q105. E should play the Q to protect against the scenario where S has the J. If E holds touching honors, then E should play the lower of the honors. For example, if E holds QJ2, E should play the J, not the Q. The play of the Q denies the J. If W leads away from Kxxxx and E plays the 10 from QJ10, taken by S’s Ace, W knows that E also has the Q&J since S would have won the trick with one of those cards rather than winning with the Ace.

What happens if N holds the Q? For example, suppose W holds the 8&6, N holds the Q74, E holds the AJ1053 and S holds the K92. W leads the 8. W’s lead could be top of a doubleton (or a singleton). Also if you play BOSTON (bottom of something, top of nothing), W’s 8 could simply mean that W is leading from the top of nothing. If E plays the Ace, S ends up with 2 tricks, the Q and the K. In short, you should almost always preserve a cover card to kill the entry to dummy.

Is there an exception to the rule that E should normally play 3rd hand high? If W leads a low card and N has a tenace, E should always preserve his cover card. For example, suppose W has the Jxx2, N has the Q10x, E has the K7x and S has the A9x. W leads the 2 (showing the K, Q or J) and N plays low. Should E play his K? If E does, S will win 3 tricks: the Ace, Q and 10. If E plays his 7, S wins only the A&9. Suppose again that W has the Q10x2, N has the J9x and E has the Kxx. N plays the 9. Should E play his K? The answer is that whenever N has a tenace, E should not cover.

What happens when W leads a singleton? This is the 2nd exception to the rule that E should normally play 3rd hand high. In such case, E should not cover. For example, suppose W has the 6, N has the K109xxx, E has the QJxx and S has the Ax. N play his 10; should E cover with his J? It turns out that E’s Q&J are not finessable. If E plays low, E will win both his Q&J. Suppose again that W has the singleton 9, N has the xxxx, E has the KQ10x and S has the AJ86. In such case, E should duck, letting S takes his J&A.

What happens when W leads a high card? When W leads a high card, he will always have a sequence, e.g. QJ10 or KQ. Sometimes, W will have an inner sequence such as AJ109. If W leads his J, E should cover with his K to prevent S from winning his Q. Sometimes you have to unblock in the 3rd hand position, particularly in a Notrump contract. For example, suppose W has the KQJxx and E has the Ax. In such case, E should overtake W’s K with his Ace and lead back the suit.

When W leads a high card, this gives E the chance to signal. On the 1st trick, E should signal attitude. Most people play that a high signal shows encouragement and a low signal shows discouragement. Let’s suppose that W holds the QJ10x and E holds the K92. When W plays his Q, E should play his 9 to show encouragement. This signal tells W that E wants a continuation of the suit. It does not necessarily tell W that E has the K, although that normally is the case. Also, if E has a doubleton, E normally will play high-low. However, there are times when E has a tripleton but still wants W to continue the suit; in such case E should play a high card, which is generally in the range 6 through10. A low signal is generally in the range 2 through 5. Suppose E holds the K432 and wants to give an encouraging signal. What does E play? E has to play the 4 and hope W will interpret this card as the highest card E can afford.

In some cases, W will have an obvious singleton. In such case, E’s return is automatically a suit preference signal. A low card asks for the lead of the lower-ranking suit (other than the trump suit and the suit initially led) and a high card asks for the lead of the higher-ranking suit. For example, suppose W has a singleton spade in a 4♥ contract, N has the ♠Kxx, E has the ♠A108642 and S has the ♠QJx. It is obvious to E that W’s lead is a singleton. Therefore, it is incumbent on E to show W what card to lead back after W ruffs the 2nd spade. If E plays his ♠10, E asks W to return a diamond (the higher-ranking side suit). If E plays his ♠2, E asks W to return a club (the lower-ranking side suit). What if E wants W to continue the suit? E should play his middle card, which is the ♠6 here.

In other cases, N will have a singleton (or a doubleton honor). It is pointless for W to continue the suit in this scenario, so E’s discard is again a suit preference signal. For example, suppose W leads the ♠Ace in a 4♥ contract from ♠AKxxx, N holds the ♠Qx, E holds the ♠J94 and S holds the ♠xxx. E’s play of the ♠9 asks W to return a diamond (the higher-ranking side suit). Some players use the suit preference signal as the 2nd signal after an attitude signal. Other players use the suit preference signal as the 2nd signal after a count signal.

The count signal is given whenever the offense leads. Use HELO (high = even and low = odd). For example, suppose W has the 853, N has the KQJ96, E has the A107 and S has the 42. S leads the 2 and W plays the 3. E needs to know whether to play his Ace or duck. W’s signal indicates W has 3 cards (a low card showing an odd number of cards). E now knows that S has a doubleton. Therefore, E should hold up when N plays his K to prevent N from running the suit. On the 2nd round, E takes his Ace, knowing S has no entry to dummy’s runnable suit.

Let’s suppose S wins the first trick. The general rule is that the defense should play 2nd hand low. W holds the A94, N has the Q73, E has the J1065 and S has the K82. S leads his 2. If W rises with his Ace, S ends up with 2 tricks, one with the Q and one with the K. If W plays low, S wins the Q but now his K remains trapped by W’s Ace and E’s J&10.

In a suit contract, there is one exception to playing 2nd hand low. That is when it is appropriate to split your honors, usually when E has a tripleton honor sequence. You want to prevent S from winning a trick cheaply. Suppose W holds the 10xxx, N has the xxx, E has the KQJx and S has the AJ. If N leads low and E plays 2nd hand low, E gives away a trick to S’s J. When in doubt, refuse to split honors unless the left-hand opponent has a singleton or doubleton.

Another bridge maxim is to cover an honor with an honor. This implies that if S leads an honor, W should cover it with a higher honor, i.e. W should not play 2nd hand low. For example, suppose S holds the Jxxx, W holds the Qx, N holds the A10xx and E holds the K9x. If S leads his J, W should cover with his Q if it will promote E’s 9. If it is unlikely that covering the honor will promote E’s 9 then W should not cover. An expert S will not lead his J but would instead lead low, hoping W has the doubleton Qx. If an expert leads his J, he probably has the KJ9x and wants W to cover.

Also, do not cover the first of N’s touching honors. For example, suppose N has the QJ8, E has the Kxx, S has the A9xx and W has the 10xx. If N leads his Q, E should wait until N’s J is played before covering with his K. If E covers the Q, S wins 3 tricks in the suit whereas S wins only 2 tricks if E covers the J.

In developing defensive tricks, always look for the possible ruff. Suppose W holds the ♦Axxx and leads a side suit that E wins. If E counts possible winners and needs an extra trick, E has to hope that W holds the ♦Ace in his doubleton diamond suit. If E holds 9p, E knows that W probably has about 5p (40 – 26 – 9 = 5). E has to hope that W holds the ♦Ace in his doubleton. E returns the ♦8, which looks like the start of a doubleton. W should duck the trick if W has no other entry to his hand other than the ♦Ace. W has to hope E has a high trump or a long trump suit. When E regains the lead, E can lead a 2nd diamond to W’s ♦Ace and W can get a ruff from E, setting the contract.

Similarly, suppose W has about 10p and needs an extra trick to set the contract. W has a side suit with AK&J, along with the ♦Axx. W has to hope that E has a doubleton diamond suit along with a high trump, such as the ♥K so W leads a diamond. When E get in with his trump ♥K, E leads his remaining diamond to W. W will take his ♦Ace and return a diamond for E to ruff, setting the contract.

One of the most important parts of defense is interfering with the offense. S often needs to set up a long suit in order to make the contract. This often involves the holdup play. Suppose the dummy has no entries. W has the 732, N has the QJ1096, E has the A84 and S has the K5. S hopes to make 4 tricks in the suit. S starts by leading his K. If E takes the trick with his Ace, S easily sets up dummy’s suit. To make things difficult for S, E should hold up, refusing to take his Ace until S is void in the suit. On the 2nd trick, E takes his Ace, killing the suit.

A second way to kill the dummy’s runnable suit is to attack dummy’s entries. One way to remove entries is to lead a trump or force dummy to ruff. A second way is to sacrifice a defensive honor, e.g., to sacrifice E’s ♥K to N’s ♥Ace. A 3rd way to kill dummy’ entry is by leading N’s long suit twice before trumps are pulled (assuming S has a doubleton in N’s suit). A 4th way to kill dummy is to prevent S from setting up N’s Q as an entry. For example, assume N has Qxx and S has KJx. If S plays the K, E should refrain from playing his Ace to preserve his Ace against N’s Q.

Other than setting up a long suit, S will try to generate tricks by ruffing. The defense needs to cut down on S’s ruffs by leading trumps whenever dummy has a singleton or doubleton. W should, in fact, lead trumps whenever S opens with a suit (which is not the eventual contract) in which W has length. Another way to stop S from ruffing losers in the dummy is by overruffing in the E hand. The defense should be careful not to overruff with a 4-card trump suit if the defense has high intermediate trumps. When giving partner (say W) a ruff, E should cash his side-suit Ace before giving W the ruff. Similarly, if E holds the trump Ace, E should try to set up a trick in W’s hand before giving W a ruff.

One of the best defensive tactics is the forcing defense. The aim is to force declarer to repeatedly ruff the defenders’ leads. If this can be done often enough, declarer eventually runs out of trumps and may lose control of the hand. A forcing defense is therefore applicable only to contracts played in a trump suit. In a forcing defense, one of the defenders normally has 4 trumps. It is usually best to duck S’s trump leads until the dummy is void. At that point, the defenders should pump declarer with their strong suit, forcing S to ruff. The 4th lead of the defenders’ suit will normally expose the defender to a possible ruff-sluff situation which has to be expertly dealt with. Leading the defenders’ long suit may allow E to uppercut, which can promote W’s trump. Leading the defenders’ long suit may also allow partner to discard his side suit opening up a ruffing opportunity.

Endplay defense generally involves playing one’s honor to avoid being endplayed. A defender may need to step up with an honor to prevent his partner from being endplayed. On the 3rd to last card of the hand, it may be necessary for a defender with a tenace to duck S’s honor. If endplayed, it may be worthwhile to risk a ruff-sluff if it will not aid declarer.

The squeeze play defense at a Notrump contract involves holding up to prevent declarer from rectifying the count. Another tactic is to attack dummy’s entry which may cause the squeeze to fall apart. Attacking dummy’s entry is also good defense in a trump coup defense. Finally, underruffing in a squeeze may help the defender to better guard the threat suits. Underruffing is also a tactic in trump coup defense to prevent the defender from being endplayed.

Notrump defense has several features which are totally distinct from suit defense. E must step up with his honor to prevent S from stealing a trick. Also, E must step up with an honor to preserve W’s entry to W’s suit. In addition, if S has a 5-3 suit or a 4-3 suit (which is splitting evenly) and needs to concede a trick to set up the suit, E (the danger hand) must step up with honor to prevent S from conceding a trick to W (the safe hand). The foregoing are 2nd hand low exceptions.

One of the major features of Notrump defense is the holdup play. To prevent S’s holdup, E should play his Q or J, instead of his Ace. E must also unblock his honor so that W can run his suit. For example, if W has the QJ10xx and E has the Kx, E must overtake W’s Q with his K. E must sometimes have to sacrifice his honor to get W into the lead to prevent S from running the suit. For example, if W has the Jxx, N has the Kx, E has the Q10x and S has the Axxxx, when S leads to dummy’s K, E should drop his Q under the K. This allows W to get into the lead on the 3rd round, permitting W to run his own suit.

Some of the features of Notrump defense are the same as for suit defense. E must unblock his honor so that W can run his suit. For example, if W has the J10xxx and E has the Kx, E must take the 1st trick. Also, E (or W) must switch suits if the suit will not set up in time. In addition, with no side entry, W should duck E’s return of his suit if E has 3 cards in the suit. Again, to preserve his Ace or King entry in a Notrump contract, W should duck S’s lead of the suit.

LONG SUIT DEFENSE

CHAPTER 1: KILL DUMMY’s ENTRY

BY SACRIFICING YOUR HONOR

E should sacrifice his ♠K after S draws trumps, leaving

the ♠Ace as the only entry to N’s long ♦ suit

Here the contract is 6♥ and W leads the ♦3, which is taken by dummy’s ♦Ace (S should have dropped his ♦J under his ♦Ace). S next takes out trumps ending in his hand. S then leads the ♦J, which is taken by E’s ♦K. E should then lead his ♠K in order to kill dummy’s entry. At this point, S’s ♦Q is blocking his ability to run dummy’s diamonds. E in fact led a club allowing S to unblock his ♦Q and get to dummy with the ♠Ace to make the contract. The sacrifice of a high card to dislodge S’s entry to his long suit is called a Merrimac Coup. During the Spanish-American War, Americans deliberately sunk the Merrimac in the middle of a Cuban harbor channel to neutralize the Spanish ships in port.

E should kill dummy’s ♦Ace entry by sacrificing

his ♦Q to prevent entry for ♠ finesse

Here the contract is 6♣ (S having rebid 1♠ over N’s 1♥) and W leads the ♥5 (showing a 5-card heart suit) which is taken by E’s ♥Q. E’s next play is crucial. E next led a trump and S, after getting to dummy’s ♦Ace, simply finessed E’s ♠J after taking out trumps and the ♠A&K. S’s entry to dummy was the ♦Ace. E should realize that S is short in hearts and has long spades. To prevent dummy from finessing E’s ♠J, E should lead his ♦Q to kill dummy’s entry.

E with ♣AJ10 must kill dummy’s ♣KQ entry by sacrificing ♣J

Here the contract is 5♦ and W leads the ♥Q, dummy plays low and E takes his ♥Ace. S needs to discard 2 of his club losers. The only hope for S is to set up dummy’s spade suit. S can win 3 spades by setting up the 5th spade. S can then throw off his 2 club losers. S also needs to ruff a heart. S needs 2 entries to set up dummy’s spades, one supplied by a club honor and one supplied by a trump. When E took his ♥Ace, E decided he had to remove the club entry so he sacrificed his ♣J. If S now led a club to dummy, E would take his ♣Ace, shutting off the entry. Due to E’s sacrifice of his ♣J, S was unable to set up the 5th spade and went down one.

E should kill dummy’s ♥Ace entry by sacrificing

his ♥K to prevent S from learning of the

4-1 trump split & finessing E’s ♣J

Here the contract is 5♣ and W leads the ♦4 which is taken by E’s ♦Q. E next leads the ♦Ace and exited with the ♠4, won by S’s ♠Ace. S now cashed his ♣A&K, learning of the 4-1 club split. S then entered dummy with the ♥Ace and finessed E’s ♣J. S loses 2 diamonds, making the contract. The solution is to kill dummy’s heart entry before S can learn of the 4-1 split in trumps. When E takes his ♦Ace, he must sacrifice his ♥K to dummy’s ♥Ace (or his ♥J). While this gives S an extra