Take
your place in bridge’s hot seat. You
are third hand, facing an expert declarer. Partner’s lead is on the table, and so is the dummy. You are preparing to make the critical first play. Are you thinking along the right lines? What arrangements of the cards are consistent with the information
available to you? How can you
determine the correct play?
The key elements in successful defense are
visualization and communication. These elements go hand in hand, and
they are greatly abetted by the system of parity leads introduced
in this book. Using a signaling concept already familiar to all
bridge players, you will be able to infer crucial information about the
unseen hands. You will be ready to focus on how to help partner and
hinder declarer.
Try this problem I recently encountered:
|
North |
East |
South |
West |
|
Pass |
Pass |
1♠ |
Pass |
|
1NT |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
|
2NT |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| |
North |
|
| |
♠43 |
|
| |
♥K63 |
|
| |
♦1075 |
|
| |
♣AK863 |
|
|
|
|
East
(You) |
| |
|
♠10 |
| |
|
♥A1075 |
| |
|
♦QJ986 |
| |
|
♣J97 |
You cannot answer these questions
definitively unless you know which heart spot partner led and what that
card connotes. So think about how you would handle each of the possible
spot cards using your favorite carding methods. When you've reached your
decisions, look at my solution.
