This is an interesting deal that I have met in the 2018 National Youth Bridge Championship.
Board 11
Vul: None
Dealer: South
South West North East
1♠ Pass Pass 1NT*
Pass 2♣* Pass 2♢*
Pass 3NT AP
1NT: Balancing, 12-15p
2♣: Stayman
2♢: No major suit
Lead: ♠J
Trick 1 2 3 4
1 ♠J ♠6 ♠5 ♠Q
2 ♣4 ♣7 ♣9 ♣2
3 ♡2 ?
East wins with the ♠Q and plays a small club to dummy's ♣9. When you are marveling at the declarer's play, declarer plays ♡2 from dummy quickly. How to defend? It seems to be an unilateral defense by your partner, none of your business. Will you follow a small card casually?
As we all know, "Second Hand Low, Third Hand High" is always normal in defensive playing. However, bridge is always full of exceptions. Sometimes 'Second Hand High' may make great trouble for the declarer.
Analyzing the bidding and play routine, we could easily know that the declarer holds 3♠, 3♡, 3♢ and 4♣. If the declarer holds 5♣, instead of playing ♡ in the next trick, he will continue to play ♣ to establish long suit. If the declarer holds 2♠, he must hold 4♢, in such case, he may bid double rather than 1NT and more importantly, he would play ♢ replacing ♡. Through play routine, the declarer seems to hold ♡AJX. "Playing ♡Q to invite the declarer to think you hold ♡KQ" is a classic deceptive play example in textbook. Does it work in this deal? Obviously, no!!! From declarer's point of view, South holds at least 12 points, dummy holds 11 points, so North holds at most 4 points. Even if you follow ♡Q, you hold ♡KQ is a quite small probability event. It is hard for an experienced declarer to guess wrong. So, if the declarer holds ♡AJX, he will win 2♠, 3♡, 1♢, 3♣, 9 tricks. Is there any chance to defeat the contract? Definitely, yes!!!
If the declarer holds ♡J only, he could win 3♠, 2♢ and 3♣. So he must drive out ♡AKQ and the ninth trick comes from ♡. What you should do is to play ♡Q at once. It is the coup to protect your partner's entry.
It seems like to let the declarer guess wrong by Second Hand High, in fact the declarer will be impossible to make wrong decision, but actually it is the only defense to defeat the contract. Maybe many players will do the correct decision instinctively on the table. However it is not the most important matter. Knowing why it is done is more meaningful than playing correctly in the long term. In this situation, 'Second Hand High' is not a deceptive defense, but a coup to protect partner's entry, just like the example in 2017.11.06 online training. LINK: http://xinyi-littleworld.blogspot.com/2017/11/20171106-online-training.html
Actually, I was the unlucky declarer holding ♡TXX. In the meanwhile, North hold ♡QJX. No one would follow a small heart. So the contract went down in a second.
How I wish I could hold ♡J. Things always get the opposite of what I want. Whatever North holds, QXX or QTX, he should play Q.
The Full Deal:
Board 11
Vul: None
Dealer: South
Board 11
Vul: None
Dealer: South
1♠ Pass Pass 1NT*
Pass 2♣* Pass 2♢*
Pass 3NT AP
1NT: Balancing, 12-15p
2♣: Stayman
2♢: No major suit
Lead: ♠J
Trick 1 2 3 4
1 ♠J ♠6 ♠5 ♠Q
2 ♣4 ♣7 ♣9 ♣2
3 ♡2 ?
East wins with the ♠Q and plays a small club to dummy's ♣9. When you are marveling at the declarer's play, declarer plays ♡2 from dummy quickly. How to defend? It seems to be an unilateral defense by your partner, none of your business. Will you follow a small card casually?
As we all know, "Second Hand Low, Third Hand High" is always normal in defensive playing. However, bridge is always full of exceptions. Sometimes 'Second Hand High' may make great trouble for the declarer.
Analyzing the bidding and play routine, we could easily know that the declarer holds 3♠, 3♡, 3♢ and 4♣. If the declarer holds 5♣, instead of playing ♡ in the next trick, he will continue to play ♣ to establish long suit. If the declarer holds 2♠, he must hold 4♢, in such case, he may bid double rather than 1NT and more importantly, he would play ♢ replacing ♡. Through play routine, the declarer seems to hold ♡AJX. "Playing ♡Q to invite the declarer to think you hold ♡KQ" is a classic deceptive play example in textbook. Does it work in this deal? Obviously, no!!! From declarer's point of view, South holds at least 12 points, dummy holds 11 points, so North holds at most 4 points. Even if you follow ♡Q, you hold ♡KQ is a quite small probability event. It is hard for an experienced declarer to guess wrong. So, if the declarer holds ♡AJX, he will win 2♠, 3♡, 1♢, 3♣, 9 tricks. Is there any chance to defeat the contract? Definitely, yes!!!
If the declarer holds ♡J only, he could win 3♠, 2♢ and 3♣. So he must drive out ♡AKQ and the ninth trick comes from ♡. What you should do is to play ♡Q at once. It is the coup to protect your partner's entry.
It seems like to let the declarer guess wrong by Second Hand High, in fact the declarer will be impossible to make wrong decision, but actually it is the only defense to defeat the contract. Maybe many players will do the correct decision instinctively on the table. However it is not the most important matter. Knowing why it is done is more meaningful than playing correctly in the long term. In this situation, 'Second Hand High' is not a deceptive defense, but a coup to protect partner's entry, just like the example in 2017.11.06 online training. LINK: http://xinyi-littleworld.blogspot.com/2017/11/20171106-online-training.html
Actually, I was the unlucky declarer holding ♡TXX. In the meanwhile, North hold ♡QJX. No one would follow a small heart. So the contract went down in a second.
How I wish I could hold ♡J. Things always get the opposite of what I want. Whatever North holds, QXX or QTX, he should play Q.
The Full Deal:
Board 11
Vul: None
Dealer: South
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