#5 North South Vulnerable
North East South West
1♣ 1♠ 2♥ Pass
4♥ AP
North (dummy)
♠ K Q 9 7
♥ Q 8 7 3
♦ 10 3
♣ A K 10
West East
♠ 3 ♠ A J 10 8 6 5
♥ ♥ A 2
♦ ♦ Q J 4 2
♣ ♣ 2
South (declarer)
♠ 2
♥
♦
♣
West leads the ♠3. East wins the ♠A. What is East’s plan?
As East, your best chance to defeat the contract looking at the trump ace plus a singleton of your own, is to grab the ♠A and switch to your singleton club. Why? You can always give partner a spade ruff when you get in with the ♥A but the ruff can wait until you are void in clubs. Now when you give partner a ruff, leading the ♠5, asks for a club return by leading the ♠5!
Visit Webinars.PlayBetterBridge.com for free webinar videos called Defend These Hands with Me. World Champion and Master Teacher Donna Compton walks you through her thought process of opening leads, passive vs aggressive defense and many more “must know” defensive ideas. The combination of being a world-class player, along with the ability to share her thoughts with all levels of players makes these webinar videos unique. Married to a multi-time Barry Crane Top 500 Champion and captaining the World’s Top Bridge Team gives Donna access to state-of-the-art bidding, play and defensive agreements. Join Donna today and take your game to the next level!
How Do You Defend? 4-5

