Clearing the air when on defense

Almost all players defend worse than they declare or bid. Most partnerships discuss bidding but not defense. This is wrong, because you defend twice as often as you declare and almost as often as you bid.

If you would like a primer on basic defense, buy “Demystifying Defense” by Patrick O'Connor (Master Point Press). The author, who is Australian, covers the basics before giving 40 deals in an over-the-shoulder style. You start by seeing your hand, then step through the deal. Each problem is on a right-hand page, with the full deal and solution on the next left-hand page.

In this example from the book, look at the North and East hands. South is in four hearts. West leads the club two. How should East plan the defense?

East's takeout double looks obvious, but it is debatable, especially if North-South are using two-over-one gameforce. Even against a pair using Standard, East should realize that his partner's primary job on the deal is to avoid reneging!

The defense looks too easy: Win with the club queen, cash the club ace and give partner a club ruff. Then a diamond shift through dummy's king results in down two.

The snag is that West might switch to a spade, not to a diamond. This is especially true if South hides his club four. West will probably read the club nine as a suit-preference signal for spades. Then, though, declarer will take three spades, five hearts and two clubs.

East should be happy with down one, cashing the diamond ace before giving partner his ruff.