Should you be active or passive?

Mortimer Adler, a philosopher said, “All genuine learning is active, not passive. It involves the use of the mind, not just the memory. It is a process of discovery, in which the student is the main agent, not the teacher.” In bridge, the defenders should be either active or passive. When active, they are positively trying to establish and win tricks. When passive, they sit back and wait for the declarer to drop tricks into their laps.

How should West view today’s deal? At trick one against four spades, should he lead an active heart two, or a passive diamond eight, club nine or spade four? South opened with a textbook vulnerable weak two-bid, showing a respectable six-card suit and some 6-10 high-card points. North took a shot at game.

In most deals, it pays to defend actively. If you sit back and let declarer control his own fate, he will make his contract far more often than not. So, here, West should lead the heart two. East wins with his ace and returns the heart three, his original fourth-highest West takes two more tricks in the suit; then, eventually, East gains a trump trick to defeat the contract.

After, say, a diamond lead, probably declarer would take the trick, cash the club ace and revert to diamonds, discarding a heart from his hand. East ruffs the third diamond, but South overruffs, trumps a club on the board and plays another diamond, ruffed and overruffed. A second club ruff followed by a further diamond allows declarer to hold his losers to one spade and two hearts.