Defensive Thinking

Talk To Yourself. This kind of conversation should go on in your mind as you start to play every hand:

"Why didn't they bid Notrump ? They bid Hearts and Clubs and I see the AQx of Spades on the board. Why are they stopping at Three Clubs ? They bid for nine tricks anyhow ... is Diamonds their problem ? " Yes !

Everyone See Half the Cards. Sometimes the answers to these questions will only be seen later in the play, but they should be an automatic part of your preparation for defense, occurring while dummy is laying down the cards. Defenders have to out-think the declarer, who can see and play all 26 of his cards. They also have to help their partners defend well.

YOUR SIDE'S BIDS

You May Have Values. If your side has bid, you have some values, perhaps even in your own suits. The opponents heard your bids and expect you to have something in your suits and they probably expect to lose some tricks there. They will, of course, dump those losers at their first opportunity, so you must get them as early as possible, so lead your suits. If you forget your partner's bids or mastermind the defense, ignoring your partner's suit, you will lose often - and your loss may well be your partner.

There is another reason for leading partner's suit -- when your partner knows you will lead it virtually without fail, it may prevent him from making bids with cheesy suits. (But, maybe not!)

DECLARER'S BIDS

You Can See All the Cards. Remembering the bidding will help you see the hidden cards. There's no magic: it's always the exact same 52 cards, thirteen in each hand, and 26 of them are initially visible to everyone.

Distribution Clues. If declarer opened Hearts but plays in Clubs, what is his distribution? 5 Hearts and 4 or 5 Clubs: that's nine cards; allowing only three or four other cards in his hand. The 5 Hearts must be trumped or sluffed, but they are in his hand throughout the play. If there are 2 Hearts in dummy and 4 in your hand, exactly where are the rest ?

Point Count Clues. If declarer opened Notrump and plays in Four Hearts, how many Spades does he have ? Count your points and dummy's points and put two, three or four in declarer's hand. The rest are in your partner's hand. Why did they try to stop at Two Clubs ? When you do that, how many points does your side have ?

Weakness Clues. If declarer opened One Club and rebid Two Clubs, he has a weak hand. He doesn't have all the high cards you can't see: your partner has some of them. From the bidding, which ones could your partner have ? Which one(s) does he have to have to stop the declarer's plan ?

They Are You. Your opponents are good players, so they will have about the same you would have if you bid the same way - plan your defense based on that observation. Defensive planning is simple and effective - if you do it on every hand and then take advantage of the information to defend well.