Defense : the 2 for 1

Commented deal

The 2-for-1 is one of the most powerful defensive weapons in tarot, yet beginners often struggle to identify the right moment to use it. In practice, beginners usually fall into one of two categories: the absolute yellowbelly, who is always afraid to lead trumps, or the trump-happy maniac, obsessed with “saving” his points. The 2-for-1 can be seen as a compromise between these two extremes.

Friendly games do not really help matters, because defense there is often approximate —when it is not simply a dialogue of the deaf. But when the defense plays with a minimum of communication and common sense, recognizing the right time to go for the 2-for-1 should be fairly straightforward.

Here are a few typical situations that can serve as reference points and incentives to play the 2-for-1, assuming, of course, that the defense already knows which suit the declarer is ruffing :

• One defenders has promised a strong hand : Whether or not he holds the Petit is irrelevant: a defender who has promised strength should be able to tolerate a trump lead. If your trump lead happens to help declarer capture your partner’s Petit, that is simply bad luck—one case out of a hundred. In the long run, this play pays off.
• The declarer has turned over a blank dog : Even if no strong defensive hand has been clearly identified, a blank dog should point the defense toward a 2-for-1. You cannot let a declarer with a trump holding like 21-17-13-6-2-EX calmly cash all his trumps by ruffingg !
• You hold several high trumps : It is extremely likely that the declarer will not “buy” a trump lead from the defense if his trump holding is weak. In other words, your trump lead is an aggressive message to declarer: “Try to take this trick, I know you don’t have enough strength to secure it.” Even with a Poignée such as 21-18-13…, declarer will often refuse to rise with a high trump.

The following deal is authentic and was played in a duplicate tournament. The self-centered defenders in NORTH, who kept leading trumps after blocking with the 21, were punished by the Petit at the end. Those who instead found the heart ruff and later switched to the 2-for-1 succeeded in defeating the declarer’s contract, without allowing declarer to bring the Petit at the end.

Note : one might object that NORTH is taking many initiatives with a very weak hand. However, it must be remembered that the opening lead by EAST does not promise anything in particular: it is a classic opening trump lead with an even card, meaning “I have a high trump to protect the Petit, but I am not certain of the best line of play.” Moreover, declarer has found two high trumps in the dog, so North must proceed with caution.

Tarot with 4 players
South dealer and declarer (garde)

Dog : 20-13, 10-7, 1, 10

Distribution

NORTH	EAST
21-2 Q-C-V-3 K-C-10-9-6-4 6-5-2 C-V-4	18​-16-11-8-6-5 K-9-6-4 Q-7 C-9-4-3 8-1
WEST	SOUTH
19​-17-12-9-3 5-2-1 8-5-3-2 7-1 K-Q-9-5	Ex-20-15-14-13-10-7-4-1 - - K-Q-10-8 10-7-6-3-2

Discard : 10-8-7, V-1, V

The play of the hand :

Trick 1 to 4

TRICK	SOUTH	EAST	NORTH	WEST
1	EX	.6	21	9
2	4	7	.4	3
3	.7	1	C	5
4	13	16	.2	12

Trick 1 : EAST has no attractive opening lead, so he chooses a trump lead (with an even card) in order to leave the initiative to his partners. In theory, this lead promises a high trump.

Trick 2 : If EAST was uncomfortable with the opening lead, NORTH, on the other hand, knows which suit the declarer is ruffing. On lead with the 21, NORTH must resist the temptation to strip his trumps immediately. EAST did not ask for continued trump play; rather, he signaled that he could not find an obvious lead. Returning a trump would only put EAST back in the same dilemma. NORTH therefore wisely opens , the declarer’s likely ruffing suit.

Trick 3 : NORTH can rise with the C for two reasons. First, NORTH now knows exactly what to do: a 2-for-1 is strongly indicated, since the defense knows the declarer’s ruffing suit and EAST has promised a high trump, which should allow him to gain the lead. Second, EAST may fear a bluff by the declarer in , a suit in which he appears to hold no honors. NORTH can therefore play the cavalier and keep the jack to counter a possible Q–10 sequence from declarer.

Trick 5 to 8

TRICK	SOUTH	EAST	NOR	WEST
5	1	.D	6	8
6	.6	8	4	9
7	20	8	9	.2
8	.2	5	J	Q

Trick 5 : EAST knows that he does not hold the strong defensive hand (as shown by his doubletons in and ). He must therefore position himself to overruff declarer, so that his trumps can be used as efficiently as possible.

Trick 8 : WEST could play the king, but he deliberately chooses the queen instead, to show that he still controls the suit. Playing the king would be ambiguous and far less informative for his partner.

Trick 9 to 12

TRICK	SOUTH	EAST	NORTH	WEST
9	7	.11	2	19
10	14	18	K	.5
11	10	.4	J	1
12	.K	3	6	7

Trick 9: NORTH discards a small diamond. This discard should be read as a negative signal by his partners, since it is clear that declarer will soon be out of trumps. Declarer has not shown a Poignée and has already lost six trumps. He is now pushing a weak long suit that is still guarded by the king. In this context, NORTH should preserve his useful cards and discard from suits in which he has no future. This discard should help EAST to find the return at trick 11. In any case, the king of is almost certainly with declarer; otherwise, his garde would be highly questionable.

EAST therefore returns a small , despite the risk of a poorly guarded queen in declarer’s hand. (If declarer holds Q–C, leading a small spade costs nothing, since declarer was already guaranteed a trick with that sequence.) Leading the king would be the worst possible play: it is bad if declarer ruffs, and equally bad if he holds Q–C–x, as the king immediately establishes two tricks for declarer.

Trick 12: Declarer has no option but to cash the top diamonds, since the defense may otherwise close the net with accurate discards.

TRICK 13 to 18

TRICK	SOUTH	EAST	NORTH	WEST
13	.D	4	5	1
14	.8	9	Q	3
15	15	6	3	.17
16	3	9	C	.K
17	10	K	C	.2
18	10	.C	10	5

And declarer goes down five, for a score of −60 !

In conclusion: it is NORTH who holds the key to this defense by resisting the urge to continue leading trumps blindly at trick 2. Declarer cannot cope with a line of play combining the 2-for-1 and systematic overruffing, due to his lack of controls. With five blank to deal with, he cannot afford to lead trumps to protect himself against overruffing.

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