The defense

Deal analysis

Do you sometimes feel trapped by overly rigid defensive principles in tarot? If so, let’s try to loosen — or at least put into perspective — some of those rules that can be hard to let go of.

1 – When declarer shows a Poignée, can I lead trumps?

When we try to force declarer to ruff, our aim is either to shorten his trumps, to exhaust them entirely, or to create profitable overruffs or uppercuts. When none of these goals can realistically be achieved, forcing declarer to ruff becomes pointless. Imagine a declarer with the following hand :

21-20-19-18-17-12-11-9-8-6-3-2-1
7-6-5-3-2
-
-
-

Some defenders, at the sight of a double Poignée, immediately feel an urgent need to find a ruff. In reality, that would be completely ineffective. The defense’s only real hope against this hand is to benefit from a bad break in .

If you were declarer, what would your plan be? You would quickly try to get rid of your losing without touching trumps. You would not want defenders who are short in to discard points on your spades; instead, you would much prefer them to ruff your losers harmlessly.

If it suits declarer not to draw trumps, perhaps the defense should avoid helping him! As soon as declarer shows a double Poignée, the best defensive strategy is often to lead trumps, hoping declarer still has losers in his suits on which the defense can eventually discard. For instance, if splits 5-2-2 or 5-3-1 in the defenders’ hands — both very likely distributions.

Note: this example is deliberately extreme, chosen to illustrate a very powerful attacking hand against which the defense has little natural hope. That said, less overwhelming hands can also justify an aggressive trump strategy.

And remember not to turn this example into an absolute rule. Systematically leading trumps against a Poignée is no better than systematically trying to force declarer to ruff. Keep in mind this old Japanese proverb :

Flowers bloom on uncertain ground

2 – Declarer’s left-hand opponent must open every suit

This is something you often hear. Supporters of this theory would like the defender sitting before declarer to open each suit one after another like a robot, even when declarer is already ruffing two suits. They forget that tarot is a dynamic game, where wasting tempo in secondary suits — or setting up declarer’s honors — can be very costly. We prefer the following guidelines for the defender in that seat :

• Follow the line of play suggested by your partners unless there is a good reason not to. This does not prevent you from trying a small trump for a 2-for-1 play (with an even trump if possible), especially if the opening lead suggested a strong hand, which should therefore be able to tolerate a trump return. Of course, a 2-for-1 is only possible if the defense has already identified declarer’s ruffing suit.
• Try to find declarer’s ruff if the opening lead did not reveal it. Blind obedience is not required, and switching suits to locate the ruff is perfectly reasonable, particularly when no defender has yet shown real strength.
• If no defender has shown a strong hand and declarer is pushing a long suit that the defense still controls, a trump lead can be an attractive option — especially if you believe declarer is ruffing a suit in which you hold, for example, K-Q-x or K-Q-C-x.
• Late in the hand, it may be more important to think about relieving your partners from a possible endplay than to return blindly into declarer’s ruff.

3 – We should never lead declarer’s long suit

Here is another defensive “rule” that comes with many exceptions, the best known being the return to declarer’s long suit in order to save the Petit in defense. This rescue play is often overestimated by players who automatically lead a short suit when holding a vulnerable Petit. While it can sometimes be right, it is risky for several reasons :

• Declarer had no intention of hunting the Petit, and you kindly give him one or two extra tempos that allow him to seize control of the hand.
• You lead from a doubleton, only to run into R-C-V-x-x-x in declarer’s hand, giving him a free finesse and allowing him to trap your partner’s doubleton queen. Delightful !

• You save the Petit, which would otherwise have been captured, but declarer still makes his contract — one that would have failed against an uncompromising “draw trumps all the way” defense. Not convinced? The next time you declare with a hand like this :

  Ex-21-20-19-18-10-6-3-2
  x-x-x-x-x
  x-x-x
  x
  -

  You will probably — and wisely — play on , sensing that you will go down if you draw trumps, even if you manage to capture the Petit.

There are, however, situations where a return to declarer’s long suit is correct, even when it has nothing to do with saving the Petit. For instance, a defender may try to promote a small trump by ruffing a trick that declarer would otherwise have drawn as soon as he regained the lead. Example :

Declarer’s hand :
21-11-10-9
-
-
-
Q-1

Your hand :
19-8
Q
x-x
-
2

Declarer plays the 11 of trumps, which you cover with the 19. Let’s review the position :

• You are seated immediately before declarer.
• Declarer’s long suit is . The queen is established, but the small club is not, since two clubs remain in the defenders’ hands.

Declarer still has two losers: one club and one trump. He has just conceded the trump loser to your 19. If you return a or a to force him to ruff, he will draw your last trump before playing his losing — and you will not even be able to discard a valuable card, since you still hold a club yourself.

This is an ideal situation to return your last instead of forcing a ruff. Declarer will find this play very uncomfortable. Since a small trump is still outstanding and declarer does not know where it is, there is a good chance he will not risk rising with the queen, fearing a ruff. He will likely play low, allowing your partner to win the trick. You can then hope your partner reads the position and returns his last , giving you a ruff on declarer’s Q.

Another situation where it can be right to play in declarer’s long suit is when you want to eliminate a card that would otherwise force you into an unfavorable lead. For example, late in the hand :

Declarer’s hand :
21-19
K-C
5
-
-

Defender’s hand :
20-18
Q-x
K
-
-

The defender is on lead, and declarer’s long suit is . If the defender wants to score his Q, he must first cash the K before conceding the lead to declarer with a trump. If he fails to do so and simply plays the 20 of trumps, declarer will cash the 19 and then play the last to endplay the defender with the K. The defender will be forced to lead away from Q-x in spades and will lose two tricks.

---