All Bridge problems need one vital ingredient for resolving them: that is foresight. This is an integral part of a Bridge player's repertoire. Without it, he would never be in a position to wriggle out when placed in a tight corner. Nor will he be able to extricate himself out of the inevitable end plays or squeeze positions developing against him.
Therefore, a good Bridge player must have the drive to find his way out of the entangled web, and the foresight to look ahead. Good imagination with sound judgement can help you to foresee the danger ahead. This is all the more essential if you are contemplating the most different aspect of Bridge - the defence. For here you are deprived of looking at your partners holding with only the dummy to guide you. In such situations, you can easily make a slip in defence if your reading of the declarer's and partners holding is not too accurate. Now wonder it is said wisely that defence is the most difficult aspect of Bridge and one where you need that anticipation drive and foresight all the more.
Just to sharpen your wits and force you to imagine the only possible distribution, let me first put you to a little testing time before our problem at hand in defence. Suppose you hold this incredible hand that is a 12 trick monster of a hand: Naturally you would open 6S straight away and if your partner has the KS, he would not hesitate a second to bid the grand slam. Well when 6S was passed out it went one down. Can you spot how? Well I am sure you must have guessed the opponent's distribution to beat that otherwise iron clad 6S contract. Simple logic of course. Your LHO has KS singleton with a diamond or club void and your RHO has the other spade with void in hearts. On a heart lead and a minor return, one ruff and the promoted KS shies the contract.
So much for the imagination. Let us now come to the problem at hand in defence with your holding as east given as under along with the bidding: The opening lead is the KH and the following dummy is spread out before you on your right.
You as east hold Your partner has led well from the KQ of hearts or even KQJ of hearts. You encourage with a high card. But the partner does not trust it fearing the declarer may have the AJ of hearts. So he shifts to the diamond declarer playing low and taking your JD with the ace of diamonds. He plays the first trump KS followed by a low trump to the AS. You can afford to throw a low club from a 5 card holding. On the next trump. What can you discard? Surely not a low heart blocking your ace of hearts and certainly not a club looking to the menacing 4 card clubs in dummy. So perforce did you throw a diamond? Well what about your next discard on the 4th trump led? Perforce a low heart OK. Now when the declarer plays the 5th and last trump, what do you do? Clubs you cant part with. So it is a choice between discarding your AH or a diamond baring your king singleton. The dummy discards a heart on the 5th trump. Did you see the end play coming your way? If you throw the AH, you are stuck with the two diamonds winners end played to lead from clubs to the declarers AK102 giving him all 4 club tricks needed to make 4S. If you hold the AH, and bare your KD, the end play is the same - giving you those 2 winners.
Can you now see where did east go wrong in his discards? Yes - when he first discarded a low diamond. The defence was dead right there. The correct discard is the 9D to keep your exist of 3D to avoid the end play. But for that you need foresight!
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A973 5 AQJ109876543
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1062 A73 AK
Q4 KJ93 -
AK102 J 9863 -
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W N E S
P 1C P 1S
P 2S P 4S
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ALL PASS
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