Forcing Defence

When the defenders objective is to Force the declarer to trump so many times that he loses control of the trump suit.  This type of defense is normally embarked upon when the trumps break badly, and when it works, can have dramatic effects:

                                            W       N       E       S

                     Q52                        1      P       1

                     754              3       3     4      4

                     KQJT4                   (all pass)

                     A3

AJ76                             9

QJT8732                      A9

2                                    653

6                                    T987542

                    KT843

                    K

                    A987

                    KQJ

The Queen goes to the Ace, and a heart continuation is ruffed.  South plays low to the Queen, and when he plays a low spade from the table, the roof falls in!  West wins the Jack, cashes the Ace, and plays on hearts defeating the contract 6 tricks!

If West had led a singleton looking for a ruff, he'd have gotten it, but only defeated the contract by 1 trick - a 5 trick difference!

Compiled by Lorne Russell 2005