INTRODUCTION TO

There is an apocryphal story about a declarer asking a defender’s partner if their carding was “normal”. One being assured it was, declarer duly misjudged the hand and was defeated. Complaining to the defender that the defensive carding had been unusual to say the least, the reply came promptly “But we normally signal that way!”

What is “normal”? I would advise you never to use the term “normal”; there is no such animal. Every partnership has its own preferences, some highly esoteric. Bridge authorities also deprecate the terms “standard” and “natural”. Nevertheless, before we discuss any form of signaling in defence it is as well to review what is generally recognised by many players as “natural”.

When playing any form of trick-taking card game it is deemed “natural”, when not attempting to take the trick, to play a small card, indeed the smallest card available. Even when attempting to take a trick it is considered “natural” when following suit, to play the smallest potentially suitable card. For example holding Q J of a suit the J would be played. When leading a card to attempt to win a trick, or set up one, however, it is considered “natural” to lead the higher or highest suitable card. So with K Q the K would be led.

Beyond these few categories I would say that, in Contract Bridge defence, nature is dominated by nurture. Partnerships have available a multitude of well rehearsed schemes to enable them to commu-nicate to each other information about their respective holdings. Of course, such schemes must ethically be declared on one’s convention card, or explained on request to the observant or curious declarer.

It is the function of this book to portray an extensive range of such ways for a partnership to intercommunicate. In essence every card played will carry an inference, even the residual “natural” plays, for they may carry the negative inference that no new message was intended.

I would stress however that I shall confine myself to the messages conveyed, their mechanisms, and their meanings. This is not a book about which suit to lead nor how to defend, there are those aplenty already in the literature. My aim is limited to offering the means for partnerships to communicate while defending, with as much confidence, I hope, as they have developed in their bidding when competing for the contract. Good defence is a key to winning bridge, but while declarer play is an individual task, defensive play should be a team effort. Getting the message right is a major step towards correct defence.