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This week’s deal features the Scissors Coup, so-called because it cuts communications between the two defenders. East’s 4♦ was preemptive, showing long Diamonds and not much else. As West, what’s [...]

Historians of the Spanish-American War will have no difficulty figuring out how this week’s coup got its exotic name. For the rest of us there is Google. Against 3NT, West leads his 4th best [...]

The Bath Coup is well known by now: West leads the King and Declarer craftily ducks. Now if West continues he gives Declarer a second trick in the suit. The rule for East here, when holding Jxx, [...]

This week’s deal contains a little bit of magic whereby a “certain” trump loser evaporates into thin air thanks to some well-timed Declarer play. Against your 6♠ contract West leads the ♣J. You [...]

We continue our look at some of bridge’s exotic coups, and this week it is the Morton’s Fork, a play which offers an opponent a choice of evils. Here, the Fork allows Declarer to bring home the [...]

Bridge has a number of exotic “coups” and for the next few weeks we’ll look at some of them, starting with the aptly named Crocodile Coup. We’ll spare you the auction and just say that American [...]

N-S stumble into 4♠ and West leads ♦A. Declarer can count 5 Spade tricks and 4 Clubs. That’s 9, where’s the 10th? A ruff in the “short hand” is a common ploy for an extra trick, but that won’t [...]

“Third hand high” is common advice, and on this hand East plays “Third hand extra high” in order to fool Declarer. On defense, in third hand, it’s standard procedure to win the trick with the [...]

“Second hand low” is common advice, but this is a hand where it pays to ignore that recommendation. North saw no reason to mess about showing the minors, so she jumped straight to game in the [...]

3NT is the normal contract and 9 top tricks are available. But this event was duplicate bridge where it’s not always enough just to make your contract, it’s also important to make overtricks. So, [...]