"It is generally agreed that defence is the most difficult part of
the game of bridge. Although after the opening lead both sides can see twenty six of the
fifty-two cards, the declarer has a two fold advantage. Firstly, he has full knowledge of
the strength and disposition of his forces, and secondly he is in sole command of the
play. The defenders, on the other hand, labour under a double handicap. Not knowing their
exact strength they have to compensate by developing their powers of counting and
deduction. And, since the very fact that there are two defenders makes a defensive error
twice as likely, a high degree of partnership co-operation is required.
The average defender operates in a fog of uncertainty. He makes elementary mistakes because his mind has not been trained to think along the proper lines. His blunders are mainly due to faulty logic, failure to count and failure to draw simple inferences. Experts also slip up quite frequently in defence, but in their case the cause is usually a lapse in concentration. A high level of sustained vigilance is needed in order to defend without error.
This book is not for the beginner, for I have assumed a knowledge of technique that the beginner will not possess. It is written for the great mass of players from average up to near-expert standard, in the hope that a short course in logical thinking may help them to defeat more contracts than they do at present." KILLING DEFENCE AT BRIDGE by Hugh Kelsey
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