Book review: Dynamic Defense

The more of his books I read, the more I suspect that Mike Lawrence is the best bridge writer of our time. Over the holidays, I reread his Dynamic Defense. This is written in his classic "over my shoulder" style, in which Lawrence takes the reader through all of his thought processes at the table. There are a lot of detailed descriptions of tough defenses, but one of my favorite hands was fairly simple:

Mike held

♠	T975
♥	QJ62
♦	T93
♣	J2

and was on lead after a long auction. RHO opened 1NT, LHO transferred to hearts and showed long clubs, and they had a power auction, cuebidding and keycarding into 6H.

Mike's reasoning was such: They obviously have a ton of points, so the only tricks we have coming are in the trump suit. I might have two trump tricks, but a strong declarer will take a safety play, probably low to an intermediate card (T, 9, or 8) on the first round. So how do I make sure he doesn't do that?

He led the deuce of clubs, trying to suggest a singleton. Declarer hastily cashed the ace and king of hearts and conceded one down.

Dynamic Defense is a must-read for any improving player. I first read this book about six years ago when I was struggling to break out of Flight C. It helped teach me the right things to think about at the table. Hopefully it can do so for you too! Read this book, then reread it.

Buy Dynamic Defense at Amazon.com