SERPENT'S COUP

The concept behind this type of coup is to make the deception appealing to the defender, in order that a particular defendant take the bait. The comparison is to the scene in the Garden of Eden, when the serpent tempted Eve, who then persuaded Adam to do likewise. The forbidden fruit was eaten since it seemed appealing. The concept can be illustrated in the example below.

	A86 K5 AK5 K10642
K10752 Q9843 103 9		QJ43 2 QJ92 J873
	9 AJ1076 8764 AQ4

South is the declarer. The contract is 4 Hearts. West leads the 9 of Clubs, a singleton. South wins with the Ace of Clubs in his hand. South then leads a small trump to the King of Hearts in the dummy, and returns a Heart. East discards the 3 of Spades, and South plays the 10 of Hearts, which West wins with the Queen of Hearts.

West returns the 2 of Diamonds, won in the dummy with the Ace of Diamonds. On the fifth trick, South realizes the problem lies with the Diamond suit, since the split could be 5-1, 4-2, or 3-3. A Club to the Queen will lead to the defeat of the contract if the Diamonds split 3-3, and East has an entry in Diamonds. Playing the Ace, King and a third Diamond will lead also to the defeat of the contract if East has four Diamonds. The low Diamond play at this point makes the contract legitimately, if the Diamonds split 3-3 and gives a far greater temptation to East to give his partner a Diamond ruff if the split equals 4-2 or 5-1. East must be caution in giving West a Club ruff, since this strategy would establish the Club suit for the declarer, which would especially be disadvantageous since there are still entries to the dummy.

On the other hand, if the Diamonds split 4-2, with East holding four Diamonds, the declarer still has two Heart losers and two Diamond losers. The declarer can not play the Ace of Diamonds and trump a Spade. This play will provide West with a longer trump suit than the declarer.

Therefore, on the fifth trick, the declarer leads a small Diamond from the dummy. East wins the trick with the Jack of Diamonds, and West signals high-low with the 10 of Diamonds. If East returns a Club, this lead will establish the Club suit for the declarer. East decides to return a Diamond.

 

By returning a Diamond, East has taken the bait, bitten into the forbidden fruit, because West now trumps the Diamond return. The Serpent's Coup is successful.

West returns a Spade, which South wins with the Ace of Spades in the dummy. South now trumps a Spade in his hand. The Ace of Hearts is trumped by West, leaving the following positions:

	K1064
K107 9		Q J87
	J 8 Q5

In this final position, South end plays with a two-suit squeeze against East. South plays the Jack of Hearts, falling the last trump held by West and squeezes East, who must discard either a Diamond or a Club.

 

 

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.

 

 

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