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English 2021 ינואר 209 גיליון 47 David Birman, one of Israel's greatest bridge personalities, has passed away. As he was active in so many areas within the field of bridge: administrator, organizer, editor and coach, one tends to underestimate his greatness as a player. David was a bold and imaginative bidder and an excellent declarer, but in this small article the spotlight is upon his defensive abilities. Our first exhibit comes from the National Team Selection Trials of 1999. His partner was Amir Levin. Dealer North, Vul All A92 A65 KT76543 - T53 84 J984 Q3 QJ A2 7654 AKQJT32 KQJ76 KT72 98 98 West North East South Levin Grinberg Birman Tur 1 ♦ 3NT Pass Pass 4 ♦ Pass 4♠ Pass Pass Pass Despite East's strong hand, only North- South have the potential to bid and make a game. Birman's disruptive jump to 3NT made it difficult for them, and they eventually reached 4♠, while 5♦ could have been a more successful contract. West knew that his partner's bid was based on a long minor suit and he led a club, ruffed in dummy. However, in this case ruffing in the "short" hand was problematic. After trick one dummy already had less trumps than West, so the future of the long diamond suit was not so bright. However, there was still a side entry in hearts. Declarer Zohar Tur correctly placed ♦ A in the East hand in view of the bidding, and he made a surprise move at trick two – a small diamond from dummy! Some defenders might have concluded that South is trying to steal a trick with a singleton ♦Q and accordingly jumped with the ace, but David Birman was not to be denied. He played small, allowing his partner to win with the diamond jack. Amir Levin (West) continued the strong defense by attacking dummy's entry with the heart four. Declarer took East's queen with the heart king and led another diamond. Of course, East won and led a second round of hearts, which forced out the ♥A. Now there was no way to win any diamond trick after drawing trumps. South still had to ruff a club, so there was no way to dispose of two heart losers. The next deal appeared in the European Team Championships 2006. Birman's partner was David Fohrer, and they were playing against a great Italian team. Master of Defense // Ram Soffer