Deschapelles coup
Encyclopedia
The Deschapelles Coup, named after a 19th-century French
chess
and whist
player Alexandre Deschapelles
, is the lead of an unsupported honor to create an entry in partner's hand; often confused with the Merrimac coup
, the lead of an unsupported honor to kill an entry in an opponent's hand.
executed this Deschapelles Coup in a 1998 tournament.
Helgemo was East against South's 4. West led a small spade, Helgemo put up the Q and South won the A. South then returned a spade to Helgamo's K. Helgemo cashed the A and switched to the K (the coup). Dummy won the A and played the Q to the K, A and J.
Now declarer tried to enter dummy with the K, but Helgemo ruffed, put West in with the Q, and ruffed the club return for down two.
It would not have helped South to duck the K because Helgemo would simply have continued hearts, winding up with a trick in each suit.
And it would not have helped Helgemo to switch to a low heart at trick four. South wins West's Q with the A, leads the Q, covered and won, and then leads another heart to endplay Helgemo.
This is a particularly unusual Deschapelles coup, because it is combined with a Merrimac coup. The same play of the K both establishes an entry for West and takes out an entry to dummy.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and whist
Whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It derives from the 16th century game of Trump or Ruff, via Ruff and Honours...
player Alexandre Deschapelles
Alexandre Deschapelles
Alexandre Deschapelles was a French chess player who, between the death of Philidor and the arrival of Louis de la Bourdonnais, was probably the strongest player in the world...
, is the lead of an unsupported honor to create an entry in partner's hand; often confused with the Merrimac coup
Merrimac coup
The Merrimac coup is a contract bridge coup where a player sacrifices a high card in order to eliminate a vital entry from an opponent's hand...
, the lead of an unsupported honor to kill an entry in an opponent's hand.
Example
Geir HelgemoGeir Helgemo
Geir Helgemo is a Norwegian professional bridge player. As of April 2011 he ranks number 11 among Open World Grand Masters....
executed this Deschapelles Coup in a 1998 tournament.
Helgemo was East against South's 4. West led a small spade, Helgemo put up the Q and South won the A. South then returned a spade to Helgamo's K. Helgemo cashed the A and switched to the K (the coup). Dummy won the A and played the Q to the K, A and J.
Now declarer tried to enter dummy with the K, but Helgemo ruffed, put West in with the Q, and ruffed the club return for down two.
It would not have helped South to duck the K because Helgemo would simply have continued hearts, winding up with a trick in each suit.
And it would not have helped Helgemo to switch to a low heart at trick four. South wins West's Q with the A, leads the Q, covered and won, and then leads another heart to endplay Helgemo.
This is a particularly unusual Deschapelles coup, because it is combined with a Merrimac coup. The same play of the K both establishes an entry for West and takes out an entry to dummy.