Merrimac coup
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- This article concerns Contract Bridge and uses terminology associated with the game. See Contract bridge glossary for an explanation of unfamiliar words or phrases.
Merrimac coup (also known as Hobson's coup or Hobson's choice) is a contract bridge coup where a player (usually a defender) sacrifices a high card in order to eliminate a vital entry from an opponent's hand (usually a dummy). It was named after American steam ship Merrimac, which was sunk during the Spanish-American War in 1898 in Santiago de Cuba in an attempt to bottle up the Spanish fleet.
[edit] Example
| ♠ | 854 | ||||
| ♥ | 103 | ||||
| ♦ | KQJ985 | ||||
| ♣ | A3 | ||||
| ♠ | J10963 |
N W E S |
♠ | A7 | |
| ♥ | K98 | ♥ | Q742 | ||
| ♦ | 63 | ♦ | A104 | ||
| ♣ | 965 | ♣ | K1072 | ||
| ♠ | KQ2 | ||||
| ♥ | AJ65 | ||||
| ♦ | 72 | ||||
| ♣ | QJ84 | ||||
South plays 3NT and West leads the jack of spades, East taking the ace. East can see plenty of tricks for the declarer in diamonds, but he controls the suit with the ace; however, the declarer has the ace of clubs as an entry. East must execute the Merrimac coup by playing the king of clubs—even if declarer ducks, another club will knock down the entry to dummy prematurely, and the declarer will not be enable to enjoy all the diamonds, which are necessary to fulfill the contract.
