TheMerrimac coup (also known asHobson's coup orHobson's choice) is acontract bridgecoup 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 afterAmerican steam shipMerrimac, which was sunk during theSpanish–American War in 1898 inSantiago de Cuba in an attempt to bottle up the Spanish fleet.
| South in 3NT | ♠ | 8 5 4 | |||
| ♥ | 10 3 | ||||
| ♦ | K Q J 9 8 5 | ||||
| ♣ | A 3 | ||||
| ♠ | J 10 9 6 3 | N | ♠ | A 7 | |
| ♥ | K 9 8 | ♥ | Q 7 4 2 | ||
| ♦ | 6 3 | ♦ | A 10 4 | ||
| ♣ | 9 6 5 | ♣ | K 10 7 2 | ||
| Lead:♠J | ♠ | K Q 2 | |||
| ♥ | A J 6 5 | ||||
| ♦ | 7 2 | ||||
| ♣ | Q J 8 4 | ||||
South is in the contract of 3 no trump. West leads the jack of spades, East taking the ace. East can see plenty of tricks for the declarer in diamonds, but hecontrols the suit with the ace. If East does not do something, when the declarer regains the lead, he can lead diamonds until East is forced to take the ace, while the declarer still has the ace of clubs as an entry. East must execute the Merrimac coup by playing the king of clubs—even if declarerducks, another club will knock out the entry to the dummy prematurely, and the declarer will not be able to take any more diamond tricks, which are necessary to fulfill the contract.