Neither vulnerable. North deals.

Neither vulnerable. North deals.
NORTH
Q
A 5 2
10 5 4
A 8 5 4 3 2
WEST EAST
5 2 K J 9 6 4 3
J 9 4 10 7
J 7 3 2 K Q 9
Q 10 9 6 J 7
SOUTH
A 10 8 7
K Q 8 6 3
A 8 6
K
The bidding:
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
Pass 2 3 Pass
4 Pass Pass Pass
Opening lead: Five of
Board-a-Match team events have a unique scoring system. If you score more than the opponents on a board, be it 10 points or 1,000, you get one point for win. If the opponents outscore you, you get zero for the loss. If you tie the score, each gets a half-point. Overtricks and undertricks assume critical importance.
After East opened with a weak two-bid in spades, South overcalled three hearts and North's raise to game ended the auction. At rubber bridge, the hand would have been over quickly -- declarer can make 10 tricks even if trumps break 4-1. But this was Board-a-Match.
West led the five of spades and declarer, Judy Radin of New York, captured East's king with the ace and immediately ruffed a spade. Declarer returned to hand with the king of clubs, and led another spade. If West ruffed with the nine, declarer would overruff, discard a spade on the ace of clubs, draw trumps and rack up 11 tricks. If West discards, declarer ruffs low, cashes the aces of clubs and hearts and returns to hand with the ace of diamonds to draw trumps.
Note that, had declarer cashed the king of clubs before ruffing a spade, East-West can get a trump promotion in some variations to hold declarer to 10 tricks if West does not ruff the third spade. Try it.
& copy; 2006, Tribune Media Services
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