Both vulnerable. North deals.

Both vulnerable. North deals.
NORTH
A 10 9 8 4
A 10 6
9 7
A 8 4
WEST EAST
2 K Q J 7 3
K Q 8 5 3 9
Q J 6 K 8 2
Q J 10 7 K 9 6 2
SOUTH
6 5
J 7 4 2
A 10 5 4 3
5 3
The bidding:
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
1 Pass 1NT Dbl
Pass Pass 2 Pass
Pass Dbl Pass Pass
Pass
Opening lead; Queen of
Here's another deal from the final of the Spingold Team Championship a few years ago. With 16 boards to play, the team captained by Nick Nickell had trailed by 71 International Match Points. With four deals to go, they were still behind by 23 IMPs. This deal closed the gap still further.
Nickell's opponents had ended in two hearts doubled. After a trump lead, the contract went down two -- 500 points to Nickell. In the other room, the Nickell team was doubled in two diamonds on the auction shown.
West led the queen of clubs and declarer, Paul Soloway, played low from dummy. West shifted to his singleton spade, taken with dummy's ace. The nine of diamonds was ducked round to West's jack, and the king of hearts was returned, declarer rising with the table's ace as East was forced to follow with the telltale nine.
A diamond to the ace and a diamond back picked up all the defenders trumps, and East reverted to the king of clubs, taken by the ace. Soloway found a pretty way to wrap up his contract. He led dummy's remaining club and, instead of ruffing, discarded his losing spade! West won and got out with his remaining club, ruffed in the closed hand.
Soloway now exited with a low heart. Had West followed low, declarer would have finessed the six, holding West to one heart trick. When West shot up with the queen, however, declarer unblocked the table's ten and West had to lead a heart away from the eight into South's J 7 tenace.
A seemingly impregnable lead was now down to 11 IMPs, and Nickell gained exactly that amount on the next board. With two to play, the score was tied.
& copy; 2007, Tribune Media Services
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