bridge

bridge

East-West vulnerable. West deals.

NORTH

xQ J 7 2

uQ 10 7 5

vK 7 6

wK Q

WEST EAST

xK 5 4 3 x8 6

uK J u8 3 2

vA 10 9 8 4 vQ 5 3 2

wA 8 w10 7 3 2

SOUTH

xA 10 9

uA 9 6 4

vJ

wJ 9 6 5 4

The bidding:

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH

1NT Dbl Pass 4u

Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: Ace of v

The premier pair event at the recent Summer National Championships in Toronto was the von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs. A Swedish expert, Jan Jansma, playing with Jay Borker finished third in the event, thanks in large part to this deal on which they won 38 out of a possible 38 matchpoints!

After a strong notrump to his right, Borker made an aggressive major-suit takeout double and Jansma wasted no time in getting to the heart game. West led the ace of diamonds, East encouraged with the five and declarer ruffed the continuation. A low club was led toward dummy and West rose with the ace to play a third diamond, declarer discarding a spade on the king of diamonds.

With the spade king marked in the West hand by the opening bid, declarer needed a miraculous trump position to land his contract. After unblocking the queen of clubs, he returned to hand with the ace of trumps, dropping the jack, ruffed a club in dummy before exiting with a trump West’s king.

West had a variety of ways to give South his contract via a ruff-sluff or a lead into declarer’s spade tenace, and conceded gracefully. But yes, the hand can be beaten. West must lead the ace of clubs and continue the suit to kill declarer’s timing for the endplay!

2011 Tribune Media Services.