bridge

bridge

East-West vulnerable. West deals.

NORTH

xQ 6 5 2

u5

vK Q 8 5 3

w8 6 3

WEST EAST

x4 xA J 9

uK Q 7 4 3 uA J 10 9 6 2

vA 10 6 4 v7

wA Q 10 wK 4 2

SOUTH

xK 10 8 7 3

u8

vJ 9 2

wJ 9 7 5

The bidding:

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH

1u Pass 2NT 3x

4w 4v 4x Pass

4NT 5x 6w Pass

6v Pass 7u 7x

Dbl Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: King of u

How often have you gone down 2,000 points on a deal and have your partners congratulate you?

It happened to John Steinberg and Daniel Korbel on this deal from the Mitchell Open Board-a-Match Teams at the recent ACBL Fall North American Championship held in Seattle.

There are many ways to go about the defense on this deal, but all lead to East-West defeating the grand slam eight tricks — a mere 2,000-point loss.

However at the other table the contract was seven hearts making for a score 2,210, to win the board by net score of 210 points.

However, don’t try this at rubber bridge — your “victory” could be short-lived — the opponents are still 3-to-1 favorites to win the rubber and collect a huge score!

2012 Tribune Media Services