Wednesday, March 20, 2013
BRIDGE
Both vulnerable. North deals.
NORTH
xA 9 8
uJ 10 6 5 2
vA 10 2
wK 8
WEST EAST
xK 7 5 3 xQ J 6 2
uK 8 uA 9 7 4
vK J 9 7 4 vQ 8 6 3
w3 2 wQ
SOUTH
x10 4
uQ 3
v5
wA J 10 9 7 6 5 4
The bidding:
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
1NT Pass 5w Pass
Pass Pass
Opening lead: Seven of v
Last week, we featured brilliant play by one of the best players in the world, Norway’s Geir Helgemo. Here, we feature him as a victim of perhaps the best pair in the world today — Americans Jeff Meckstroth and Eric Rodwell or, as they are known in the trade, Meckwell.
Meckwell play a forcing club system, with weak no trump opening bids. Who knows what the right bid by South is. If North has the king of clubs, three no trump is a cakewalk; if not ... certainly five clubs cannot be faulted.
West led the seven of diamonds and Meckstroth called for dummy’s ten. Helgemo won with the queen and, not unnaturally, returned a diamond — and the contract could no longer be defeated as the cards lie!
South discarded a heart from hand and won on the table with the ace. A heart to the queen lost to the ace and West shifted to a spade — too late.
Declarer rose with dummy’s ace and led the jack of hearts, intending to discard a spade if East failed to cover. When East rose with the ace, declarer ruffed, cashed the ace and king of clubs to extract the trumps and then discarded his spade loser on the ten of hearts. Five clubs bid and made!
2013 Tribune Media Services