BRIDGE

BRIDGE

North-South vulnerable, East deals.

NORTH

xQ 5 3

uA 8

v10 9 8 2

wJ 10 8 4

WEST EAST

x7 4 xK J 10 8 2

u6 2 u5 4

v7 6 5 4 vA K Q 3

wA 7 6 5 3 w9 2

SOUTH

xA 9 6

uK Q J 10 9 7 3

vJ

wK Q

The bidding:

EAST SOUTH WEST NORTH

1x 4u All pass

Opening lead: Seven of x

The recent World Championship Women’s Teams, held in Poland last month, saw the English ladies defeated by the Chinese ladies despite this excellent effort form Sally Brock, South in today’s deal. Brock is a longtime English star and she was fighting hard on every hand.

Brock played low from dummy on the opening spade lead and allowed East to hold the trick with the 10. East might have cashed a high diamond at this point, but it was also important for the defense to play two rounds of trumps before declarer could unblock the club suit for spade discards. Thinking that the diamonds could wait, East shifted to the five of hearts. Brock won in dummy with the ace and led a club to her king. West won and continued trumps, neatly blocking declarer off from the long clubs.

Undaunted, Brock ran every single one of her trumps, cashing the queen of clubs along the way, coming down to a three-card ending where she held the ace-nine of spades and the jack of diamonds. East had to keep two spades and therefore had to come down to only one diamond. She had already discarded the queen and king of diamonds. Should she keep the ace of diamonds, Brock would exit with a diamond to the ace, forcing East to lead a spade away from her king. Praying that her partner held the jack of diamonds, East threw her ace of diamonds, only to see Brock triumphantly produce the jack for her game-going trick. Well done!

2016 Tribune Content Agency