By David Ezekiel

A bit of a break on the tournament scene this week but that doesn’t mean it was all quiet at the Bridge Club where a big crowd showed up to celebrate Pat Riding’s 90th Birthday ! Pat is still active at the club and she is not alone – check out the Bridge Club website and you will see that there were another four nonagenarians at the party !! There is absolutely no better game in the world to keep one young, vital and sharp – bridge not only exercises the mind but also the emotions with ups, downs, highs, lows , love, hate, liking, loathing all happening during the three hour session ! Beats a rocking chair and slippers !

This week’s hand provides a real lesson in Declarer Play …it is, unusually for this column, directed more at the advanced player but carries a great lesson for all players…..when it all looks good, look at what can go wrong and try and prepare for it !

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Dealer South N/S Vulnerable

NORTH

Q74 (Spades)

AQJ (Hearts)

A7 (Diamonds)

AQ654 (Clubs)

WEST

K96 (Spades)

7 (Hearts)

109843 (Diamonds)

J1073 (Clubs)

EAST

J1082 (Spades)

1098432 (Hearts)

J6 (Diamonds)

8 (Clubs)

SOUTH

A53 (Spades)

K65 (Hearts)

KQ52 (Diamonds)

K92 (Clubs)

The Bidding was over pretty quickly ….South opened a 15-17 No Trump and North with his 19 points made the practical raise to 6NT.

A really easy hand to bid, but not quite that easy in the play…..if you want to make it !! The bidding was much the same at every table, as was the lead of the diamond ten.

As often, we will see how two different levels of declarer handle this hand.

Weak Declarer

After winning the first diamond immediately attacks clubs….when clubs don’t break gives up a club and eventually goes one down.

Strong declarer

After winning the diamond realises that even if clubs behave there is no overtrick and that if clubs are 3-2 they will still be 3-2 later in the hand!! At trick two this declarer leads a low spade towards the queen ! If West ducks this declarer can play on clubs and give up a club and make the hand with 2 spades, three hearts , 3 diamonds and four clubs, so West hops up with his king and plays another diamond.

Declarer wins and now goes after Clubs discovering the bad break, but having given up a trick ( and I know I will lose some of you here ! ) realises that there might be a squeeze available if West, as seems likely, has length in both minors .

So declarer cashes the spade queen and all three hearts to come down to this position:

???????????????????????????????

NORTH

7 (Spades)

(Hearts)

(Diamonds)

Q65 (Clubs)

WEST

S

H

98 D

J10 C

EAST

J10 S

109 H

D

C

SOUTH

A S

H

Q5 D

2 C

Now when declarer plays a spade to the Ace West is….suicidal !! Either a diamond or a club pitch is fatal and declarer chalks up the small slam – pretty !!

I’m grateful to the excellent Andrew Robson of the London Times for the hand which was first reported by Richard Cumming-Bruce – it seems that only 14 of the 32 declarers who played this hand were able to score twelve tricks. Robson, in addition to his Times column, runs one of the most successful Bridge clubs anywhere, so check it out if you are ever in London looking for a game !