By David Ezekiel

This week’s hand shows that there is more than one way to skin a cat — or beat a contract!

Dealer East N/S Vulnerable

North

S A10954

H Q5

D 853

C 1032

West East

S 86 S KQ

H K4 H J108762

D KQ92 D J764

C AKQ98 C 5

South

S J732

H A93

D A10

C J764

In both rooms in a team game, East opened a slightly off-colour weak 2H (only one point in the suit and six outside) and both West’s raised straight to 4H.

I do not like these undisciplined openers opposite an unpassed partner — if the bidding gets competitive, partner will have no way of knowing whether you have any defensive tricks outside the heart suit and will usually come to the wrong decision.

I like my first and second seat pre-empts to be disciplined, whether at the two or three level but once partner is a passed hand the gloves are off and the bidding can then be disruptive as opposed to constructive.

Now, back to the defence. Remarkably, both South’s started the defence the same way but only one recovered.

The contract looks doomed from the start with two aces and two trumps to lose but ... bridge is a strange game.

In the Open Room, South started with the diamond ace and continued with another diamond. Declarer won this and quickly discarded two spades on the clubs, ruffed a spade in his hand and led a low heart. When South played low the king won and now all the defence could make were two more heart tricks.

In the Closed Room, the first six tricks went exactly the same but when declarer led a low, heart. David Bakhshi, sitting South, who teaches at the Andrew Robson Bridge Club in Britain, rose with the ace of hearts, led a club for partner to ruff with the queen, and partner David Gold now led back a diamond which was ruffed — down one. What an elegant way to recover!