Source:  2018 Event facebook

2018 57th Gold Coast Congress

Friday 16 February – Saturday 24 February, 2018

The following article by Arthur Robbins appeared in the December 2016 issue of Australian Bridge Magazine.

Bridge is a great, but unpredictable game. Here is a hand from match seven at the recent GNOT finals in Tweed Heads.

You hold  Q  10 7  Q J 6 5 4 3 2  10 7 4.

You are vulnerable and the opponents not. Sitting East, RHO opened 1NT (15-17). Do you bid? (You have a convention to show a long minor). I took the safe path, and 1NT became the final contract. What to lead? A pedestrian 4th highest diamond was my choice. How many tricks do you think this hand took, when partner held a small doubleton diamond? Not six, not seven, but eight tricks! I won the 10, Q, 10 and five diamonds, against an experienced declarer.

Declarer won the 5 lead in dummy, and finessed 9 to my ten (this is the correct play, gaining against  K 10 x or  Q 10 x with West – my partner did well to play low on the heart). I led Q to clear diamonds. Declarer won and played ace and a small heart to partner’s king.

Partner led 3, and declarer ducked to my queen (this was an error, because partner did not lead a diamond, so the only chance to prevent East from gaining an entry is by going up with the king). I won the queen, and five rounds of diamonds put pressure on partner and declarer. Dummy came down to  A 5, partner to  A J, declarer  K 10.

When I led 7, dummy won, but had to give me my 10. Eight tricks from this motley lot, surely a record. Oh, what a game!