Susanna and I are very pleased to announce we have a Fan! His name is Tony Graham and he edits the newsletter for the Oban Bridge Club. In his email he says: ‘Of all the bridge columns I read weekly [insert all the top names], yours are the ones I enjoy the most and find most useful.’ As Susanna said: ‘Who is this marvellous man??’
Thank you, Tony. I hope you like today’s hand played by England International Ben Norton in TGR’s Superleague, which has just begun its new season:
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North’s 5♠ was a good, practical slam invitation, and Ben had an easy raise with both a control in the opponents’ suit and a rich 17 count. West opted for a Club lead, won in dummy. It looks like a routine hand with elimination in the minors followed by a Heart finesse to endplay East, but things took a bad turn when West was the one with three trumps. Obviously trumps have to be drawn, as West may have led a singleton Club. Declarer can take his four Clubs, discarding a Diamond and heart from dummy, but if he then ruffs his small Diamond on the table he’s in the wrong hand, and the endplay doesn’t seem to work.
Or does it?
Since West has seven (possibly eight) Diamonds, three Spades and two Clubs – which Ben found out after playing the black suits – Hearts are either 1-5 or 0-6 behind, meaning he didn’t need to be in hand after the elimination: he ruffed his Diamond loser in dummy and elegantly exited with the ♥7, knowing that whoever won it would have to give a trick back.
Marvellous!
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