Bridge

For me, bridge is often a game of ‘If only…’. When it comes to complex hands, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve let myself down. And yet, however frustrating it is to know that I’ll never play with the brilliance and clarity of my heroes, I’m constantly motivated to keep trying – and that’s what I love. As Robert Browning wrote: ‘Ah but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?’

This deal, played by the young Australian Justin Mill, exceeds the grasp of most of us, and was a worthy winner of the Independent Bridge Press Association’s best played hand of 2024:

4NT was RCKB, 5♠️ showed two plus the ♠️Q, 5NT confirmed all keycards, 6♦️ showed the ♦️K, 6♥️ was a last try for grand slam. East led the ♣️K. Justin won and led a spade to the ♠️A. If trumps broke 2-1, he was home. But when East discarded, he had a problem. East was likely to hold seven clubs, so a club ruff might be overruffed. Hoping hearts were 4-3, he played low to the ♥️A. Next, a diamond to the ♦️A and the ♥️K, pitching a club. But when a third heart was played, West discarded a club. Justin ruffed and took stock. West’s ♠️J would prevent a full cross-ruff, but he came up with an ingenious solution. He cashed the ♦️K and ruffed a diamond in dummy. Now he finessed the ♠️10. His last cards were ♠️Q9 ♣️96 opposite ♠️K8 ♥️J10. East was down to ♥️Q7 ♣️QJ. When he played the ♠️Q, East was trapped. A heart discard would allow Justin to overtake the spade with the ♠️K, ruff a heart, then ruff a club to reach the good heart. A club discard would enable him to ruff East’s last club, then return to hand with a heart ruff to win trick 13 with the ♣️9.