Bridge

Opening lead — ten of diamonds.

As an abstract proposition, it seems impossible for South to make four clubs doubled in this deal, since he has four obvious losers consisting of a spade, two hearts and a diamond.

But Peter Weichsel did make that contract at the 1984 US men’s pair championship, which he won with Mike Lawrence.

It all came about in strikingly simple fashion after West led the ten of diamonds, on which dummy played the four, East the three and Weichsel the deuce! When West continued with another diamond, the fat moved irretrievably into the fire.

Declarer won East’s jack with the ace, led a low trump to dummy’s ten and ruffed the seven of diamonds, felling East’s king and establishing dummy’s queen as a trick. Next came a trump to the ace followed by a heart discard on the queen of diamonds.

Since Weichsel still had two trumps in his hand to ruff two of dummy’s hearts, and since there were still three trumps in dummy to ruff the J-10-6 of spades, he wound up making the contract, losing only a diamond, a heart and a spade.

West could, of course, have defeated four clubs doubled by shifting to a heart or a spade at trick two. To be fair about it, however, the fact is that most defenders with the West hand, not seeing declarer’s cards, would have continued with a diamond at trick two after the ten held the first trick.

The outcome was indeed more a tribute to declarer’s skill than the result of a clear-cut error by the defence. Weichsel had quickly decided at trick one that on the bidding and opening lead, East was sure to have the K-J of diamonds, and he simply hoped that what did happen would happen.