The knowledge expands the brain

Someone wishing to become a London taxi driver must pass The Knowledge. This is a difficult test, requiring the cabbie to know the locations of every street and landmark in London. The driver may not use GPS. England’s most imaginative young bridge player is Steve Root, who passed The Knowledge some years ago. He found an opening lead on today’s deal that would not even occur to most players. After South opened and closed the auction with three clubs, what did Root (West) lead? Described by Andy Robson in his column in

The Times newspaper, the deal occurred during the 3rd European Winter Games, which ended on March 6 in Monaco. It was the last major over-the-table tournament. Now there are only occasional toplevel events played online. South’s opening bid was debatable with such a weak suit, especially at unfavorable vulnerability. But it does look as though three clubs is cold, declarer losing at most one heart, one diamond and two clubs. What would West be expected to lead? A low diamond, or perhaps the spade jack. But what did Root choose?

The heart queen! Declarer, confident that East had the heart ace, played low from the board. Then West shifted to the diamond nine. Declarer again played low from the board, but Jonathan Harris (East) won with his queen and returned a heart. Now the contract had to go down one. Being successful in The Knowledge supposedly enlarges one’s hippocampus, the part of the brain that has a major role in learning and memory.