Famous Hand BRIDGE

This deal occurred in the quarterfinal match between England and China at the 2007 women’s world team championship in Shanghai. It featured a brilliant defensive play by the British East, Michelle Brunner, who laid a cunning trap for her Chinese opponent who seemed about to bring in a grand slam.

The bidding by the Chinese North

South was natural after a forcing one-club opening and one-diamond response indicating a weak hand.

South’s five notrump was no doubt intended as the“grand slam force,” asking North to bid seven clubs if she held two of the top three club honors. North then elected to bid the grand slam without both honors, possibly influenced by her fivecard support when she could have held somewhat less.

As can be seen, seven clubs was due to succeed because declarer had no way to get to dummy to try the trump finesse. After winning any lead, declarer would have had no choice but to plunk down the ace, dropping the singleton king.

Things seemed headed for that outcome when Brunner’s partner led the heart jack, on which the declarer, Yi Qian Liu, played dummy’s queen. It was here that Brunner had her chance to shine.

Having noted the absence of the club king in dummy, as well as the dearth of entries on the table, she decided to give declarer a bit of rope by refusing to cover the heart queen!

Declarer happily accepted this unexpected opportunity to take the trump finesse and so went down one. Of course, had Brunner made the routine play of covering the queen of hearts with the king, the grand slam would have come rolling home.

Tomorrow: The vanishing trick.