ACES ON BRIDGE

— T.S. Eliot

The Cavendish Pairs was held in Nevada for 15 years from the mid-1990s onward, after the tournament moved from New York. It attracted players from all around the world and boasted the largest cash prizes of any bridge tournament, with a prize pool well in excess of a million dollars.

This deal from 20 years ago shows Michel Abecassis taking advantage of a defensive slip to bring home a very tough game contract against Simon De Wijs and Ricco van Prooijen of the Netherlands.

After a club lead, Abecassis might have tried to run the lead around to his hand. The defenders would then have won and gotten in with the diamond ace to play a third club, and declarer would almost certainly have gone down.

Instead, declarer rose with the club ace at trick one and drew three rounds of trumps with the aid of the finesse. Next, he led a diamond to the king and ace, and back came a sneaky low heart.

Abecassis guessed well when he flew up with the king and exited with a low heart. East was forced to win with the ace and cash the club king, then exit with the club jack. Abecassis ruffed this and ran all of his trumps, reducing to a position sometimes referred to as a pop-up or show-up squeeze.

On the last trump, West had to keep his heart and thus came down to one diamond. But now Abecassis could play a diamond to the queen in the expectation that the jack would fall from East.

ANSWER: The action on this hand is somewhat dependent on vulnerability. I think there is a reasonable case for saying that, in second seat at all but favorable vulnerability, this is a maximum weak two-bid; but that it would be just too strong in that instance. Some would say that it qualifies at the fourth vulnerability, too. I can live with that, but I suggest you and your partner agree which side of the line it falls on.