Contract Bridge

This deal, played in New Orleans during the 1978 world team championship, features both good bidding and good play. When Steve Robinson and Kit Woolsey of the U.S. held the NorthSouth hands, the bidding went as shown. Woolsey’s jump to four hearts, with only two high- card points, might seem unusual, but it was wellreasoned.

Robinson had doubled one diamond and two diamonds for takeout and then cuebid to show an exceptionally powerful hand. Woolsey therefore reappraised the value of his rather meager holding. He realized he had a much better trump suit than he might have had, and he also gave great weight to his singleton diamond. So, to show that he had a better hand than a three- heart bid would have indicated, Woolsey leaped to four.

Robinson raised to six, and West led a diamond. Woolsey then timed the play perfectly, with an eye toward eventually executing an endplay. After taking the ace of diamonds, he ruffed a diamond, took a spade finesse, then ruffed dummy’s last diamond before repeating the spade finesse.

After playing the trump ace, Woolsey next made the key move of cashing the ace of spades to reduce his own hand and dummy’s to only trumps and clubs before leading a second trump to his queen.

When both opponents followed to the second trump, Woolsey could finally feel certain of making the slam. He led a club, planning to play dummy’s nine if West followed low, or dummy’s queen if West produced the ten or jack. East would then be forced to return a club, yielding a trick in that suit, or else concede a ruff- anddiscard. Either way, the slam was home.