GOREN ON BRIDGE

Patrick Huang, of Chinese Taipei, has been one of Asia’s leading players for many years. Today’s deal is from a World Championship team event played in 1989. He was South and the great French player, Christian Mari, was West. North’s leap to slam was a little flamboyant, but he felt that his excellent diamond suit made his hand worth more than 16 points.

Huang won the opening club lead in hand and led a low spade to dummy’s queen, winning the trick. He then ran off five diamond tricks, shedding two low hearts from his hand. Mari, West, could see what was coming, so he discarded his low heart on the fourth diamond, leaving himself with the singleton king, and a low spade on the fifth. Three more club tricks came next. Huang discarded his remaining low spade and West continued his deceptive defense by discarding the jack of spades.

Some declarers would take the heart finesse at this point. Others would exit dummy with a spade, hoping that West would win with a singleton ace and have to lead a heart.

This was the image that

Mari had been trying to create with his skillful defense. Huang looked at the great player on his left and asked himself if Mari would really have made it that easy for him? Also, the early heart discard was a little suspicious, as Mari had a spade or two to spare. Huang led the queen of hearts from dummy and played the ace from his hand. Great was the fall thereon, as the late Edgar Kaplan liked to say. Well done!