Contract Bridge

This deal, played at an international tournament in Tokyo some years ago, features an amusing exchange between Martin Hoffman and Jeremy Flint, two British experts holding the East-West cards. Flint’s double of six diamonds called for an unusual lead and helped Hoffman find the deadly heart opening.

Flint ruffed dummy’s king of hearts, reducing declarer’s 12 top tricks to 11, but then returned a low spade. South played the queen, thereby regaining his 12th trick, and soon after claimed the rest. “That spade return gave him the slam,” Hoffman wailed. “Bet you 2,000 yen he can always make it,” countered Flint.

“You’re on,” Hoffman replied, “but the winner has to buy the next two beers.”

Flint agreed and pointed out that after any other return -- say a club -- declarer wins in dummy and runs six diamonds, producing this position:

Declarer now leads a heart to the ace, and East is in trouble. If he throws a spade, South cashes the spade ace, catching the king, and takes the last three tricks with the club ace, diamond four and spade queen. If East instead discards a club, declarer cashes the ace and ruffs a club, and dummy takes the last two tricks with the ace of spades and seven of clubs.

And so, Flint won the battle but, as it turned out, lost the war! In Japan, two beers cost 12,000 yen!

Tomorrow: Delicate declarer

play.