Contract Bridge

The most dramatic deal of the 1984 World Team Olympiad is the one shown here. The setting was the semifinal match between a Polish team and a young, dark-horse Austrian squad that had upset the highly favored U.S. entry in the quarterfinals the day before.

The deal was the very last

of the 64-board match, and as the players picked up their cards, the Austrians held a narrow lead of three IMPs. The hand had already been played at the other table, and the huge audience watching was wellaware that the Austrian EastWest pair at that table had achieved an excellent result. They had doubled four hearts and set it a trick for a 200-point gain.

The Austrian North-South pair at this table could thus afford to duplicate that result and still win the match. But a peculiar thing happened on the way to the final.

The Austrians also wound up in four hearts doubled after North opened two diamonds, promising both majors. The Polish declarer at the first table had lost the obvious four tricks, but here something went awry.

East won the opening club lead, then played the ace and another spade. Instead of discarding, as he should have, declarer ruffed with the three of hearts and led the heart ten to East’s king.

East persevered with

spades, and South this time trumped with the queen and led his last heart to East’s ace. East’s spade return then allowed West to score the eight of hearts for down two and plus 500 for Poland.

As a result, the Poles gained seven IMPs on the deal to win the match by four. Not only that, but the next day they easily defeated France in the final to take the title.

Of such stuff are world championships sometimes made!

Tomorrow: A defender’s nightmare.