THE LOCATION IS UNIMPORTANT

Yesterday, I pointed out that bridge players do not care about race or religion. They are also unconcerned about venue. The annual world championships have gone to all four corners of the globe -- if the geoid of a planet can have corners! In today's deal, how should South have played in three no-trump after taking the first trick with dummy's club queen?

The deal occurred in Chinese Taipei during the 1971 Bermuda Bowl final between France and the Aces (the American professional team formed by Ira Corn Jr.).

South's two-no-trump rebid showed a balanced hand with five hearts: too strong for a one-no-trump opening but not strong enough for two no-trump.

For France, at trick two,

Roger Trezel (South) called for a low spade. However, Bobby Wolff (East) wasn't caught napping. He shot in with the spade ace and returned the club 10. Jim Jacoby (West) took four club tricks to defeat the contract.

Bobby Goldman did much better. He took the diamond finesse at trick two. If West had won with the king, declarer would have still been all right unless West could have put East on lead with a spade for the lethal club play -after which, as we have just seen, the contract would have been unmakable.

Here, though, the diamond finesse won. So, Goldman played a heart to dummy's ace, repeated the diamond finesse and claimed nine top tricks

bridge

from five hearts, three diamonds and one club.

The Aces (Billy Eisenberg-Bob Hamman, Goldman-Mike Lawrence and Jacoby-Wolff) won the 128-board match by 243 international match points to 182. Copyright United Feature Syndicate

(Asia Features)