Famous Hand BRIDGE

This deal occurred in the U.s.-great Britain final at the 1987 world team championship. The British gained heavily when their declarer brought in a tricky

vulnerable game, while his American counterpart at the other table failed in the same contract.

At both tables, West led his singleton heart against four spades. Both declarers put up the ace and led a club, and both Easts rose with the ace and returned a low heart. It was here that the play diverged.

The American declarer ruffed the heart return with the spade eight and was overruffed by the ten. West shifted to a diamond, taken by South, who ruffed a club in dummy.

Declarer now led the nine of spades to his queen and ruffed his last club, but was then left with a Hobson’s choice: He could either fatally shorten himself in the trump suit by ruffing a heart, or lead a diamond. In practice, he tried to reach his hand with a diamond, and East ruffed for down one.

At the other table, Bob Sheehan, the English declarer, refused to ruff East’s heart return at trick three, discarding a low club instead. Sheehan no doubt reasoned that this was a trick he could afford to lose regardless of how the hearts were divided, and it offered the additional advantage of allowing him to keep his trumps intact.

West ruffed the heart with the ten and returned a diamond, but Sheehan was now in full control. He won the diamond with the ten, ruffed his last club and played the king of trump from dummy.

East could take his ace whenever he pleased, but the contract was home, declarer losing tricks only to the ten and ace of spades and the ace of clubs. The

720 points gained gave the British a 12-IMP pickup on the deal.

Tomorrow: Is there a doctor in the

house?