Goren on Bridge

“Master Bridge” was a 14-episode TV series produced in the United Kingdom in 1983. It featured team competition, for prize money, between eight international stars of the time, including the late Omar Sharif. A careful search will find them on YouTube. Sharif was South, in today’s deal, the final deal in the Master Bridge series.

East won the opening spade lead with the ace. He knew that partner was broke, so he had to find a way to defeat the contract in his own hand. East found a spectacular shift to the king of hearts! He was attacking dummy’s entry to the long club suit. Sharif played low from his hand and won the trick with dummy’s ace. East ducked the first club, won the second, and reverted to spades, leading the six.

Sharif won with the king and tried to execute an end play. He cashed the queen of spades, followed by the queen and jack of hearts. East played his last spade, and then the eight and 10 of hearts. Sharif led the six of hearts for the end play, but East deftly followed suit with the carefully preserved four! No end play and down one for Sharif.

The same contract was defeated at the other table also after the same lovely defense. Could it have been made? Yes. Declarer would have prevailed had he played his six of hearts under the king at trick two. He would then have been able to end play East by leading his three of hearts to East’s four.

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