Soloway sadness in today’s game of bridge

In the Soloway Teams at the Fall NABC, the seeding method saw two favored teams — Nick NICKELL and Marty FLEISHER — opposed in a first-round match. In today’s deal, both Souths played at 6NT. When NICKELL’S pair sat Northsouth, North’s bid of one club just showed a good hand; South’s 2NT showed 14+ points. North’s next two bids invited slam. South accepted.

West led the 10 of clubs. Declarer won with the queen and led a spade to dummy’s king and a club to his jack.

West won and led a heart. South ran his winners — and East smoothly threw the eight of diamonds. At the end, East had been squeezed in spades and diamonds, but declarer didn’t know that; he took the diamond finesse and went down. The outcome at the other table was similar.

When West takes the ace of clubs, he beats the slam for sure by leading a diamond, ruining the communication for the squeeze. Maybe both declarers thought West had the king to explain his failure to shift to a diamond.

FLEISHER won that match but lost in the semifinals.

While I often report deals from the final of a major event, here I don’t have the heart. Both finalist teams had a “sponsor” and paid pros. The winning team had a player who admitted to a cheating episode in 2020 but is back playing — and being hired. The losers were captained by a player who, in this same event last year, acquiesced to calling an inconsequential cellphone penalty on an opponent, flipping the result of a match his team lost at the table.

This is what top-flight bridge has become: a relentless pursuit of the illusion of success at any cost. And with the best teams money can buy.