Contract Bridge

This wild deal occurred in the 1993 world team championship in the semifinal match between the United States and the Netherlands.

The bidding shown took place when Eric Rodwell and Marty Bergen were East-West for the U.S., playing against Enri Leufkens, South, and Berry Westra, North.

Things started innocently enough with Leufkens’ marginal one-club opening and Bergen’s flimsy spade overcall. Westra now had a number of options and chose to cuebid spades, implying club support and a good hand. Rodwell then leaped to four hearts, and Bergen raised to five to try to muddy the waters.

Westra was not intimidated, however, and continued to six clubs, doubled by Rodwell. Conventionally, this asked Bergen not to lead hearts, the suit East had bid, but it left Bergen in the dark as to which suit Rodwell wanted led.

Had Bergen led a spade,

Rodwell would have ruffed, and declarer would eventually have lost a diamond to go down one. But Bergen chose a diamond, after which Leufkens won with the ace, drew trumps and double finessed in spades to bring in the slam for a score of 1,540 points.

At the other table, with Larry Cohen and David Berkowitz North-South for the U.S. and Wubbo de Boer and Bauke Muller East-West, the bidding went:

Here, de Boer elected to take out insurance against the impending slam by bidding six hearts, in the process assuring the Dutch a huge gain regardless of what happened next. The American pair’s decision to take out insurance of their own by bidding seven clubs -- which went down one -- cost little extra, and the Dutch gained 19 IMPs on the deal.

Tomorrow: A time to rise and shine.