Janet de Botton

Bridge | 2 May 2013

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Alexander Larman

What happened to the Rishi Sunak I knew at school?

Derek Oram made a very thoughtful play on this board, one that would normally not be that significant but turned out to make all the difference:

At my table the bidding went the same way but West led the ♣Q and I went one off. At Derek’s table one of my teammates selected the more attacking ♦J lead and declarer hurried to pitch one of his club losers. What next? Derek paused to take stock and then ruffed a diamond with the ♠10, tried a heart to the Queen which held the trick and a heart to his 10 and West’s Jack. The defence is now over. If they don’t play two rounds of trump, declarer will score a heart ruff in dummy. If they do play two rounds of trump, dummy will hold the trick and make the rest.

Ah, I can hear you saying; can’t you make your contract by discarding the last club on the third diamond? But that gives East the chance to find the expert play of a small spade…

As I said — heartbreaking.

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