Up went the Ace, down went the contract*


* The title belongs to an article written by Edgar Kaplan in 1997

One of our roving reporters spotted a nice play by Arne Larsson on this deal.


Board 18. Dealer East. NS Game
spade K 6 2
heart 10 3
diamond A 6
club K Q J 8 6 4
spade A Q 10 4 3 spade J 9 7
heart Q 4 heart A K J 6
diamond J 9 4 2 diamond 8 7 3
club A 9 club 7 5 3
spade 8 5
heart 9 8 7 5 2
diamond K Q 10 5
club 10 2

West North East South
Larsson Andersson

Pass Pass
1spade 2club 2spade Pass
Pass 3club 3spade All Pass


Arne started with the king of clubs and declarer took the ace and played three rounds of hearts, discarding the club9. North ruffed and tried the clubQ. West ruffed and played a diamond. If North plays low on this trick the defence gets into a tangle because the diamond suit is blocked. Of course, for an about to be crowned European Champion, this was not a problem. Larsson went up with the diamondA and played a second diamond. That ensured the defeat of the contract and a reasonable share of the matchpoints.

Results Contents
Teams, Round 1
Teams, Round 2
Teams, Round 3
Teams, Round 4
Unlucky or Misjudged
Same System, by Jean-Paul Meyer
Up Went the Ace
Masterful Maas
Honours Even, by Marc Smith
Watch Board 10



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