RR 3 A problem from the Swiss; as East you open 4[ in second seat at favorable vulnerability, and receive the lead of the }3. You play low from dummy and take the }K with the ace. You try a trump to the king, and it holds. Maybe now is the moment to lead a top heart from dummy but you prefer instead to play a second trump. North discards the ]5 (low for encouraging) and South shifts to a low diamond. You put on the {K and it holds. Now you try the ]K, low on your right, so you ruff and draw the last trump. Now when you advance the }9 South wins and leads a low diamond… over to you! ♠ K J ♥ K Q 94 ♦ K Q 1 0 ♣ J 8 6 5 ♠ Q 1 0 9 8 7 4 3 ♥ - ♦ 9 5 4 ♣ 9 2 When East reached the critical moment of the deal he served that South had already shown up by inference with the ace of spades and hearts and the club queen. If he had the diamond ace as well he might have doubled 4[. So the percentages favored putting in the {J. Nice reasoning -- up to a point, but something had gone totally wrong with the calculation. This was the full deal. Board 5. Dealer North. N/S Vul.   ♠ 2 ♥ A J 10 6 5 ♦ J 8 6 2 ♣ K 7 4 ♠ K J ♥ K Q 9 4 ♦ K Q 10 ♣ J 8 6 5 ♠ Q 10 9 8 7 4 3 ♥ - ♦ 9 5 4 ♣ A 9 2   ♠ A 6 5 ♥ 8 7 3 2 ♦ A 7 3 ♣ Q 10 3 Brad Moss was South and Fred Gitelman North, and both f them had done well in the play, Moss to underlead in diamonds twice and Gitelman to duck his ]A in tempo. How had he managed that? Well, he knew that Moss had only three diamonds so East had to have seven spades and three diamonds and at least two clubs. Since declarer would surely have led his heart to dummy at trick two if he had a singleton, a void was the most likely holding. Brian Senior (playing with Geoff Wolfarth) gave me the following problem. You hold:   ♠ 6 ♥ A Q 1 0 4 ♦ A K Q 8 4 3 2 ♣ 8 With both sides vulnerable, after the auction goes 1{ from you, 1[ on your left, 1NT from partner, 2] on the right from your apparently sound opponent. What would your choice be? Senior chose the agricultural jump to 3NT – not that anything else is so much more appealing. The bad news was that he went three down in 3NT with six of a minor making. The good news…well have a look at the full deal with the auction from the other table. Board 10. Dealer East. All Vul.   ♠ A 10 ♥ J 8 7 6 3 ♦ 7 ♣ Q 10 9 7 4 ♠ Q 8 7 4 3 ♥ K 9 5 2 ♦ J 5 ♣ J 5 ♠ 6 ♥ A Q 10 4 ♦ A K Q 8 4 3 2 ♣ 8   ♠ K J 9 5 2 ♥ - ♦ 10 9 6 ♣ A K 6 3 2 West North East South 1♦ 1♠ Pass Pass 2♥ 3♣ 3♥ 4♦ 5♦ 6♣ Dble All pass     It is hard to blame E/W too much for any of their actions – though a jump to 3{ by East at his second turn might have led to him playing a partscore! After that start both North and South did remarkably well, to my mind, and the final contract necessitated only a good guess in spades, and Isporski had not come this far to misplay that suit. A few boards later in the next match the same player had a chance to administer another beating to an opponent he had recently collected a penalty of 2000 against. Board 23. Dealer South. All Vul.   ♠ A 3 ♥ J 10 ♦ J 8 5 4 3 ♣ K J 6 2 ♠ 8 7 ♥ A 7 6 5 ♦ 7 ♣ Q 9 7 5 4 3 ♠ Q 6 5 4 2 ♥ 9 8 4 3 ♦ Q 10 6 ♣ 8   ♠ K J 10 9 ♥ K Q 2 ♦ A K 9 2 ♣ A 10 Some of you may have been focusing on this deal in another context, but when Isporski opened a strong club he knew he was playing against a young and aggressive pair. West North East South Schollaardt Al-Shati Drijver Isporski 1♣ 1♥(1) Dble Pass Pass 2♣ Dble 2♥ Dble All pass       (1)spades or four hearts + a minor Isporski’s pass of 1] doubled was a gamble, based on his reading of West’s temperament. And he had gambled correctly, when West decided his trumps were not good enough to play facing a penalty double. 2] on a trump lead was no fun for anyone but the defenders. Declarer took the second trump and led a diamond to the {10 and {K, and after one more round of trumps and two clubs, the {J held declarer to just his three trump tricks: down 1400!

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