BRIDGE
Play boldly
Andrew Robson
BEING one of the world's truly great play- ers involves more than just brilliant tech- nique. Enough confidence in one's table- feel to disregard the odds is the hallmark of such bridge geniuses as Belladonna, Craw- ford and our own Adam Meredith.
The newest genius to emerge is 26 year-old Geir Helgemo from Norway who made a slam that defeated all other experts.
The Bidding 0 South 24
6• West 21, pass North 34 pass East pass Helgemo trumped West's ,K lead, drew the trumps in one round and paused to consider. His contract seemed to depend on the 4s splitting 3-3 in which case he could establish his 13th 4 to discard a from dummy. This involved losing a 4 , so at trick two declarer led a low 4 towards dummy. West played low and dummy's 47 was won by East's 4J who fired back a sec- ond 4. It seems normal to rise with the king, cash the ace and prey for the 3-3 split. Helgemo played low from his hand on the second 4, a play displaying great courage, and won the trick with dummy's nine. He cashed 4A and 4K, discarding dummy's losing 4, and claimed. How had Helgemo read the 4 position?
When West played a low 4 on the first round, he presumably did not hold the ten or he would have played it to beat dummy's nine. So East held 410, yet had won the trick with 4J to fire back a 4. Why had he not switched to +s? Helgemo correctly rea- soned that East was trying to frighten him into playing 4K.
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