MADEIRA
BRIDGE
Perfect reading
Andrew Robson
A BRILLIANT defensive play was matched by perfect card reading by declar- er on this week's hand from a rubber at the Portland Club.
The Bidding
South West North East 1, Pass
2♦
Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All pass West, Rhydian Morgan-Jones, led 4K on which East played 42 to discourage. Declar- er, Richard Collins, ducked, hoping for a second 4 to be led into his AJ. Rhydian, as flamboyant at the bridge table as he is in real life, sipped his champagne, took a puff of his large cigar and placed on the table the one card that gave the defence a chance. Can you spot it? He led 4Q! Declarer could not afford to withhold dummy's king West would continue with a low 4, estab- lishing his fourth card, and leaving East with a 4 to lead back to him. Winning +0 with dummy's king, he played off his five V win- ners, on which West discarded two 4s and a 4. Declarer now led 49 and West followed with his last 4. It was surely tempting to play low in dummy, hoping for West to hold 4K. Had he done that, East would have won 4K and led 410, creating three * tricks for West — to defeat the contract. However, Richard realised that West had shown (inferentially) 4K0 and +AQ. With 4K in addition, he would surely have bid over 1V. Placing 4K with East, he rose with dummy's 4A and played 4A and 4J. West won 40 and was forced to lead +s away from his ace, giving declarer his ninth trick with 4J. Provided declarer reads the end- position, there is no sequence of discards by West that defeats the contract. But that does not detract from West's inspired shift to 40; note that a low 4 would not suffice declarer would run it round to his jack, retaining dummy's king over the ace.
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