BRIDGE
Weight counts
Andrew Robson
ARGUABLY THE BEST partnership in the world is America's Jeff Meckstroth and Eric Rodwell.
Incredibly aggressive bidders, they always open the bidding with eleven points, frequently with ten and sometimes even fewer. Rodwell is a studious theoreti- cian who spends his time devising weird new conventions. Meckstroth has twice the girth of his partner and plays his bridge in an entirely different way: playing the peo- ple more than the cards, he has more sheer chutzpah than any other top player — witness this: Dealer South Neither Side Vulnerable
The Bidding South West North East 1. Pass 111 Pass 14 Pass Pass 2V 3♦ Double All Pass West led VA against 3♦ doubled, and switched to a club; East won and returned a club. South, Meckstroth won and led the • J — a brilliantly unorthodox play which West couldn't fathom. Surely he would not do this with •AKJ — he'd take a finesse (crossing to dummy and playing a diamond to the J)? Reasoning along those lines, West played low — fatally. Declarer cashed the *A, receiving the expected bad news as East discarded (West's double had tipped declarer off to the likely bad trump break). He led a spade which West won and exited with his second spade. Winning with dummy's king, declarer cashed and 4►J, throwing spades. He could safely ruff the fourth club with the •2 (East had discarded on the third club) leaving as his last three cards •K87; West was known to have just three diamonds: Q 105. Meck- stroth led *7 and West was endplayed he won the ♦10 and had to give declarer the last two tricks with the •K8.
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