Bridge

This deal was a splendid example of opportunism. It was played by Danny Rotman of Florida and described by Eddie Kantar in the excellent magazine Bridge Today.

The bidding was short and sweet. After three passes, Rotman as South opened 1! and West doubled. North raised pre-emptively to 4! and South jumped to the heart slam.

West led 4Q against Six Hearts and dummy was a grave disappointment - it held all the wrong cards! It looked a hopeless cause, with three potential losers (two spades and a diamond) and no immediate discards. There was, however, a slender chance. Try covering up the East-West hands and see if you can spot it.

Declarer won immediately, crossed to dummy with a trump and led 210. He had every intention of running it, but East covered with his jack. Dummy was re-entered with a second trump and 28 finessed successfully. Now both of dummy's diamonds went away on top clubs and one loser had been avoided.

South ruffed his solitary diamond on the table, eliminating the suit, and all that remained to do was exit with a spade. East won and, with only diamonds left, had to concede a ruff and discard and South's last losing spade went away.

The contract was the same at the other table, but the opening lead was #A which left declarer with no chance.