DAILY BRIDGE CLUB
In the Soloway Teams at the Fall NABC, the seeding method saw two favored teams — Nick NICKELL and Marty FLEISHER — opposed in a first-round match. In today’s deal, both Souths played at 6NT. When NICKELL’s pair sat North-South, North’s bid of one club just showed a good hand; South’s 2NT showed 14+ points. North’s next two bids invited slam. South accepted.
West led the 10of clubs. Declarer won with the queen and led a spade to dummy’s king and a club to his jack. Westwon and led a heart. South ran his winners— and East smoothly threw the eight of diamonds. At the end, East had been squeezed in spades and diamonds, but declarer didn’t know that; he took the diamond finesse and went down. The outcome at the other table was similar.
When West takes the ace of clubs, he beats the slam for sure by leading a diamond, ruining the communication for the squeeze. Maybe both declarers thought West had the king to explain his failure to shift to a diamond.
FLEISHER won that match but lost in the semifinals.
While I often report deals from the final of a major event, here I don’t have the heart. Both finalist teams had a “sponsor” and paid pros. The winning team had a player who admitted to a cheating episode in 2020 but is back playing – and being hired. The losers were captained by a player who, in this same event last year, acquiesced to calling an inconsequential cellphone penalty on an opponent, flipping the result ofa match his team lost at the table.
This is what top-flight bridge has become: a relentless pursuit of the illusion of success at any cost. And with the best teams money can buy. West dealer