+41 (0) 21 544 7218 Contact Us

Menu
A Game of Queens

A Game of Queens

By In 16th World Bridge Series On 30th August 2022


Tom Hanlon does not like to blow his own trumpet, but some deals are too pretty to remain unmentioned. This is from the third session of the Open Pairs Final:

The QuadriJ was led, for Tom’s queen. He realized that there was not much chance unless the PiccheQ was singleton, so he played the king at trick 2! Success!
But his work was not yet finished. Tom next played the PiccheJ, ducked by North. He went to the table with the FioriA and played spades until North took the ace. He won the heart return in dummy and drew the outstanding trumps to reach this ending:

When Tom came to hand with a diamond South could not afford to pitch a heart as declarer would then play a heart, setting up the queen. However, when he threw a club Tom could cash the king of clubs and exit with a club forcing South to surrender the game going trick to the queen of hearts.
+620 was not quite a top because three Easts made a tenth trick in 3NT and two North’s went for -800 in 2Picchex, but no-one else took ten tricks in spades.


About the Author

Mark Horton
Mark Horton

Mark Horton British journalist and expert player, was Editor of Bridge Magazine 1995-2017 and now edits the online publication Bridgerama+. At one time, his business cards were inscribed: Have Cards will Travel, but following the death of his most famous sponsor, the Rabbi Leonard Helman, he has tended to concentrate on his writing exploits (in 2018 he had five books published!). Anyone wanting to discover how to lose at bridge on a regular basis (and pay for the privilege) should feel free to contact him. He currently lives in Shrewsbury with his wife Liz.