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By In 1st IMSA World Masters Championships On 18th May 2019


Some players always seem to make the news, none more so in recent years than Boye Brogeland. Along with his partner Christain Bakke, he was at it again on this deal from the third session of the Open Pairs at the 2019 IMSA World Masters:

The popular contract was 3NT, usually reached via 1NT-3NT.
With diamonds 2-2 and the FioriK onside you would hope there was a way to take all the tricks via squeeze, but not everyone managed it.
After a spade lead one way to do it is to win in dummy, cash a couple of diamonds and play the FioriJ covered by the king and ace. Declarer then plays to reach this position:

The last diamond forces West to part with a heart. The Fiori8 is discarded having done its work and East throws a club. When declarer crosses to dummy with the FioriQ East is the victim of a non-simultaneous double squeeze.

However, it is clear that 6Quadri is a good spot for NS – even if there is a diamond loser the club finesse will be enough to see you home as you can ruff a heart. However only player considered introducing the diamond suit:

The critical decision was to bid 4Quadri, risking that NS might have to play in 5Quadri when a higher scoring 3NT was available. North’s 4Cuori cue bid inferentially promised fair support for diamonds. Naturally declarer took all the tricks, +1390.


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.