Blame it on Rio

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Meckstroth-Grue-Rodwell

Source: 1999 IBPA Bulletins

On this deal from the 1999 Grand National Teams, Flight A, Eric Rodwell described the situation he arrived at as a Rio de Janeiro squeeze, so named after being described by a Brazilian player. Rodwell and Jeff Meckstroth were representing District 9 in the GNT-A against District 6. The deal helped the Floridians to an impressive victory in the GNT semifinals.

Mano Rodwell

(1) Showing a spade fit.

South led diamond suitA and continued with clubA, club10. Rodwell won the clubJ and stopped to reflect on what he knew about the opponents’ hands – in a word, everything. Rodwell read the diamond suitA lead as a singleton, he knew North had at most two hearts and he correctly counted North for five clubs.

Eric Kokish Rodwell Weinstein Meckstroth
Eric Kokish Rodwell Weinstein Meckstroth

He also decided that South’s heart suit was headed by the top three honours (he probably would have bid 4heart suit over 2spade missing the heart suitQ). With these deductions in mind, Rodwell set about making life miserable for North.

At trick three, Rodwell ruffed a club in dummy, ruffed a heart, played a spade to dummy’s king, cashed the spadeJ and ruffed a second heart. This was the position:Mano Rodwell pos final

When Rodwell cashed spadeA, pitching a heart from dummy, North was dead. If he discarded a diamond, Rodwell could cash the diamond suitK and another diamond, establishing a long diamond as trick number 10 (North would have to put Rodwell in with a forced club return). When North actually discarded a club, Rodwell cashed his clubK, stripping North’s last club, and played a low diamond to dummy’s 10, endplaying North to lead away from diamond suit J 8 in the end. Plus 790 was good for a 12-IMP gain because Rodwell’s team-mates at the other table were minus 50 in 4heart suit.