Source: 26th BERMUDA BOWL Stockholm 1983 , registred by B.K.Boswell (ecatsbridge.com)
All comments are by Edgar Kaplan.
The modern fashion in cuebids is not to show anything in particular, but to cast a rosy glow over the whole auction.
Declarer led the ace of trumps and it held. So now he must reconsider his options.
As you can see, neither pair had any difficulty reaching their 19-point game. The difficulty will come in the play.
Our Vu-Graph operator played the ace of spades out of turn.
South is violating the first rule of rubber bridge — when leading a singleton, lead it fast!
There are three right plays in bridge — what’s correct on analysis, what works, and what I would do.
North obeyed the old rule if you can’t follow suit, follow color.
Meckstroth’s opening two-spade bid is better than his usual he has two kings on the side and a fifth and sixth spade
He could have made his contract, I but he decided to take a safety play for down one.
Now comes the battle — will North-South succeed in going down in hearts, or will East-West succeed in going down in diamonds?
Jean Besse: Well, you must do a lot of things before you can endplay East. Edgar: Yes, but that’s your job, Jean. If you don’t want to do a lot of things, you must stay in Switzerland.
If North had passed, East-West could have continued with their relays. As it is, we will not be able to follow their auction. What a relief!
If he plays ace and another spade, he will hold it to down 200. But his objective is not necessarily to go down 200.
Anybody can take a finesse. But if you produce an endplay, you have made an educated play.
The contract is six spades. If the opening lead is a black or red card, it will be held to six.