July 2018 - 13

tried 5♣. It was doubled and went
down two). LALL picked up 10 when
Justin and Bathurst bid a vulnerable
game that wasn't reached in the other
room. And another 17 IMPs when Justin and Bathurst bid a laydown grand
slam; a conventional mishap stopped
Nickell and Katz in game.
NICKELL recovered 20 IMPs before
the segment closed, but they trailed by
31 going into the final 15 boards.
The vugraph commentators all but
declared NICKELL dead midway
through the set when Meckwell bid a
grand slam which failed to fetch.
Dlr: North ♠ 10 8
Vul: N-S ♥ Q 10 6
Bd: 21
♦J6432
♣965
♠K92
♠AQ7654
♥J854
♥AK
♦ A K 10 8 7 5
♦-
♣-
♣ K 10 8 4 3
♠J3
♥9732
♦Q9
♣AQJ72
Meckstroth
2♣
2NT
3♦
3♠
5♣
6♣
7♠

Rodwell
1♣
2♥
3♣
3♥
3NT
5NT
6♥
Pass

After Rodwell's strong club opening,
the pair found their nine-card spade
fit. Meckstroth employed exclusion
Blackwood to pinpoint the two relevant key cards, the trump queen and
the ♥K, and bid 7♠.
North led the ♠10. Meckstroth won
the ♠K, cashed the ♦A K and ruffed a
diamond low. South overruffed, sinking the grand.
The slam makes if spades are 2-2
and diamonds can be brought in for
five tricks. Meckstroth played to establish the diamonds with one ruff. After
seeing South follow to the ♦A K

with the ♦9 and ♦Q, he played for
South to hold the ♦J as well, which
didn't happen. On this day, the winning line was to take the spade lead in
the East hand, play a spade to the king,
cash the top diamonds and take a ruffing finesse against the ♦J. A club ruff
is the transportation declarer needs to
enjoy the diamonds when North's ♦J
is spent.
West
Bathurst
1♥(2)
2♦
3♠

North
Levin
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

East
J. Lall
1♣(1)
1♠
3♣
4♠

South
W'stein
Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass

(1) 16+, forcing.
(2) 8-11 HCP, denies five spades.
In the other room, Justin also opened
a strong club, but the pair bid only to
four and no more. 11 IMPs to LALL,
expanding their lead to 45 IMPs with
nine boards to play.
And then the NICKELL comeback
machine started to kick into gear.
NICKELL picked up 12 IMPs when
Rodwell made the right lead against a
3NT contract, and 11 IMPs when LALL
took a phantom sacrifice against 4♠
and went down three doubled. And
they pocketed another 11 when they
bid a vulnerable heart game that wasn't
reached at the other table. Now the
margin was 13 with five to play.
Dlr: East
Vul: Both
Bd: 26

♠AK63
♥K9864
♦-
♣ J 10 8 6
♠J
♠ 10 9
♥ Q 10 7 2
♥J
♦ J 10 8 4 3
♦AKQ976
♣972
♣K543
♠Q87542
♥A53
♦52
♣AQ
West
M'stroth

North
Pepsi

Pass
All Pass

4♦

East
Rodwell
1♦
Dbl

South
Zia
1♠
4♠

West
B'hurst
Dbl
Pass
All Pass

North East
Levin J. Lall
1♦
4♦
Dbl
5♦
Pass

South
W'stein
1♠
4♥
6♠

Where Zia signed off in game after
his partner's splinter bid, Weinstein
countered with a 4♥ cuebid. Levin,
who liked the sound of that, confirmed
that there were no diamond losers on
the hand, and South bid 6♠. 13 IMPs to
NICKELL and the match was even.
The teams traded 4-IMP swings
and on the penultimate board, a push.
When the last board hit the table, the
match was tied at 229.
Dlr: East ♠ A K Q J 10 8 4
Vul: None ♥ 9
♦3
Bd: 30
♣ A J 10 5
♠96
♠752
♥Q32
♥ A K 10 7 4
♦ Q 10 6 5 4
♦J97
♣942
♣Q7
♠3
♥J865
♦AK82
♣K863
West North
B'hurst Levin
1♠(1)

4♠

East
South
J. Lall W'stein
1♥
Pass
All Pass

(1) 0-4 HCP, treated like a forcing 1NT.
6♠ is a good contract with the
North-South cards, but the opponents' opening volley banished any
slam thoughts Levin and Weinstein
may have had. East cashed the ♥A and
tried to cash the king. North ruffed,
drew trumps, played the top two diamonds (pitching a club) and ruffed a
heart. Down came the ♥Q, allowing
Levin to park his other losing club on
the ♥J. Making six for plus 480.
Rodwell chose not to open the East
hand at the other table.

July 2018 Bridge Bulletin

13
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2018
