Hand of the Week
| West | North | East | South |
| 1♥ | |||
| Pass | 2♥ | Pass | 4♥ |
| All Pass |
This deal from the Bermuda Bowl in Bermuda in 2000 was mishandled by many declarers. One of those who succeeded was Fred Gitelman, a Canadian now living in the USA. The hands have been rotated.
West led a low spade, taken by Gitelman in dummy. He did not fall into the first trap, cashing the ♠K prematurely, in which case he would have lost control. Instead, he continued with a heart to the king, felling the queen. Gitelman realized that continuing hearts would again result in his losing control, so he played the ♣K to West’s ace. West persisted in spades.
Gitelman, who had played defensively to that point, realized it was time to change gears. He won the ♠K, ruffed a spade, cashed his top diamonds and the ♣Q and crossed to dummy’s ♣J.
The fourth round of spades allowed him to score a ninth trick with a ruff, then his last club was ruffed with the ♥J. East could overruff with the ♥A, but was down to the ♥10 8 while Gitelman was poised over him with the ♥9 7. No matter what East did, Gitelman could come to 10 tricks.
The full deal:
