Source: IBPA Bulletin OCT 2022
Frank Stewart
Frank Stewart
Baron Barclay: Frank Stewart has been involved with bridge as a journalist, author, editor, competitor, and teacher. He is the creator of the popular “Daily Bridge Club” column. In a ‘reverse scramble’ golf format, a player must hit every shot twice – and play the worse of the two. Pars are rare, birdies rarer. I’ve sometimes wondered whether declarer could score extra points for making a contract, then having to make it again in a different way. This deal is a classic example of timing. I first saw it, or one like it, long ago in one of Don Von Elsner’s Jake Winkman novels Dealer South, N/S Vul
Q 5 K J 8 4 2 Q 8 2 Q J 4
A K 10 9 4 3 A J 10 3 K 9 3 8 2 6 5 9 7 5 4 10 7 6 5 2
J 7 6 3 A Q 10 9 7 K 6 A 8
West North East South
1
Dbl 2NT1 Pass 4
Pass Pass Pass
  1. Limit-raise or better in hearts
West leads the king, ace and a third spade. Declarer ruffs with the king of trumps and draws trumps with the queen and ace. Next, placing West with the missing honours, he leads a low diamond. West must play low. When dummy’s queen wins, declarer leads a trump to his hand, discards a diamond from dummy on his jack of spades and exits with the king of diamonds to endplay West. That is elegant play, but declarer also succeeds by running the trumps to reach:
8 2 Q J
  A J K 9 9 7 10 7
A K A 8
The last trump strip-squeezes West. It appears that the endplay is better; declarer need not guess West’s distribution

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