Bridge - The Scotsman 05/04/2012

WHEN defending at Pairs your aim is to take as many tricks as possible; at teams your aim is to defeat the contract, with no concern for the overtricks that your defence may concede.

Watch John Murdoch gain 12 imps at the Senior European Trials

South’s 2NT was a game try aimed at finding out whether partner had made a three-card raise, and North liked his distribution enough to bid the thin game. West led a trump, which ran to the ten. Declarer played a heart to the king, and returned to hand with the queen of spades to play a second heart. Most of us would win the ace before it ran away, but John Murdoch could see that gave up all hope of beating the contract: declarer could draw trump, discard club losers on dummy’s winning hearts, and make his game with ease. So John ducked the second heart. This play risks an overtrick – declarer can win the queen, ruff a heart and guess well in clubs – but it gives him a chance to go wrong. John played with such apparent unconcern that South was persuaded he could not have the ace. He inserted the ten, losing to East’s jack. Iain Sime switched to the king of diamonds. Declarer won the ace, drew the last trump, and ruffed a heart to establish the suit. Then he played a diamond to the ten and queen. East led a club, giving declarer a guess for his contract – inevitably, under this sort of pressure, he guessed wrong.