[This hand was given to me by Rajendra Gokhale a few years back, who saw it in the sports magazine Sportsweek in India. I was awed by it then, and still am]
You are South in 1NT (playing Rubber bridge).
West leads the HQ, which you duck, and follows with the HJ and a low heart (you win the third round)
[Click on next to see the play so far]
If clubs are 3-2, ducking a club should get you to 7 tricks via 2 spades, 1 heart and 4 clubs.
If clubs are not 3-2, you probably have not much hope.
So duck a club and you are done, right?
No! Milton Rosenberg made the key play of cashing the spade Ace before ducking a club.
If you duck a club without cashing the spade Ace, you get squeezed on the fourth heart.
If you discard a spade from hand, opponents can switch to a club and blockage in spade and club suits will leave you one trick short.
If you discard a diamond, you might end up losing a bunch of diamond tricks.
You can't discard a club.
But, if you play the spade Ace before ducking a club, you can easily throw the small spade on the fourth heart. Opponents can cash two more diamond tricks, but cannot prevent you from taking your seven tricks. Brilliant play made at the table by Milton Rosenberg (during the 1980 Vanderbilt).
[Apparently, this has also appeared in one of Kelsey's book later]
You are South in 1NT (playing Rubber bridge).
West leads the HQ, which you duck, and follows with the HJ and a low heart (you win the third round)
[Click on next to see the play so far]
If clubs are 3-2, ducking a club should get you to 7 tricks via 2 spades, 1 heart and 4 clubs.
If clubs are not 3-2, you probably have not much hope.
So duck a club and you are done, right?
No! Milton Rosenberg made the key play of cashing the spade Ace before ducking a club.
If you duck a club without cashing the spade Ace, you get squeezed on the fourth heart.
If you discard a spade from hand, opponents can switch to a club and blockage in spade and club suits will leave you one trick short.
If you discard a diamond, you might end up losing a bunch of diamond tricks.
You can't discard a club.
But, if you play the spade Ace before ducking a club, you can easily throw the small spade on the fourth heart. Opponents can cash two more diamond tricks, but cannot prevent you from taking your seven tricks. Brilliant play made at the table by Milton Rosenberg (during the 1980 Vanderbilt).
[Apparently, this has also appeared in one of Kelsey's book later]
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