Bridge Column for August 21, 1994 
East - West vulnerable.  West deals.
                              NORTH
                              S: 2               
                              H: K Q 9 6 4 3 
                              D: A J 6 2     
                              C: K Q             
            WEST                             EAST
            S: J 10 6 4 3                    S: A 8 7        
            H: 8 2                           H: A 7 5      
            D: 8                             D: 9 5 4             
            C: A 9 7 5 4                     C: J 6 3 2     
                              SOUTH                         
                              S: K Q 9 5
                              H: J 10         
                              D: K Q 10 7 3    
                              C: 10 8//        
                  WEST     NORTH     EAST      SOUTH              
                 Cohen   Rodwell  Berkowitz Meckstroth
                  Pass      1C       Pass       2C  
                  Pass      2D       Pass       2H  
                  Pass      3C       Pass       3D  
                  Pass      3H       Pass       3S  
                  Pass      4H     (All Pass)//     
     Each year the American Contract Bridge League conducts a
Grand National Team Championship competition.  Qualifying rounds
are held at the local and district levels, and each district
sends its winning team to the summer North American Bridge
Championships to play in the final round of this national
championship event.
     This July, in San Diego, with one hand to go, the District
24 team (Jimmy Cayne, New York; Alan Sontag, Gaithersburg, MD;
David Berkowitz, Old Tappan, NJ; and Larry Cohen, Little Falls,
NJ) trailed the District 11 team (Doug Simson, Columbus, OH;
Walter Johnson, Hilliard, OH; Jeff Meckstroth, Reynoldsburg, OH;
and Eric Rodwell, West Lafayette, IN) by seven international
match points (IMPS).
     The hand shown above was the final hand of the match. 
Rodwell and Meckstroth were using their own system "RM
Precision", and arrived at a very normal four heart contract,
except that the North hand, which would normally be the declaring
hand, wound up as the dummy.  Cohen led his singleton diamond and
in the fullness of time the contract was defeated one trick
(three aces and a diamond ruff).
     The auction at the other table also led to four hearts, but
with North as the declarer.
                  WEST     NORTH     EAST      SOUTH              
                Johnson    Cayne    Simson     Sontag 
                  Pass      1H       Pass       1S  
                  Pass      2H       Pass       4H  
                  (All Pass)
     Simson led a small club.  Johnson won the ace and returned
the singleton diamond, won in the South hand with the king.  A
heart was played.  Simson won the ace and led a diamond which was
ruffed by Johnson.  Johnson returned a club, won by declarer, who
ended up discarding his singleton spade on the fifth diamond,
making the game contract.  Simson could have eliminated the
problem by cashing the ace of spades before attempting to give
Johnson the diamond ruff.  When he didn't do this, Johnson had no
way of knowing for sure whether it was right to return a spade or
a club.  Making four hearts while his teammates defeated the same
contract earned Cayne ten IMPs and the 1994 championship.