Great play, no reward

This article analyzes a bridge match between Italy and Norway, focusing on the strategic decisions made by declarers and defenders. It highlights the technical brilliance of the players despite the final outcomes of the hands.
Why it matters
It serves as an educational piece for bridge enthusiasts interested in high-level game theory and defensive tactics.
Today’s deal is from a recent match between a team from Italy and a team from Norway. All the players were top tier. Declarer won the opening diamond lead in dummy with the ace, led a heart to his ace, and cashed the king of hearts to draw the last trump. He cashed dummy’s ace and king of spades and ruffed a diamond back to his hand. He cashed the queen of spades, discarding a club from dummy, and exited with a low club. Had West played the jack, East would have been endplayed with the king and forced to give a ruff-sluff, presenting declarer with his doubled contract. West was Italian Giovanni Donati, and he rose with his ace of clubs, swallowing East’s king, and cashed two more clubs for down one. Outstanding play!
The content is a technical analysis of a card game.
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