Goren Bridge
Bob Jones
| Dlr: South | ♠ 3 | |||||||||||||
| Vul: Both | ♥ 8 7 6 | |||||||||||||
| ♦ J 10 6 5 2 | ||||||||||||||
| ♣ A 10 9 3 | ||||||||||||||
| ♠ A J 9 7 | ♠ 8 6 | |||||||||||||
| ♥ A Q 3 | ♥ J 10 9 4 2 | |||||||||||||
| ♦ Q | ♦ A 9 8 7 3 | |||||||||||||
| ♣ K Q J 7 6 | ♣ 8 | |||||||||||||
| ♠ K Q 10 5 4 2 | ||||||||||||||
| ♥ K 5 | ||||||||||||||
| ♦ K 4 | ||||||||||||||
| ♣ 5 4 2 | ||||||||||||||
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* Multi, a weak two-bid in either major
**Diamonds might be our best spot
Opening lead: ♦Q
Multi 2♦ has become one of the most popular conventions in the world. It usually shows a weak two-bid in one of the majors, or one or two strong options. Despite its popularity, it is only allowed under special conditions in North American tournaments. Here is a deal that shows the convention backfiring. It is hard to imagine a sequence where two spades would be doubled for penalties had South just opened two spades.
East won the opening diamond lead with his ace. South should have dropped his king under the ace to muddy the waters, but he played low so East knew the exact diamond position. East shifted to his singleton club, and West’s jack forced dummy’s ace. The trump three went to the queen and ace, and West continued by cashing one high club and then led a low club for East to ruff.
East still didn’t give West a diamond ruff, but rather led the ♥J. West captured South’s king with the ace and then led a low heart to East’s nine. Finally, East gave West a diamond ruff. There was still another trump to come for down three and a penalty of 800 points.
This outstanding defense came at the hands of Cedric Lorenzini and Thomas Bessis, West and East respectively. Although they rarely play as a partnership anymore, they are two of France’s finest players.