Psychic bids sometimes boomerang. For example, take this deal from the 1976 Italy-United States world championship match.

At the first table, with Giorgio Belladonna West and Pietro Forquet East for Italy, the bidding went as shown. Consistent with his dashing style, Belladonna opened with one diamond in first seat.

North doubled for takeout, and Forquet bid one heart! It was a routine psychic; he was trying to stop the opponents from getting to a heart contract. The ruse had a reasonable chance of succeeding, since this was the first psychic bid Forquet had made in 25 years of world championship play!

The bidding then proceeded as shown, and South scored the obvious 10 tricks at three notrump for +430. Left to their own devices, however, the American North-South pair might well have played the hand in four hearts and gone down.

At the second table, with Italy holding the North-South cards, the bidding went:

Dble

Playing the Precision System, North could not open one club, which would have promised 16 or more points, nor could he open one spade, which would have guaranteed at least a five-card suit. So he opened one diamond, the correct systemic bid!

Eventually, North wound up in five clubs doubled. East led his singleton heart, West winning dummy’s jack with the queen. Had West continued hearts, North would have gone down two. But West, for reasons unknown, shifted to the jack of spades, and declarer finished down only one. Even so, the U.S. team gained 530 points on the deal.

Tomorrow >> Famous Hand.

— Steve Becker