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This hand from the first set in the recent Bermuda
Bowl semifinal demonstrates once again the late
Lew Mathe's abhorrence of the trump lead. At one
table in the match, against my teammates, Jeff
Meckstroth (South) and Eric Rodwell (North), West
led a trump and declarer said a silent, "Thank you
very much." He ducked it to the king and finished
with 11 tricks, for +650, eventually discarding a
diamond from dummy on the 13th club in the South
hand.

At my table, the auction was slightly different,
since North-South were playing a standard system,
and North began with 1. South bid 1 and North
raised to 2. When South bid a forcing 3, North
bid 3 and South bid 4. West, my partner, Paul
Soloway, led the queen of diamonds. Declarer won
and ran the queen of spades. I won the trick and
returned a diamond. Declarer won and ran the 10
of spades. Unlucky. I won that and returned a third
diamond, and the ace of hearts was the setting trick.

Today's tip is simple: Beware the trump lead. One
hand doesn't prove anything, but I've got more
evidence, coming soon. Merry Xmas to you all.