Table play at bridge has many dimensions to it. It is vastly open canvas wherein you can absorb as many colours as you can possibly conceive. But the overall objective should be that the picture should look appealing to the onlookers in the end.
As I said there are many facets of bridge play and levels at which bridge is played by different people determines the various options people take in a play of the hand where very few times the pattern of play follows the same route. Some small variations take place even in routine hand. Of course in the more challenging hands, people tend to differ in their approach, depending upon their vision and comprehension of the hand. Some players are sound, others are good but a few are simply brilliant. Amongst these outstanding ones one of the World Champions, Meckstroth is a reputed name and today's hand is an illustration of his brilliance.
Let us first give you the north south hands:
The bidding went as under: The opening lead is of course the 7S. What does the dummy give us? 5 sure diamond tricks, and 4 heart tricks if hearts behave, one spade and AK of clubs to cater to the 12 tricks needed for the 6NT slam.
The hand looks too simple in its offing. For there is no room for any variation in play after the spade ace and back has forced the declarer to win all the possible tricks available and every Tom, Dick and Harry would bank on the heart suit for it to break firstly 3-3. OK when the AK of hearts are played out east drops the JH on the second round after playing 5H to the first. West plays the 4 and 7 of hearts.
Now comes the ducking line between average, above average and experts like Meckstroth. Of course for the average player the simple line would be to go for the 3-3 heart break and hope for the best. For the above average player - however, the theory of the restricted choice would force him to think for a finesse of the 9H placing east with the doubleton JH for the theory states that with a holding of J-10X, east would always play the J first before the 10 on the second round to give the impression that it is a doubleton. However, the percentage odds calculation would give east holding a doubleton heart a 24% odds as against a 36% odds for him holding 3 cards.
In the actually play, Meckstroth played the QH on the third round without a moments pause and when it failed he did not blink an eye for he surged with confidence. Can you see why? Well let us proceed on to make you wiser, east was overjoyed at declarer's failure to take the heart finesse of the 9 discarding his 10S on the third round of hearts with the crackle -"Sorry Jeff it is a 10, but a black one".
Meckstroth, unruffed now, ran the diamond suit and this was position with one round of diamond remaining to be played. On JD, the heavens fell for the defenders. Keeping the spade guard east shrunk to 2 clubs. Meckstroth threw the S5 no longer required and west, forced to keep 10H guard also shrunk to 2 clubs giving Meckstroth all 3 clubs and the little slam for a very well executed double squeeze.
Did you see why Meckstroth is rated to be amongst the words best? Because his play of the third heart was almost a fool proof line of play guaranteeing the contract. How? Let us analyse how? If east with 7 spades has 2 hearts, then surely there would be double squeeze on. Give east west any distribution at the 10th trick neither defender can hold on to 3 clubs as 2 menaces in different suits threaten them. Well squeeze plays are made by many but to visualise the double squeeze at the point of the third heart play of the QH can only be the domain of the very best in bridge.

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 North      South
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    Q         K52
 Q932         AK6
QJ954       AK106
  K42         A83
=================

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North    West     East     South
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 -         -         9         5
 9        10         -         -
 J         -         -         -
K4      Q107       K95       A83
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West   North     East     South
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-         -        3S       3NT
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P       6NT
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                       ALL PASS
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