This deal occurred years ago in a high-stakes rubber-bridge game. Looking at only the North-South cards, it is hard to believe the eventual outcome.

Certainly, North had a tough choice of responses after his partner opened with a game-forcing two-heart bid and West cramped the bidding by leaping to five clubs. It seemed likely, from North’s viewpoint, that there was a slam somewhere, and he elected to go for it in his partner’s suit. East interjected a jarring note by doubling, and West made the killing lead of a club, selecting the three rather than the queen to direct a diamond return if his partner won the first trick.

Ordinarily, declarer would have made six hearts easily, but in the actual case he suffered a catastrophe of cataclysmic proportions. East ruffed the club and returned a diamond to his partner’s ace, whereupon West led another club, East ruffing again.

East would now have had a problem as to whether to return a spade or a diamond, except that West’s second club lead had been the four, asking once again for a low-suit return. Had West been void of spades, he would have asked for that return by leading the queen of clubs instead of the four.

So East led a diamond at trick four, ruffed by West, who continued the onslaught by giving his partner a third club ruff. East returned the compliment by giving his partner another diamond ruff, after which the defense finally ran out of steam.

All told, South lost a diamond and five trump tricks to go down 1,400 points on a hand that offered nearly a 100% chance to make six hearts! Into each life some rain — in this case a monsoon — must fall!

Tomorrow: Test your play.