Which Bridge Expert is the Best Pianist? Which bridge expert is the best pianist? Eric Rodwell and Ron Smith come to mind. However, surely the title belongs to Augie Boehm. On Monday he gave his 34th annual solo concert in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall to a packed and appreciative audience. Boehm was the declarer in the diagramed deal, which occurred last November in a Maidstone Bridge Club duplicate held at the Regency Whist Club, in Manhattan. Gail Cooke (North) sensibly raised to three no-trump, knowing that it is rarely right to use Stayman with 4-3-3-3 distribution. Against three no-trump, West led his fourth-highest diamond. Boehm had seven top tricks: two spades, three hearts, one diamond and one club. He had to find the spade queen to make his contract. His first reaction was to play East for the queen because West presumably held more diamonds than East. But experts know not to jump immediately to conclusions. South took the third round of diamonds, learning that West had seemingly started with four. If West had had a four-card major, he probably would have led that suit. Also, if he were 4-4 in the minors, he might have led a club. So declarer placed West with 3=3=4=3 distribution. And if so, West was a 3-to-2 favorite to have the spade queen. Boehm cashed his spade king, finessed through West and won nine tricks. Plus 400 was a tied top on the board en route to a section top. Note that because of the mirror (identical) distribution, declarers in four spades had no chance, always losing at least two diamonds and two clubs. The Eastern States Regional will be held at the Park Central Hotel in Manhattan from May 23 to 28. Details are at acbl.org.