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The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Opening Lead: ♠4
This Christmas I'd like to look back on the life of Seymon Deutsch, who died June 13.
We met in San Antonio in late 1953 and stayed friends for life. Although he had a 20-year hiatus from bridge, Seymon is the only player ever to win both the Rosenblum Cup and the Olympiad Teams in the World Bridge Games.
Seymon was generous, personable, upbeat and fun-loving. He had a house in Aspen, which allowed me as president of the WBF in the summer of 1993 to have a management meeting there at the Little Nell Hotel. With Seymon’s help it turned out to be a spectacular location, and the best WBF management meeting ever.
He lived a very active, productive life with a wonderful family — a beautiful and lovely wife Linda, together with his four children. The family was very active in the Joe Brand store, which was a showplace in Laredo and attracted people from far and wide. It was established by his father-in-law, but Seymon ran it for nearly 40 years.
Here is Seymon at a 1980s national championships. He bypassed his weak four-card heart suit at his first turn, getting him to the no-trump game. Then, when the spade queen held the first trick, Seymon innocently led a low diamond from dummy to trick two. When East neglected to put in the eight, Seymon inserted the seven, keeping East off lead. This maneuver set up the diamonds while shutting out East, so the spade king would remain protected.
Bid with the aces
Answer: Pass
When you do not have perfect shape for a negative double, have no biddable suit, and no support for partner, it is perfectly acceptable to pass, as here. If your partner is short in clubs, he might well reopen with a double or a further suit-bid. If he is not short in clubs, defending two clubs looks like a perfectly reasonable course of action.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.
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