Reach for the Christmas Star
It's been a good while since I played with Gene Benedict, my good friend from To...
By John Carruthers - available on Master Point Press
Bridge with a Perfect Partner, by P. F. Saunders, was published in 1976. Many read and delighted in Saunders’ articles in Bridge Magazine (U.K.), and Saunders’ character Wilson, according to the flyleaf of the book, is “... an austere character, whose scholarly discourses are enlivened by frequent flashes of mordant wit.” The anonymous narrator comments, “He is very kind in explaining, when I go down in a contract, just how I could have made it and, when he goes down, just how my bidding misled him.” We’ve all played with partners like that, though few of them have had Wilson’s devastating, articulate wit.
In this sequel, journalist John Carruthers takes the reader through a brilliant series of deals, collected from tournaments all over the world. The style is highly reminiscent of Sanders' original and will give its readers just as much pleasure.
You can purchase this as an ebook from eBooksBridge.com or order a hardcopy from your local book store.
My new bridge partner, Selby, makes me a little nervous, as did his great- uncle Wilson before him. He’s a little brasher than was Wilson and not quite as kind in explaining to me how I could have made my contract or defeated theirs and how, when we reach an unmakeable spot, my bidding steered us adrift. We meet for dinner weekly before the team game at the club.
“Allow me to give you a problem,” Selby began at our last encounter. “I don’t need any more problems than I already have,” I joked.
“True,” Selby agreed, not joking, “but this is a bridge problem. I’ll diagram it for you. You are South. Your opponents are expert-class players.
Dealer S. Neither vul.
“You have quite a learned, if rather aggressive, auction,” Selby expounded. “To wit...
“Unfortunately, your bidding erudition lands you in a very poor slam,” Selby continued, “West leads the six of hearts, low from an odd number and third-best from an even number. What are your thoughts?”
I answered as best I could. “Assuming diamonds to be three-two, which seems a necessary condition, I have ten tricks, two shy of what I need. If hearts are no worse than five-three, I can trump the third in dummy. That’s eleven tricks and a three-three club break would see me home with a twelfth.”
“Admirably expounded,” Selby concurred. He could be a little pomp- ous, again, just like his great-uncle. “At least the statement of the necessary conditions was. And how would you thus play?”
I replied, “I win the heart lead with the king in dummy, draw two rounds of trumps, play the ace of hearts and ruff the heart loser, come back to the ace of clubs to draw the last trump, then split out the clubs three- three. How did I do?”
Selby was prompt with his dismissal. “Off one, I’m afraid. Still, a valiant effort for one with such, ah... limited weapons at his disposal. Here is the complete deal:
“Your stated line of play has an expected success rate of a shade under twenty percent,” Selby went on. “Does the sight of all fifty-two cards suggest a better line of play to you?”
“No. Should it?”
“Yes. What about the spades? Four-three spades gives better odds than three-three clubs, does it not?”
“What about them? I cannot ruff them out as I can only use two trumps to do so and that would still leave East with a guard in the suit. If I ruffed three spades to set up the fifth card in the suit, I’d create a trump trick for West and I’d still have a club loser.”
“All that is true, but what about giving the opponents a spade trick?” Selby asked innocently.
“Ah, I see,” I said. “I’ll need the king of clubs as an entry to the fifth spade, so... win the ace of hearts, take two high trumps, play a spade to the ace and ruff a spade, play a heart to the king and ruff another spade. Ruff a heart and surrender a spade to East setting up the fifth one in dummy.” I was rather pleased with myself. Not, however, for long.
“Have you noticed that your heart ruff in the dummy exhausted West of the suit? Further, that he has a trump remaining?”
“Oh, I see. That means...”
“Precisely,” Selby interrupted, “East will lead a heart, creating a trump trick for his partner.”
Now I knew the answer. “So, the contract cannot be made after all. It was one of those play-or-defend problems and the answer was to defend. I needed West to hold the fourth spade to make six diamonds.”
Selby demurred. “On the contrary, the contract is indeed makeable on the diagrammed layout. Would you care to try again?”
I was a little puzzled, to say the least. “Spades must be the key. Suppose I duck the second or third round of spades?” I inquired hopefully.
Selby was in his element now. “That won’t work either with only three spades in the West hand. That defender will overruff a spade. Does that give you a clue?”
Selby’s Socratic method was beginning to wear on me. Nevertheless, I pondered hard. “Eureka!” I cried.
“You’ve seen it at last?” Selby asked me, not unkindly.
“Yes,” I replied excitedly. “I must duck the first round of spades, then I can ruff two of them, using the king of hearts and the heart ruff to do so! I win the ace of hearts at Trick 1, cash only one high trump, duck a spade, win the (say) trump return (nothing else is any better), cross to the king of hearts and ruff a spade. Then, ruff a heart, ruff another spade and draw the last trump. The king of clubs provides me with an entry to the ace of spades, voiding the suit in East’s hand, and the thirteenth spade is my twelfth trick.” I was chuffed.
“Bravo,” Selby exclaimed, “although you are now in time trouble in the match.” Some people always seem to see a half-empty glass. “There’s one more thing.”
Isn’t there always? “Yes?”
“Did you notice that an initial club lead and a club continuation when the defenders get in with the spade knocks out the late entry to the spades and defeats the slam?”
My silence was apparently answer enough.
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About the Author :
John Carruthers (from Canada) is a well-known international bridge player, journalist and commentator on the game. He is currently the editor of the International Bridge Press Association's monthly Bulletin.
