FORCED ENTRY by Stephen Rzewski dlr: West vul: both North ♠J987 ♥K52 ♦K3 ♣K973 West East ♠4 ♠AQ653 ♥AQJ107 ♥984 ♦10652 ♦9874 ♣AQ5 ♣2 South ♠ K102 ♥ 63 ♦ AQJ ♣ J10864 bidding: W N E S 1♥ P 2♥ P P dbl P 3♣ (all pass) opening lead: ♠ 4 Today’s hand came up in a club game many years ago. I was seated East. The bidding is shown as it occurred. North’s reopening double is questionable without better diamond support, but the opponents fell on their feet when South found the 9-card club fit. My partner and I, each with a singleton, were obviously cowardly lions that day and should have taken the push to 3♥--- but in that case I would not have this bridge tale to relate, one of my all-time favorites. My partner, Harry Kaufmann of North Bennington, VT, led his singleton spade. I won the ace and returned the 5♠, trying to show by a middle card a lack of enthusiasm for either a heart or diamond play back. South made the right play in spades by putting in the 10, as West ruffed and contemplated what to do next. He knew that if I had the AQ of spades, I couldn’t have much else, and with all those kings onside for the opponents, it looked as though they were destined to fulfill their contract. But, in accordance with the old saw, “Necessity is the Mother of invention”, my partner found an ingenious way to set the hand. Even looking at all four hands, do you see how he managed to do so? At trick #3, West led the queen of hearts! As we were playing Bergen raises, the play of the queen was unlikely to cost, since I nearly always showed exactly three-card support for my single raise during the auction, leaving declarer with two. Declarer called for dummy’s king. It took me a moment to figure out what my partner was up to, and I signaled with the 9, attempting to show the highest of touching cards of a sequence and therefore implying the 8. After winning the heart in dummy, declarer came to his hand with a diamond in order to lead a club up to the king. But West rose with the ace, and, in a demonstration of faith in my previous play, he led his lowest heart, the 7, enabling me to overtake with the 8 so that I could provide him with a second spade ruff. Down one.
Bridge Column
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Bridge Column
A CHALLENGING ROUND by Stephen Rzewski On the last round of a pairs event at a Cape Cod tournament, I pick up on the first of two boards:…
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Bridge Column
To Duck or Not to Duck... by Stephen Rzewski Playing in a Regional Swiss teams event against strong competition, IMPs scoring, I pick up the…
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SECOND CHANCE On the first hand of a local Sectional pairs event, I pick up as dealer, with neither vul: ♠ AKQ953 ♥ 104 ♦ 76…
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