Better Bridge in Barry County
By Gerald Stein
North
♠ K964
♥ 32
♦
762
♣
A1054
|
||
West
♠
J532
♥
KQ65
♦ J10
♣
Q96
|
East
♠
A108
♥
109
♦
854
♣
K8732
|
|
South
♠
Q7
♥
AJ874
♦
AKQ93
♣
J
|
Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
|
East
East-West
♣6
|
North
1S
2H
Pass
|
East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
|
South
1H
2D
4H
Pass
|
West
Pass
Pass
Dbl.
|
Captain M. North surveyed the fast-moving waters
from the pier at Tyden Park where the USS: Barry County Bridge Barge was moored
for the day’s events. There would be no river cruise today after the three
inches of rain had fallen overnight as reported by the Hastings Airport. The
bridge tournament would go on, however, despite the high waters. The bridge
players wouldn’t care. Captain North began straightening tables and chairs and
was getting ready for the afternoon session. He had sent the bridge players into
town for lunch. They would be back shortly.
As he was rearranging his seven tables, Vera and
Rosy, two of his players, began to make their appearance earlier than he
thought possible. “Didn’t you stop for lunch, Ladies?” asked the Captain. “Oh,
no, Captain North, not today,” answered Rosy. “We needed to see Doctor Anna,
our friend and confidante. We wanted to
ask her about the Hypocritical Oath.”
Captain North just stared. “Don’t you mean the
Hippocratic Oath?” Rosy chimed in, “Oh, Captain North, you are so funny. Of
course, we mean the Hypocritical Oath. You know, where one partner does no harm
to the other partner. They teach that in all of the medical schools, you know.”
Poor Captain North. He could say no more.
Vera went on as breathless as Rosy. “We were so
upset about this morning’s hand and what we had done to each other that we
thought we should get some medical advice. That is why we sought out Doctor
Anna instead of going for lunch. It was worth the trip to town.”
Captain North knew by now that he was going to hear
about this morning’s disaster, so he pulled out one of the chairs and sat down.
Rosy and Vera joined him immediately. “You know, Captain, that a partnership is
a very special thing, don’t you?” Before he could answer, Rosy went on, “Vera,
my partner, was South, and I was North. We ended up in a bad contract at 4H
doubled down 4 tricks for a minus 800 points. It was a disaster.” Here she
sighed, and then she went on.
“I blamed Vera for putting us in the wrong contract,
and I thought that we should only be down one trick, but one trick or four
doesn’t make much sense once your partner is rattled. I think I am to blame for
our disaster.” Here she looked at Vera and then at the Captain who only nodded
to make it look like he knew what she was talking about.
Here Vera spoke up. “As South, I looked at our
contract of 4Hearts doubled, and it did not look good. With the lead of the 6♣,
I took a moment to make my plan: our objective was to take ten tricks. That did
not look very promising since my partner had supported my hearts with only two
little hearts. We had seven hearts between us, and our opponents had six. I
knew from my bridge class that hearts would probably break 4-2 when there is an
even number out. Ouch.”
“I rushed my play of the hand, and I called for a
small club from the board instead of going up immediately with the Ace of
clubs. East took his King of clubs, and my singleton Jack fell on his King. A
very bad start, I must say.” Here Vera dabbed her eyes. Something in the air.
“To make a long story short, I forgot everything I
knew about playing the hand. I did not lead a small trump from the board as I
should have to finesse the Jack against the King and Queen of hearts. I did not
set up the Queen of spades by leading a small spade toward the King of spades.
I did not play the Ace of trump at the right time. I should have been down only
one trick for a minus 100 points instead of down four doubled.”
Here Rosy reached over and patted her partner’s
hand. “Vera, I think most of the fault was mine. I did not respond correctly to
your bidding. I could have done several things differently. One, I could have
passed your two diamond bid, and we could have played in diamonds, but you know
how I hate to play in the minors when we can play in the majors.” Here Vera
nodded, and Rosy continued. “But, here, Captain North, is where I harmed our
partnership the most. I did not listen to the bidding very well. I know that
Vera has five hearts and at least four diamonds in her hand, and she has bid a
second time so she must have a strong bidding hand. I should have looked at my
hand, and I should have realized that I had spades and clubs. What about a two
no trump bid?”
Vera piped up, “You’re right, Rosy! If you bid two
no trump, then I will bid three no trump, and I bet it will make!” They both
giggled delightedly at their new-found insight into a disastrous hand.
“So, Captain North, now you know why we wanted to
seek out Doctor Anna for her advice on the Hypocritical Oath. We just did not
want to harm our partnership.” They both looked so relieved that Captain North
could say nothing at first. “I must finish my tidying up, if you will excuse
me.” Just then, he bumped his leg on one of the chairs. “Now, Captain North, do
no harm to your leg,” chirped Rosy. “Yes, Captain North,” added Vera, “they
might cut your leg off.” Here they burst into peals of laughter as poor Captain
North limped off.
Bridge Question: What do bridge players mean when
they say that someone has cut their leg off?
Gerald Stein
May 5, 2012
Number of words: 1040
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