Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
North
♠ A 8 5
♥ K J 10 5
♦ J 7 3
♣ Q J 8
|
||
West
♠ 10 9 3 2
♥ ---
♦ Q 10 9 8 5 4
♣ A 10 4
|
East
♠ Q 7 6 4
♥ Q 9 6 4
♦ 2
♣ 9 7 5 3
|
|
South
♠ K J
♥ A 8 7 3 2
♦ A K 6
♣ K 6 2
|
Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
|
West
Neither
10♠
|
North
1♣
2♥
Pass
|
East
Pass
Pass
Pass
|
South
1♥
4♥
|
West
Pass
Pass
Pass
|
As he walked back from his mailbox in southern Barry
County, Captain M. North glanced through the huge stack of cards, flyers,
requests, ads, and his favorite hometown newspaper, The Hastings Banner. With the Christmas season upon the area and
the world, Captain North looked over the cards, knowing that most were from
family and acquaintances wishing him a joyous and blessed Christmas Season. One
card, however, struck his interest. “From Florida,” he spoke half-aloud. “Who
do I know in Florida?” Captain North peered closely at the return address: “Destin,
Florida? Who do I know in Destin?” Not making the connection immediately,
Captain North saw the letters R and V at the top of the return address label. “Is
someone trying to sell or rent me an RV for an extended stay in Florida for the
winter? Hmmm…doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea.”
Captain North tore open the envelope but saw no
advertisement for a Recreational Vehicle. Instead, he read the following
message:
“Dear Captain North, Merry Christmas from the Gulf
Coast! This is Rosy and Vera wishing you a Merry Christmas from the bridge
clubs of Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and Pensacola, Florida. We are
having a hoot down here playing bridge with all of the Snowbirds from Michigan,
“Minn-na-so-ta,” and Wisconsin. We thought we would say hi and let you know
about one of our most recent hands that we played with the LOL’s down here.”
Captain North scratched his head. “LOL means
Laughing Out Loud, doesn’t it?” Then he understood. Vera and Rosy were having fun
with him again. “Ah, Little Old Ladies! I get it.” Captain North had to
chuckle. Even when they were not here in Barry County floating down the
Thornapple River on the Barry County Bridge Barge, they could still make him
smile.
Captain North looked at the enclosed bridge hand,
but there was very little commentary. All that was written at the end of the
note were these words: “Captain North, we played North/South as we usually do.
For this contract, with 14 tables, most teams opted for a small slam. What do
you think we did with this hand, Captain North? By the way, the lead was the 10♠.”
It was signed Vera and Rosy, and that was all.
Captain North was amused. He constructed the bridge
hand from Vera and Rosy on his kitchen table, and he prepared to see just what
had happened and how Vera and Rosy had done down in the Gulf Coast region.
West led the 10♠ after North/South had reached an
uncontested four-heart contract. South counted on North with the 1♣ opening to
have at least three clubs and 12 high-card points. With South’s hand having 18
high-card points, the idea that that there might be a potential slam hand in
the two hands came to the captain. When North responded with a 2♥ bid, showing four hearts and a minimum hand, South
settled for the game contract in hearts.
With the 10♠ on the table, South was glad that he
had restrained his enthusiasm for the North/South pair. With 12 points in the
North hand and 18 points in the South hand, they had together 30 high card
points, but not the 33 needed for a small slam most of the time. South was
resolved to make the four hearts and call it a good bid.
With the 10♠ lead, South played low from the dummy
and East rose with the Q♠. South captured the Q♠ with the K♠. South next led
the A♥ and was instantly in for an unpleasant
surprise. No hearts in the West hand, and four to the Q♥
in the East hand. This called for a review of the plan. West had played a high
diamond signaling that she had something in diamonds. South played the 5♥ from the dummy, and East followed with the 4♥.
South next led the J♠ from his hand and played the 8♠
from the dummy with both East and West following on the second spade lead.
South next led the 2♣ from his hand toward the dummy with the Q♣ and the J♣ showing.
West ducked the lead, and the Q♣ held the trick for South. North then led the A♠
planning to discard the losing 6♦ on the A♠.
When East played a spade, South discarded the losing diamond.
Next, the lead from the dummy was the 10♥, giving up the trick to East, but keeping control of
the trump suit. East took the Q♥, and led her
singleton diamond, the 2♦, hoping to get a
diamond ruff if her partner ever got back in. South was prepared for that lead,
however, and promptly put up the K♦ with
everyone following suit in diamonds.
South then led the 3♥
from the South hand to the K♥ in the dummy,
taking another heart from East. Leading the J♥
next from dummy pulled the last trump from East. South then led a diamond from
the dummy to his good A♦, dropping the Q♦ from the West hand. There was, however, no way to
get back in time to use the good J♦ on the
board.
Leading the K♣ from his hand was the finishing touch
on a well-played hand. West took the A♣, and led back a small spade, avoiding
the good club on the board. South, however, trumped the spade lead with the
last good heart, and led the 6♣ to the good J♣ on the board, making four hearts
plus one overtrick for a strong score of 450 for the North/South team.
Captain North smiled to himself. Of course, Vera and
Rosy had played it that way, and they had avoided the temptation to go on to
slam when it was not there. In fact, when Captain North turned over to the back
of Rosy and Vera’s card, he saw that he was right. “Nine tables tried slam and
all failed. We were one of four tables to bid 4 hearts and make an overtrick
for a top board on that round.”
“Congratulations, Rosy and Vera,” said Captain
North. “See you in the spring on the Barry County Bridge Barge.” With a smile,
Captain North finished opening the rest of his mail.
Gerald Stein
December 22 2012
Number of words: 1153
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