Better Bridge in Barry County June 13 2013

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

	North ♠  A K Q J 2  ♥  ---  ♦  8 7 6 5 4 3 2   ♣  A
West ♠  --- ♥  8 6 4 2 ♦  A K Q J 10 9 ♣  10 8 6		East ♠  10 8 7 6 5 4 ♥  9 7 5 3 ♦  --- ♣  J 9 7
	South ♠  9 3 ♥  A K Q J 10 ♦  --- ♣  K Q 5 4 3 2

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South Both A♦

 

North   Dbl 4NT 6♥	East   Pass Pass Pass	South 1♥ 4♣ 5♠ Pass	West 3♦ Pass Pass Pass

Captain M. North straightened his sunglasses and put on his white cap. He was ready for another season of piloting the Barry County Bridge Barge up and down the Thornapple River. Bridge and cruising made a fine combination he had thought a year ago. Now into his second year, Captain M. North had a steady group of bridge aficionados and nature lovers ready to enjoy another year cruising from Port Charlton Park to Port Tyden Park and even as far as Port Irving on the northern part of the Thornapple River. As he looked over his boat, he knew that his passengers would be soon arriving for the afternoon cruise and bridge tournament. He was not disappointed.

Just then, up came two of Captain North’s favorite bridge players. Rosy and Vera always had a positive attitude about their bridge-playing, and they were always finding fun things to laugh about. He guessed from their hurried gait that they had something to tell him. It was usually about a hand of bridge that they had just encountered. As partners for many years, they shared a lot of stories and hands with him for his entertainment as well as his education.

True to form, up rushed Rosy and Vera. “Hello, Captain North. We have so much to tell you!” Captain North smiled. He knew that he was not only the captain but their captive for the next few minutes. They always tried to arrive early to tell him their latest adventure. The captain pulled up a chair at the closest table and beckoned for them to sit down. They began immediately when he asked, “So Vera and Rosy, where have you been since your return from the Gulf Shore area?” He knew that they wintered there and played bridge both with the snowbirds and the locals, probably doing quite well with each group.

Rosy began in earnest. “Oh Captain North, you would not believe what happened to me just this week.” With a quizzical look, Captain North only nodded. Rosy continued, “I actually ended up in our wonderful local hospital with a much-needed operation. I did not even know I had to be operated on.” Captain North responded, “What do you remember?” “That is just the point, Captain North; I remember only a small part of it. The doctor who gave me the anesthetic told me that I would receive a milky substance as part of the operation. He called it “Milk of Amnesia.”

Here Rosy and Vera burst into peals of laughter. Captain North could only smile at their enthusiastic humor. “And this must remind you of a bridge hand, no doubt?” he asked. “Why, yes, Captain North, it does,” joined in Vera with her eyes bright and twinkling. “Wait until you hear about our latest hand.”

Captain North nodded and waited. Vera continued, “This hand is what we call a very bad distributional hand. Rosy was South as usual, and I was North. Rosy opened 1♥, and well, we ended up at 6♥ before we knew what hit us.” Again, the two bridge partners chuckled some more.

Here Rosy took over. “Captain North, unlike my surgery where I could remember nothing, this is a hand that I had to remember everything. That is not an easy thing to do, as you know.” The captain nodded again, and Rosy went on. “The lead of the A♦ was a standard lead, especially when West had overcalled early in the auction. When I saw the fine board that Vera had provided for me, I knew a lot immediately and could put my memory to the test.” Here Rosy took a sip of water from her water bottle.

“As declarer, I remembered how important it is to make a plan as soon as the first card is played by your opponent. I thanked Vera and looked at the situation. I called for the 2♦, and East showed out. I knew immediately where all of the diamonds were: six in the West hand, and Vera had the other seven.”

Rosy paused again, “Now the question is what did East want to discard since the trick appeared to be West’s with the A♦. The most obvious look at the dummy would show that North had four spade tricks but had a losing 2♠. East had a spade to discard and still would have the setting trick possibly. East discarded a small spade on Trick one.”

Rosy continued, “I trumped the A♦ with the 10♥ and drew four rounds of trump with everyone following. Now I had a count on all of the trump. They were all gone!” Here Vera and Rosy again broke into laughter. Poor Captain North. He nodded again.

“So I knew the two red suits were all accounted for. I began the spades and immediately saw that West was out of spades, so I knew the spade suit as well. North had five, I had two, and East had six to begin with, but remember, she had pitched one on the first trick.” The Captain responded, “Yes, I remember.”

“I drew four rounds of spades, and I stopped. I played the A♣ with both East and West following. I led my last little spade, the 2♠, to the 10♠ left in the East hand. East was in a pickle with just two clubs left, and she had to lead a club to my waiting K♣ and Q♣. We made a small slam in hearts.”

“So,” the Captain spoke as he stood up, “you in fact executed an end play and made your small slam.” “Well, I am no expert on that, Captain, but I do know I remembered enough to make a plan, thank my partner, and count the tricks as they showed up. I guess you could call that a good ending if you want to.”

Here Vera and Rosy once again burst in laughter. The poor Captain North shook his head and could only marvel at his two favorite bridge players, Rosy and Vera.

 

Gerald Stein

June 9, 2013

Number of words 1119