Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
North
♠ A 5
♥ K 3
♦ K Q 5 4 3
♣ A 7 6 5
|
||
West
♠ J 8 4
♥ 10 9 6
♦ 10 7
♣ J 9 8 4 3
|
East
♠ 7
♥ J 8 7 5 4 2
♦ 8 6 2
♣ K Q 2
|
|
South
♠ K Q 10 9 6 3 2
♥ A Q
♦ A J 9
♣ 10
|
Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
|
South
Neither
4♣
|
North
2♦
4NT
7♠
|
East
Pass
Pass
Pass
|
South
1♠
3♠
5♣
Pass
|
West
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
|
Captain M. North looked over the Barry County Bridge
Barge. Newly refurbished and detailed after a long cruel winter, the Barry
County Bridge Barge shone like a new vessel waiting for the waters of Barry
County. She would not be disappointed long. Captain M. North inspected her from
bow to stern, checking the newly-cleaned and repaired outer seats, the replaced
console, the cleaned and restored railings as well as the cleaned and polished
floating tanks. Yes, there was even a new battery and a new water separator
that had been installed after the dreadful calamity of last winter’s roof
collapse during storage. Captain North gave a nod of approval. Yes, it was time
to take the Barry County Bridge Barge out for a test run before he could give
his approval to resume the Bridge and Nature cruises on the Mighty Thornapple
River.
This would be just the weekend. Memorial Day weekend
would be a perfect time to check out the Barry County Bridge Barge and make
sure all was safe and ready for Barry County Bridge players. As long as he was
going out on a shake-down cruise, Captain North picked up his trusty fishing
pole. “Might as well see if there was one big bass left out there in southern
Barry County.”
Captain North was dedicated to two passions: playing
and directing bridge games, and fishing for trophy fish, especially joining in
with special delight to the annual A and P Fishing Contest held in Barry
County. Captain North had made sure to sign up ahead of time, and so with
fishing gear in hand, and the Barry County Bridge Barge restored to fine
condition, Captain North prepared for a day of fishing.
“What would be the difference between catching a
five pound four ounce Largemouth bass and a three pound eight ounce mouth
Largemouth bass?” he mused. “Probably the same as making a seven spade contract
and making a six spade contract with one overtrick.” Bigger is better. Here
Captain North leaned back in his captain’s chair, and he pulled out today’s
hand. “Hmmm…” he muttered to himself, “it looks like this is the day for a
whopper.”
Looking at the bridge hand, Captain North noticed
that South had opened the bidding with 1♠, promising at least an opening hand
and five spades. With a pass from West, North bid 2♦,
a two-over-one system that forces game at least. South jumped in spades,
promising a big hand with at least twenty total points and an interest in slam.
North complied with a 4NT bid, a variation of Blackwood called Roman Keycard
Blackwood where there are five key cards instead of the four aces found in
Blackwood. The king of trump becomes the fifth key card.
South’s response of 5♣ informed North that she had
three key cards, and North signed off with a grand slam 7♠ contract. South
would be playing the hand, and this one was for all the marbles. West’s lead of
the 4♣ was won in the North hand with the A♣. Trumps were drawn in three
rounds, the diamonds were solid, and South easily claimed the big prize of the
day. Seven spades were bid and made for a strong score of 1510.
While nine players had found the 7♠ contract and
made it easily, the other 15 South declarers had failed to pull in the big
prize. They had stopped at 6♠ making an overtrick for a score of only 1010, a
deficit of 500 points. The nine winning players were definitely in the right
contract and had made the right decision to bid all the way.
Just then Captain North felt a mighty strike at the
end of his fishing line. With a fight that lasted and lasted, Captain North
could only concentrate on staying calm and landing this trophy fish. When, at
last, he had netted the huge Largemouth bass, his eyes twinkled with delight.
Here was the trophy fish. Here was the five pound four ounce winner. Yes, there
was a big difference in first place and second place, and first place is always
better.
Gerald Stein
May 29, 2014
Number of words: 799
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