CONTRACT BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 186, 7 August 1936, Page 6

CONTRACT BRIDGE.

A REMARKABLE HAND

(By -ELY CULBERTSON.)

A hand which stretches itself to accommodate the "contract undertaken by the declarer is rare indeed at the bridge table. The one given below seemed to be built to order. It was dealt in a duplicate game, and whether the declarer undertook a contract of four Clubs, five Clubs or six Clubs, lie found that his supply of tricks lasted just long enough to fulfil' his contract. • Mr. Alvan L. Davis, of Waterbury, Conn., recently sent me the hand below, which was plaved in a tournament for mixed pairs at the University club of Waterbury..»-In seiul'ng the hand Mr. Davis 'makes the/remark. .that the board is an exemplification of the Biblical statement that "the last shall be first, and the first shall be last."

There were'eight tables in play, and in every case North played the hand at a Club contract. At: six of the eight tables Norths contract was five Clubs.' In one case North and South had reached the ambitious contract of six Clubs, while in the remaining case North and South were pessimists and bid but four Clubs. In every case, strange as it may seem, the declarer made just the necessary tricks to fulfil his contract, and that against a logictil opening lead. At the six tables where five Clubs was the contract either a Heart or a Chtb was opened bv East on the theory of adopting a waiting policy a? regards the holdings in Diamonds anil Spades. Where the contract was six Clubs, East, with an apparent entry in the Diamond Ace, decided to establish the sotting trick by leading the King of Spades, and the only loser for the declarer against this opening was the eventual loss of the Spade Queen, the declarer's losing Diamonds being discarded on the Hearts in dummy. Where the bidding was four Clubs, the East player, reasoning that he could take many chances, opened a Diamond, and only four-odd could Tie made. As a result, as Mr. Davis remarks, the dangerous bid of six Clubs resulted in a hilh score on the board. The six who bid five Clubs drew average scores, while the sound bid of four Chilis resulted ill a bottom score. The moral of this story probably is that even sound bridge must have a slight sprinkling of optimism. Perhaps the opponents will not find the best defence.