Double swings at the game and slam levels

Press, 20 December 1988, Page 10

Double swings at the game and slam levels

CONTRACT BRIDGE

J.R. Wignall

The auction at one table was:

Nobody likes to be pushed around, so South, deprived of the chance to show her long diamond suit at a comfortable level, just had to bid five. The outcome was, from her point of view, very gratifying.

West started with the ace, king and another spade, the declarer ruffing the third round. Trumps were drawn with the ace and king, the ace of clubs was cashed and South entered her hand by leading the jack of diamonds to her queen. She continued with a low club to dummy’s nine and when that held, returned to the ace of hearts to lead another club to the jack. The king of clubs was cashed on which the declarer discarded her small heart, and she claimed the rest. The game into which she had been pushed had been made. The auction was rather slower at the other table, and was along these lines:

I say “along these lines” because there were a couple of conventional calls that have been translated.

In four hearts, the declarer lost only to the aces of clubs diamonds and hearts, so brought home the required 10 tricks. That was a double game swing to her team. It might of course have been worse for the other side. Alan Truscott, the bridge editor of the “New York Times,” has written a newly published book, “Grand Slams,” a copy of which he was kind enough to give me on a recent playing visit to New Zealand. It is a collection of 56 deals all of which were, when played, bid to the seven level, and all of them have points of interest.

The last deal in the book features Oswald Jacoby, one of the best bridge players of all time. He sat South when this hand was dealt with both sides vulnerable:

Up to a point, West bid his hand of a life-time very well, beginning with a cunning takeout double, and calling his hearts at the five and six level. If he had jumped directly to seven, his opponents would have had no hesitation in sacrificing so he hoped to deceive them by tactical bidding. Unfortunately, when he was doubled in six hearts, his nerve failed, he became greedy and he redoubled. Alerted as to what was going on, Jacoby retreated to six spades, and over seven hearts sacrificed in seven spades. That was bad enough for West, who doubled in rage, but there was even worse to come. He would have beaten the contract by leading the ace and king of hearts, but not unreasonably he started with the ace of diamonds.

The declarer, who by now had a blue-print of the deal, ruffed with dummy’s eight of spades, and led the four of spades to the six in his hand. This was certainly a novel way to play the first round of trumps in a Grand Slam, but West was marked with a void.

A diamond was ruffed with the spade queen, South returned to his hand by leading the five of spades to the nine and trumped his last diamond with the jack of spades. Now he crossed to the ace of clubs, drew the last trumps with the ace of and king of spades and five more club tricks gave the declarer his doubled Grand Slam. In the Season of Goodwill, spare a thought for poor West, who could have made a Grand Slam himself but whose dream hand became a nightmare. A Merry Christmas to you all.

s W N E No INT Dble 4V 5< All Pass

s W N E No 14 INT 24 34 34 4< 44 All Pass

w N E S No No 14 Dble 44 No No 5* 5* No No 64 No No Dble Rdble No No 64 74 No No 74 Dble All Pass