THE USEFUL SARDINE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 69, 18 September 1937, Page 19

THE USEFUL SARDINE

Most appetising little dishes can be made for luncheon if there is a tin of sardines in the store cupboard.

For one, remove the tails, and backbones from the sardines (a small tin will be enough) and mash them well. Stir in just sufficient mayonnaise to blend them.

Cut off a small piece from the ends of four or five tomatoes, scrape out a little of the piilp, pass through a sieve and add to the mashed sardines together with a seasoning of pepper and salt.

Fill the tomatoes with the mixture, replace the "lids" and serve each on a curled lettuce leaf. For a savoury but quickly prepared hot dish fry some rounds of bread, or toast, and butter them. Mash some sardines with a little finely minced spring onion and heat gently in butter. Spread thu toast or fried bread with the mixture* and top ea*ch piece with a poached egg. If there are any cold left-over potatoes, mash them and mix with them some mashed sardines (removing the-bones first). Heat a little milk, melt in it a knob of butter, and mix well into the potatoes. I

Season with a few drops of anchovy essence, pepper and salt, and fill into greased scollop shells or small dishes. Put a little butter on top of each and brown under the grill before serving. Garnish with sprigs of fresh parsley.

It is important that the various conditions under which the opening lead of a trump is the best defensive play should be understood. Many contracts' are •allowed to• escape- defeat through the failure of a defender to recognise a situation which calls for the opening lead of a trump. When the hand contains tenaces but no plain 'suit doubleton, an opening trump lead from two or three small trumps is an excellent waiting lead. For example, against a spade contract the leader holding * 5.3, V K.Q.7, +Q. 10.6.3, * A.J.9.2^ should lead the five'of spades. At the worst it will save the declarer a guess on a two-way, finesse. The lead of a singleton trump, however, Culbertson characterises as one of the worst leads in bridge, frequently trapping Q.x.x., or J.x.x.x. in partner's hand, when the declarer otherwise would have played for a drop rather than finesse. ■ A tramp should be opened against a pre-emptive bid, when the trump suit is probably solid, and it is desirable to throw the lead cheaply into the declarer's hand. Any other opening lead might play right into the declarer's hand, whereas the trump lead means that,' after drawing the opponents' trumps^ he is forced to lead any outside suit, away from his own hand. A trump is opened when the inferences gathered from the bidding show that dummy has, a., hand consisting mainly of distributional',values—short suits and trumps. The defenders, both the leader and his partner, must take advantage of' any opportunity to shorten dummy's trumps, in order 101 reduce dummy's ruffing values. ■ For example:— ... j Suppose the bidding has gone as follows: — ...'"' North. East-. • • South. West. 1 ▲ Pass ' 1 X.T. Pa?s 2 * Pasi ', ?.1f Pass Pass .... ;...•- East draws frbmSouFh's respj;;.-,\>s the inference that, as" his response to his partner's opening "bid was a nega- | tive one no-trumps, the raise to three < hearts was'based- mainly on ruffing values—trumps and a singleton. East knows that North, .having bid both spades and hearts, must also have a short suit. Further, it is quite possible .that North has only four cards in his second bid suit. . , .

it is clear from the" bidding that a cross-ruff play will give the best result on the North-South hands, so that East, holding two. or three small trumps, should open' with a tfump lead,' and, if the opportunity occurs, immediately lead another trump. .If the leader's .partner takes a trick while still holding a trump, he will lead back

a Irump in order to . lessen dummy'! ruffing values. In the following instructive- (Culbert son) hand, a still more effective us« of the opening trump lead was made— <j? Q. 5.6.2. 4} K.ft.o. ' • ■ Jt, J. 7.1.3.2. A 5.3.J.' • ' 7JSrth~"H ♦ A.K.J.10.1. A.7.4. ■ -j I V 8.»: 0.3.2 g X $ J. 10.8.7. Q. 5.0.3. I South: .1 £ 10.9. . ■' 4 q:0.8^.: , y K;J.iO.B. I A.Q.4. <3» AX- . ■ ■ . , South —dealer. . 1" he bidding:— South.' ' West. • North. ' East.iV Pass 2 V- - ♦ Double Pass 3y. Pass 3 N.T. Pass 4 Pass Pass Pass Souths penalty double of EastS two-spade overcall, even though North had raised Souths opening heart bid, made it clear to West that South must hold f6ur spades, while North's takeout of the double'into three hearts indicated a singleton spade, and .at least four hearts. Souths next bid of three no-trumps over his partner's three-heart bid suggested a four-card heart suit. ■ • ■ A trump lead, therefore,1 was West a best course. 'By leading the Ace and another trump, he could have disposed of two of dummy's expected ruffing tricks, but he decided on a trump play, which, if his partner held two hearts and an early entry, would | give him a chance of removing three I ruffing tricks instead of 'two.' West, therefore, opened with a small heart, I and after East won the first spade* j trick (when that suit was led by the opponents with the object of preparI ing for a. ruffing play) (East returned his remaining trump. West played the Ace and another trump, thus leaving North-South with one trump each. No other lead could have' defeated the j contract. . ... A point worth noticing in this hand is that if dummy had held five trumps and a 1 singleton, with his one honourtrick, his first response would have been—not one no-trump, but a triple raise, four hearts. ■ . The opening lead of a trump against a small slam is good only if holding 10.x.x., or x.x.x. in the trump suit. With only two trumps it is a bad lead unless the declarer, on the bidding, is marked with very, solid trumps. The lead of a singleton trump, against a small slam appears in the table of leads against a suit small slam as "very bad." Against a grand slam, however, it is considered a good lead.