Ludington Daily News – 20 Sep 1956
When you do something spectacularly good at the bridge table and your efforts are foiled, not by the opponents but by your own dear partner—well there are times when even the easiest going of it blow our tops.
South’s opening lead on today’s hand was brilliant, if that word is ever applicable to a card maneuver. North’s counter maneuver, however, bordered on the downright silly and we’re lure that that last adjective can be properly applied to some bridge plays we have seen. Here’s what happened.
South, on lead against the six heart contracts, was a top-ranking expert. He listened to East’s two-suit bidding and West’s support carefully and decided the only hope of beating the contract was to snatch two tricks quickly in one of the off suits. Obviously diamonds were out—the opponents couldn’t be missing a second ace, and besides South was too long in the suit himself. It had to be clubs. On the bidding West, the dummy-to be, very likely had the king of clubs.
So, taking everything into consideration, South decided his best chance of beating the contract was underleading his club ace, and thus possibly give declarer a guess. He led the club two, and how right he turned out_to be on the situation. Who can blame East for, not reading the unusual underlead of an ace against a slam bid.
Even if East knew South to be capable of such a play it’s still even money as to whether South was originally dealt the ace or queen. So East did not go-up with-the king but played low from dummy. Believe it or not, East made seven despite his misguess… North had his own ideas—or perhaps no ideas at all. He played the club ten and not the queen, perhaps because he loved the latter card too much to part with so early in the hand.
So declarer won the trick with the Jack and took the rest of the tricks without difficulty. When, towards the end of the play, the club queen appeared from the North hand before South’s astonished eyes, the latter was momentarily struck dumb. What he said on his recovery cannot be printed here due to certain pertinent federal laws.