Naturally accident – prone By Jay Becker

Ludington Daily News – 18 Mar 1970

Some people are naturally accident – prone. If they don’t inadvertently spill a cup of hot coffee on the hostess’ now dress, they may, for no good reason at all, bump right into an open door in broad daylight and wind up with a black eye. Many bridge players are also accident-prone. The most horrid things seem to happen to them all the time, whether as a, result of their own predilections or because of their partner’s silly brainstorms.

It could be said with considerable accuracy that Sylvia, was accident-prone, but the fact is that she would occasionally turn some of her most glaring blunders into unadulterated triumphs.

Her propensity for the bizarre frequently reacted to her advantage in a manner that would leave the members of the club in a state of incredulous wonderment.

For example, take this hand where Sylvia, optimistically leaped to six spades after her partner’s double.

West dealer,  North-South vulnerable.

Opening lead: A

West led the ace of diamonds. Sylvia had intended to follow low from dummy, but, somehow or other, in reaching for the card, she played the king. West then shifted to a club. Sylvia won, cashed the A-K of spades, finessed the queen of hearts, and cashed the ace. She then led three more trumps to produce this position:

	5  9 2  6
K J 9 8		J  J 9 8
	8  Q 10 3

When dummy now played the last trump, East could not spare a heart, so he discarded a diamond. Sylvia, thereupon discarded her remaining heart, led a diamond, finessed the ten, and thus made the slam.

Had Sylvia played the six on the opening diamond lead, instead of the king, she would automatically have gone down one.

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