The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, May 23, 2009
Dealer: West
Vul: E/W |
North | ||||
♠ | J 10 7 3 2 | ||||
♥ | 9 4 | ||||
♦ | K 10 7 4 | ||||
♣ | 8 6 | ||||
West | East | ||||
♠ | K 8 4 | ♠ | Q 6 | ||
♥ | — | ♥ | Q J 8 7 5 | ||
♦ | Q 6 3 | ♦ | 9 8 | ||
♣ | A K 10 5 4 3 2 | ♣ | Q J 9 7 | ||
South | |||||
♠ | A 9 5 | ||||
♥ | A K 10 6 3 2 | ||||
♦ | A J 5 2 | ||||
♣ | — |
South | West | North | East |
2♣* | Pass | 2♦** | |
4♥ | Pass | Pass | Dbl. |
All Pass |
*Clubs, 10-15 points |
**Relay, 8-plus points |
Opening Lead:♣K
“I shall remember while the light lives yet
And in the nighttime I shall not forget.”
— Algernon Swinburne
I recently mentioned in this column that Tim Seres of Australia had died. I have now been provided with a number of hands played by Tim and will make them available to you over the coming months.
Tim was the quintessential rubber bridge player; all Tim wanted was to find himself in the highest contract that had play. He reckoned he would be able to do the rest!
In today’s deal Tim followed the fastest route to four hearts, the game he thought he could make. The club king was ruffed and he next successfully led a diamond to dummy’s 10, followed by a spade to the nine and king. After ruffing the next club, Seres played the spade ace, followed by the diamond ace and a third diamond. East ruffed and returned the heart queen, which Seres won. He next led the spade five to the 10, East ruffing again.
Seres had arrived at a four-card ending in which he had three trumps and a diamond in hand; two spades, a heart and a diamond in dummy. East could not lead a trump, so played a club, ruffed by Seres in hand with the six and overruffed in dummy with the nine.
When Seres led the spade jack from the board, East was left without recourse. If he trumped the spade, declarer would overruff and draw trumps. If he discarded, declarer would pitch his diamond and make the last two trumps by leading a plain card and overruffing East.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
♠ | J 10 7 3 2 |
♥ | 9 4 |
♦ | K 10 7 4 |
♣ | 8 6 |
South | West | North | East |
1♣ | Dbl. | Pass | |
1♠ | 2♣ | Pass | Pass |
? | |||
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].