At some point before playing clubs, S must draw W’s last trump. You seem to mention this in paragraph 2 but you never actually say.

Another line would be:

– AD
– AH
– AS
– KS
– ruff S
– QH
– S ruff
– AC
– draw last trump and claim

Does require East to start with two spades but West’s opening lead from length suggests both majors are likely splitting.

Jim2: The club ace will be ruffed by West. A rare oversight on your part!

Michael B

Bobby,

SWMBO decreed I return yesterday from the Atlanta NABC.

I had a pair of very angry opponents who were about to fly home. I mentioned the car key rule and they smiled! And they stayed. Made me feel I did some good.

I find I have not one but TWO distinguished fans of my Bridgewinners comments! David Gold and Barry Rigal both volunteered kind comments. One may believe this is an expression of English eccentricity.

This might be my final NABC so my famed red headed friend partied with me and several others Thursday night. She laughed when I told her how I beat her GM ex by putting my bar tab on his bill at Charleston a couple of years ago. The field thinks he deserved it!

Thanks again for mentioning the car key rule for partnership discussion.

Bob H and I laughed about his playing in CA without you in the early 1980s. He had been hired to play with a newer player as a reward for the guy’s great legal work for the hiring attorneys. Bob waived his fee and they failed to shuffle in the team game. As the guy said, “I am in Bridge Hell. I have the world’s greatest player as my partner and team mates who cannot shuffle!”

Hi David,

When I awoke this morning, (later than usual) the first thing I do (well almost) is re-read our day’s column. No doubt and apologetically I did exactly what you explained, in the middle of the fourth paragraph I neglected a specific mention of drawing the last lurking trump from West before then leading the ace and one club (ducking in dummy) with the still high diamond left in dummy in order to reach the contract trick (when East then leads his king of clubs after winning the first one cheaply).

One may ask, “How can one explain how to do it right, when that may be less difficult than it is while more pressure is on while playing, but not when writing about it?”

My answer is that somehow, after years of experience, and while at the table, one can easily drift into the lullaby and smugness of being in tune with, as declarer, the 26 ducats you possess as well, of course, as the remaining 26 and how they are likely distributed, not necessarily exact, except for often the high cards, but almost always the specific distribution.

Only mind training which when faced with the task, will develop automatically, when one focuses. BTW and IMO, that quality, will come to any and everyone who genuinely love the game, but not necessarily to those, who only play for recreation. Possibly similar to air-traffic controllers.

Thank you for your vital correction.

Hi all,

No doubt our site has become a minefield to navigate. Take it from a wounded warrior me, who has unofficially won hundreds of purple hearts.

Hi Bill,

Just received a special announcement from ACBL headquarters. All future Bridge Nationals have been cancelled due to lack of its most influential player deciding to hang ’em up.

You’ll just have to adjust your venues to continue your romantic ventures. Honeymoon Bridge, anyone?

And to your humorous story why not, “Play with him on the team, are you kidding, he can’t even shuffle” unless he is on the way to Buffalo?

Michael Beyrouti –

Yep, and hardly rare!