I think of the two lines you mention should the H8 hold, playing a small H back to the J appears better as West will need to have only 4 spades if he holds the HKQ (assuming the S at T1 wasn’t from K9x or similar). Unfortunately, if East has quite sensibly held up the HK from Kxxx or Qxxx then a heart back to the J misfires too. There is also one very far-fetched but vaguely amusing scenario which combines TOCM and a Mollo RR-style accident plus a Grosvener coup.
Imagine East has HKQx and pulls the wrong card playing small under the H8. Declarer ducks a H which East wins with the K and he then plays a spade back. South decides to grab this rather than duck (in case the defence don’t play a 3rd spade) and run the HJ now. Of course it is too absurd for words but worthy of the GC’s originator at his most annoying. Mind you, he does come to a grisly end eventually.
Regards,
Iain
Jeff SerandosFebruary 1st, 2024 at 5:43 pm
Hi Iain and Bobby,
When Bobby mentioned that success was not guaranteed either way if the eight held, I too came up with the absurd duck by East from KQx, but did not connect it to RR. It always brightens my day to think how often Mollo’s unforgettable characters come to mind. Yesterday’s column brought the Walrus to mind for me – as it would not even cross his mind to play anything BUT the dogmatic 9H on the first round of hearts to show an even count.
bobbywolffFebruary 1st, 2024 at 7:13 pm
Hi Iain & Jeff,
High level bridge has enough legitimate fantasies (to last a lifetime), rather than to create accidental ones. Of course, bridge writers (strangely not American, but often British) have seemed to corner the market on bridge satire (Mollo as the most well known), but
to be clumsy, might be thought to blend with stupidity to them.
Perhaps around 54 years ago Ira Corn, (patron saint of the Aces bridge team) invited Victor to be his guest and write a book on the Dallas team, which had started to win World bridge championships (1970, the first, held in Sweden). He accepted and spent a couple of months in Dallas doing so, to completion, but after finishing and then leaving, nothing was done to having it printed and sold. believe it or not, I never read it, so obviously cannot offer a critique.
No doubt sometimes life offers strange results, but Victor Mollo was quite an interesting
and compelling character and, to tell the truth do not know what happened.
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HI Bobby,
I think of the two lines you mention should the H8 hold, playing a small H back to the J appears better as West will need to have only 4 spades if he holds the HKQ (assuming the S at T1 wasn’t from K9x or similar). Unfortunately, if East has quite sensibly held up the HK from Kxxx or Qxxx then a heart back to the J misfires too. There is also one very far-fetched but vaguely amusing scenario which combines TOCM and a Mollo RR-style accident plus a Grosvener coup.
Imagine East has HKQx and pulls the wrong card playing small under the H8. Declarer ducks a H which East wins with the K and he then plays a spade back. South decides to grab this rather than duck (in case the defence don’t play a 3rd spade) and run the HJ now. Of course it is too absurd for words but worthy of the GC’s originator at his most annoying. Mind you, he does come to a grisly end eventually.
Regards,
Iain
Hi Iain and Bobby,
When Bobby mentioned that success was not guaranteed either way if the eight held, I too came up with the absurd duck by East from KQx, but did not connect it to RR. It always brightens my day to think how often Mollo’s unforgettable characters come to mind. Yesterday’s column brought the Walrus to mind for me – as it would not even cross his mind to play anything BUT the dogmatic 9H on the first round of hearts to show an even count.
Hi Iain & Jeff,
High level bridge has enough legitimate fantasies (to last a lifetime), rather than to create accidental ones. Of course, bridge writers (strangely not American, but often British) have seemed to corner the market on bridge satire (Mollo as the most well known), but
to be clumsy, might be thought to blend with stupidity to them.
Perhaps around 54 years ago Ira Corn, (patron saint of the Aces bridge team) invited Victor to be his guest and write a book on the Dallas team, which had started to win World bridge championships (1970, the first, held in Sweden). He accepted and spent a couple of months in Dallas doing so, to completion, but after finishing and then leaving, nothing was done to having it printed and sold. believe it or not, I never read it, so obviously cannot offer a critique.
No doubt sometimes life offers strange results, but Victor Mollo was quite an interesting
and compelling character and, to tell the truth do not know what happened.