Just take the money! That’s the philosophy of many rubber bridge players when it comes to bidding — or rather not bidding — grand slams. Why risk going down in seven when a small slam will net you a large enough gain? I’m not of that school myself: so long as I trust my partner, I can’t bear to stop short of bidding grand slams. But trust — ah, there’s the rub. Who can you trust? Playing for £10 a hundred at TGR’s recently, I cut Maurice Esterson as my partner. I’ve known Maurice for 20 years, I like him enormously, and I trust him completely. He trusts me too. Unfortunately, on this deal, it was his trust which proved unfounded:
Maurice opened 2NT and I bid 4♣ — a slam try. He cue bid 4♦ (which could be an ace or a king) and East doubled.
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