Bridge. What a heartbreaker. Just when you think all is well with the world you come spectacularly unstuck. OK, maybe a tad dramatic, but it doesn’t feel like it. First we played the Crockford’s semi-final — and lost. Then we played round 3 of the Gold Cup — and lost again. Since then nothing has gone right. Every match is a battle and every decision turns out wrong. What can I tell you? I’m suffering.
Last weekend we played Derek and Celia Oram and Peter and Dee Linden in our Gold Cup match and despite some opportunities, failed to get them out of their comfort zone. That’s my excuse anyway!
Derek Oram made a very thoughtful play on this board, one that would normally not be that significant but turned out to make all the difference:
At my table the bidding went the same way but West led the ♣Q and I went one off. At Derek’s table one of my teammates selected the more attacking ♦J lead and declarer hurried to pitch one of his club losers. What next? Derek paused to take stock and then ruffed a diamond with the ♠10, tried a heart to the Queen which held the trick and a heart to his 10 and West’s Jack. The defence is now over. If they don’t play two rounds of trump, declarer will score a heart ruff in dummy. If they do play two rounds of trump, dummy will hold the trick and make the rest.
Ah, I can hear you saying; can’t you make your contract by discarding the last club on the third diamond? But that gives East the chance to find the expert play of a small spade…
As I said — heartbreaking.
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