Here’s a bridge tip you won’t read about in any book — one which the world-class pro Gunnar Hallberg gave me the other evening during a game of social bridge. You’re declarer, and a suit is led. Let’s say dummy has a holding like 8643 in the suit, and you can see at once that it doesn’t matter at all which card you play. Instead of routinely playing low, very pointedly ask for a ridiculous, random card — say, the six. ‘The six?’ partner is bound to say, looking confused. ‘The six,’ you repeat, with conviction. This has the effect 1) of making the opposition think that you’re a scarily good player, and 2) of distracting them from their defence while they try to puzzle out why on earth you needed to ‘unblock’ such a seemingly innocuous card.
‘But what do you say at the end when they ask you why you played the six?’ I asked. ‘Just tell them you were petering,’ Gunnar replied.
It’s great advice, although I can’t imagine that Gunnar would ever need to resort to such shenanigans: such is his reputation that his opponents are already quaking when he sits down to play.
The other night, he won a brisk first rubber against me and my partner (Sarah Dunn) with hand after hand of simple, efficient declarer play such as this:
Sitting West, I led the ♠J. Gunnar played low from dummy (no point calling for the ♠6 here!) and won with the ♠K. Next he cashed the ♥AK, then stripped the clubs. Now came the ♠2. I followed with the ♠7 — and he ducked. Game over: I tried switching to a high diamond, but he rose with the ♦A and exited with the ♠Q to East’s ♠A.
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