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Play
It Again, Slam
Phillip & Robert King
ISBN 0 7134 8299 0, 128 pages, £10.99 - Available From Batsford
Books
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Play it Again, Slam was the fifth
book of parodies by Phillip and Robert King.
The stories include: The Fall of
Freddie Haversham, based on the writings of Somerset Maugham, and
Bridge of Spies, which is not a parody at all, but serves as a warning
of how a respectable bridge club might become a front for an attempt
to bring down civilisation as we know it.
The title story is, of course, a
bridge version of Casablanca. The following hand occurs during a
"friendly" match pitting Brick Lane and Victor Hilo against two
German officers.
To set the scene, Victor Hilo is
the leader of the resistance movement against the upstart von Erheim
System, which was stolen from the Vienna System.
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Armed only with natural methods, and the
battle cry "one spade-four spades-six spades", they take on their enemies:
| West |
North |
East |
South |
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Pass |
Pass |
1 |
| Dble |
Rdble |
Pass |
1NT |
| Pass! |
2 |
Pass |
2 |
| Pass! |
3 |
All Pass |
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South's 1
opening was artificial in the von Erheim system, but I trust that
the reader is not interested in a detailed explanation. North redoubled
to show eight or more points, and the 1NT rebid was strong. Therefore,
Brick knew his partner held a Yarborough. Since there was no chance of
buying the hand in two spades, he passed, hoping to find himself on lead
against a no-trump contract.
He followed up his remarkable silence in
the auction with an even more remarkable defence. The opponents were highly
likely to have eight red-suit tricks. Given time, declarer would doubtless
come to a ninth, either by a ruff, or by an end-play in clubs. Bold action
was called for, so he flicked the 2
nonchalantly on to the table.
When Strafe played low from dummy, Victor
captured with his 7
and returned a low club. Brick placed his queen on declarer's knave, and
continued with the 4.
Suspecting nothing, Strafe again played low from the table. In with the
9, Victor now
fired back another club, to set an unbeatable contract by one trick.
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