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By Barrie Partridge
Reproduced from Sheffield Bridge Club Newsletter, Special 100th
issue, by the kind persmission of Mr Barrie Partridge.
This little story is to show how
a top pair like Graham Jespon and Peter Littlewood can score a Top
on a board just because they are Graham Jepson and Peter Littlewood.
This hand was Board 11 in the April
BGB (formerly BBL) Simultaneous Pairs.
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7
5 2 |
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J 7 5 4 |
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K 9 7 |
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K 4 2 |
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10 |
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A Q J 9 6 |
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A 9 3 2 |
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10 8 |
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Q 10 8 6 5 |
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J 4 |
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10
9 7 |
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Q
J 8 6 |
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K 8 4 3 |
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K
Q 6 |
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A 3 2 |
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A 5 3 |
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I was South and Graham was West
with Peter East. It was Love all and North dealer. East opened 1
and I overcalled 1NT. There stopped the bidding at the other tables,
but Graham dredged up a bid of 2
provoking my partner to bid 2NT, which is where I played. Everyone
in 1NT made eight tricks, so I had to make for a flat board.
Graham led 10,
which ran to my King. I led K
and Graham took and returned a club. I cashed Q
and saw that Peter had discarded the ten and eight. The big question
was how the hearts were divided. If Graham had the remaining hearts,
I would have to finesse. If they were split, I would have to play
for the drop. The principle of Restricted Choice suggested that
they were 4-2.
Then I hit upon the idea of playing
a spade so that Peter could cash out his spade winners and then
by the time another top club was played, I would squeeze Graham
if he had started with four hearts! Accordingly, I cast off
with a spade and Peter took two spade tricks but then he switched
to a club. So Peter had worked out my little game, had he? Or was
he being even more devious and trying to make me think that
the squeeze would have worked?
I decided the latter! So I played
for the drop, also on the basis that if I was wrong, I would be
only 1 off rather than 2 off. But no, The hearts really were 4-2
and Peter scored a Top because he wasn't being as devious
as I thought he might be!
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