How Experts Plan Their Play

Some Remarkable and Interesting Examples of the Methods of Mr. Getricksky

R. F. FOSTER

THE broker and the agent were enjoying their usual after-dinner cigar together on the porch of the hotel that faced the sea. The usual remarks about how hot it must be in town were finished. The broker had mentioned at dinner that he had something to say to the agent, when they should be alone together. The agent now reminded him of it.

"It's that fellow Getricksky," the broker began, after a cautious look about him to be sure he was not overheard. "I cut into a rubber with him last night. They may be great players in Russia; but he made some of the darnedest plays I ever saw in my life. Why, we won every rubber."

"What is there to object to in that?" inquired the agent.

"Why, nothing, you might say," taking the cigar out of his mouth and regarding it critically, as if studying what to say next.

"All these Russians are supposed to be wonderful card players, I believe," suggested the agent.

"Yes. Too wonderful to suit me. He gets on my nerves when I am dummy. He makes plays that look foolish, and then all of a sudden he marks up three or four odd and game. I don't see anything crooked about his game. He never hesitates; never tries to get a peek into your hand; but unless he is a mind reader I don't see any explanation for the things he does."

"Is it the bidding or the play?"

"It is both. He is some bidder. Four-card suits are good enough for him, and he will go no-trumps with a whole suit against him. He has fixed up a game with that widow from Washington for this evening. She is said to be a very fine player; one of the old whisters. If 1 get either of them for a partner 1 am satisfied."

"Who is the fourth to be?"

"Some author fellow, I believe, who has read every book on the game, and plays according to rule, just to see the wheels go round. I will tell you what I wish you would do for me. You are a pretty good judge of a bridge game. Sit behind Getricksky and watch his game, and tell me what you think of it."

"He might object."

"Not a bit of it. He says nothing disturbs him. I want you to tell me how he figures out the plays he makes. He never seems to make a mistake. If you think you could have done it better, or more easily, he can tell you in about five words where you are wrong. If you don't see some plays that will open your eyes I'll buy you a box of cigars. You and I may remember some of the hands and go over them afterwards."

The game was made up as arranged, but nothing unusual happened for the first few deals, except that the Broker seemed to be rather conservative in his bidding. Presently this distribution came along, the score being love-all, rubber game, with quite a liberal margin of honors and penalties to the credit of Getricksky and his partner, the Widow. These were chiefly due to the Author's trying to make up for his partner's conservatism by overbidding his own hands.

The Broker dealt and bid a spade, the higher ranking of two suits. The Widow passed. The Author studied his cards for a minute, uncertain whether to go no-trumps, call the diamonds, or let the spade alone. Knowing his partner's conservatism, he concluded to let the spade bid stand, as he had three to an honor, and could trump the second round of hearts.

There are no trumps, and Z leads. Y and Z want four out of these six tricks. How do they get them? Although there are only six cards in each hand, they will probably be found quite enough for a warm weather problem.

Much to his astonishment, Getricksky promptly declared two no-trumps. It struck the agent that the Author's hesitation had something to do with this bid, which was clearly a shut-out. As he could see both hands, he realized that in this respect it was effective, as the Broker passed, without mentioning the hearts.

Realizing that the declarer must have his spades bottled up, probably with king, jack and others, the Broker opened the play with the jack of hearts, and dummy went down.

"One trick is all I have for you, partner," the Widow remarked.

"It is pretty weak in spots," was the only comment. "I will have a small heart, please." The Widow pushed it forward. The Author followed suit with the eight. Getricksky played the seven. The agent repressed a start.

What You Want When You Want It

THE Broker looked at the trick for a moment before gathering it, and inwardly congratulated himself for having hit the weak spot in the no-trumper, and also for having avoided the spade lead. Reading his partner for having started an echo with the eight and deuce, the Broker went on with a small heart, and was rather astonished to see dummy hold the trick with the nine. The Author discarded the eight of diamonds.

Six club tricks followed, dummy discarding two diamonds and one spade. The Author completed his echo in diamonds with the two, and then let go two spades. The Broker parted with three small spades and both his diamonds, as his partner showed protection in that suit.

Getricksky then led the king of hearts. The Broker saw at once that if he let this trick hold, and the declarer had a diamond to lead, that won the game. If he had no diamond, but held king jack small in spades, which seemed probable from his bidding, his only chance to save the game was to win the heart and put the declarer back into the lead with another heart. Then two spades, and the ten of hearts, saved the game and rubber.

Unfortunately for this scheme, the declarer had a diamond, and made his contract with one over; three by cards, game and rubber.

"Pretty work," was all the comment the agent could make at the time. He saw the result, but the way it was figured out was beyond him.

" I had to get a club lead from dummy somehow, before I lost that ace of diamonds," was the response to the compliment, as if it were an everyday affair for him to get what he wanted led, when he wanted it.

They cut for the next rubber, and changed partners, but nothing unusual happened, and the agent began to think he had seen all the fireworks that were to be let off that evening. At the end of the third rubber, however, this deal came along:

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The Broker dealt and bid a diamond. Getricksky one heart, which everyone passed. The Widow led her top diamond, the ten. The dummy covered with the jack and the king held. After looking over the dummy, the Broker concluded to set up a couple of spade tricks before losing his ace of diamonds. Accordingly, he led the king of spades. Getricksky played the eight; the Widow the nine, starting a down-and-out echo.

This looked as if the Widow might be long in spades and short in diamonds, so the Broker led the ace of diamonds, which was promptly trumped.

Instead of putting dummy in with the king of clubs, and trying the trump finesse, which the agent expected would be the next play, and certainly the natural one, Getricksky led out his two top trumps, leaving the position of the queen uncertain. Then he led a small club, putting dummy in. The winning diamond gave him a spade discard. The next diamond was trumped with the jack of hearts. The position of the trump queen is still uncertain.

Getricksky then led the ace of spades. If the nine, played earlier by the Widow, was a singleton, she would have to use the best trump to kill the spade. Then, having nothing but clubs left, would have to lead them, and give dummy two spade discards. That meant game and rubber.

The spade was not trumped, as the Widow still held the four. Another small club allowed dummy to trump with the seven of hearts and lead the losing trump, giving the declarer a discard of his last spade, and putting the Widow in. Having nothing left but clubs to lead, Getricksky made both ace and jack; four by cards; game and rubber.

Method in His Mind Reading

IN discussing this hand afterward, with the Broker, who remembered it perfectly, the agent remarked that he thought the game might have been won in a much simpler way; but on laying out the cards they could not discover any way of getting four odd except just the way Getricksky had played it. The club lead at the fourth trick looked very inviting, but it would not win game. In fact it might lead to a loss of five tricks, leaving only two odd.

Game was also found to be impossible at no-trump, which the Broker thought might have been the declaration if he had not bid the diamonds.

"Well, what do you make of it?" he asked finally, after half an hour spent in discussing and analyzing some of the hands.

" He is a mind reader. That's all there is to it. Some of these Russian card players seem to be built that way."

Answer to the August Problem This was the distribution in Problem L, which was another of Harry Boardman's propositions.

Hearts are trumps and Z leads. Y and Z want five tricks. This is how they get them:

Z starts with the ace of clubs, and Y trumps it. Y then leads the jack of spades. It does not matter whether B covers with the queen or not; Z will duck the trick. If B puts on the queen, A must play a small spade.

B's best lead now is the jack of diamonds, which Z trumps, and leads the queen of trumps, picking up A's jack. Z's next lead is the spade ten. If A refuses to give up the ace, Z follows with the king of spades. The only possible trick for the defence is the ace of spades, the discards of Y and B at this stage being unimportant.

If B refuses to put the queen of spades on the jack, at the second trick, A will have to win it with the ace and lead a diamond. Z will trump this trick with the queen and lead the six. This puts A back into the lead, and forces him to lose two spade tricks, no matter what A leads next, as Z can overtake Y's nine of spades with the ten, if B refuses to cover it.

In case both A and B prefer to duck the jack of spades, and Y goes on with the nine, Y and Z will make six tricks, instead of five, as it will not be necessary to give A a trick with the jack of trumps.