Some Difficult Hands

Showing That Experts Require Two Qualities: Inference, and Skill at Double Dummy

R. F. FOSTER

"I UNDERSTAND you are a great bridge player, Mr. Hopkins," remarked the Professor, as they were sitting on the hotel porch after dinner. Mr. Hopkins shrugged his shoulders. "I have always been curious to know," the Professor went on, "whether the ability to solve problems, or play double dummy, improved one's game of bridge more than one's game of bridge improved one's ability to play double dummy."

"I have not thought of the two in that connection before, but now that you ask me, there is no comparison except in the play of the hands. The only difference between the two games is that in one the location of every card can be marked, as twenty-six cards are seen in addition to your own hand. In the other, the location of the important cards must be inferred. Once the inferences have been correctly made, the play becomes double dummy."

"THE reason I ask," resumed the Professor, "is that that Russian player, Getricksky, who seems to win all the time at the bridge table, remarked the other night that he would play any man in the world at double dummy. I have shown him one or two bridge problems of seven or eight cards that were quite beyond me, and he seemed able to solve them without any trouble."

"Then you think the secret of his success at the bridge table is his ability to play double dummy after he has located the cards? " demanded Mr. Hopkins.

"There are certainly others who can locate the important cards just as accurately as he can, but they do not get the results in the play. Now there is Brixton. I have given him the situation in the whole fifty-two cards, but he could not see how on earth Getricksky went game on the hand against good play."

"I have noticed," added Hopkins, "that if you ask him the reason for any of his plays, he seldom mentions the location of the cards; but the necessity for doing something or other. I am going to play with him this evening in a set match against the Major and that golfer from Garden City. The golfer is some bidder. Suppose you sit behind Getricksky and get a line on his play."

The match began a little later, and for a few deals nothing unusual occurred. Presently this distribution came up:

PROBLEM LXXIV

Hearts are trumps and Z leads. Y and Z want all eight tricks. How do they get them? Solution in the September number.

HOPKINS dealt and bid a spade, the Major no-trump, Getricksky two diamonds, the Golfer three clubs, Hopkins three diamonds, the Major four clubs, Getricksky four diamonds, which all passed.

Getricksky won the first club lead and, much to the Professor's astonishment, led the king of hearts. The Major came back with a trump, which Getricksky won with the king, leading the queen of hearts. Then he let dummy trump a club, and trumped a third round of hearts himself with the ten of diamonds. The next thing was to pick up the adversaries' trumps, put dummy in with a spade and get two discards on the hearts. Little slam.

"May I ask why you did not lead trumps immediately?" asked the Professor, almost in a whisper.

"I cannot win the game unless dummy can trump twice, which is impossible, because they will lead trumps the moment they get in. Then I lose a trick in clubs, spades, and hearts. To avoid that, I must get discards instead of trumping clubs, and the heart king establishes a sure reentry to force dummy once in clubs, so that even if I lose a heart trick at the end, I still win the game."

A moment later a deal came along in which the Russian made a bid on five cards to the nine, instead of on four to an ace-king, which rather astonished the Professor.

The Golfer dealt and bid a spade, Getricksky two hearts, the two others passing. The Golfer bid his second suit, three diamonds. The Major went to three spades when second hand passed, but Hopkins went to four hearts which the Major doubled, with the remark that it was a free double.

THE Major led his top spade, which dummy won. The small diamond put Getricksky in, the Major playing the eight. A small club and the finesse held, dummy returning the ace and then a third round, which Getricksky trumped, and led the nine of trumps. The Major put on the queen, and the king held.

Dummy returned the spade, which the Golfer won with the nine, and led the jack of diamonds, which dummy was allowed to trump. A small spade from dummy was trumped. Getricksky then led the ace of diamonds and followed with a small one, which the Major trumped with the four, so as to make both ace and ten later.

"Again I do not see why you did not lead trumps sooner," remarked the Professor.

"If the player on my right has two five-card suits, he may trump the third club; but that does not matter, because then the Major has only three trumps. I figured him for four and played the hand on that supposition."

The next deal to attract the Professor's attention was this one:

The Major dealt and passed. Hopkins bid no-trump. When the Golfer passed, Getricksky bid two clubs, which held, as the Golfer declined to risk the hearts against the notrumper.

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The Major led the five of diamonds, dummy playing the seven, and Getricksky trumped the queen. A small trump put dummy in to lead the jack of diamonds, and Getricksky trumped the ace. A second trump lead allowed dummy to make two winning diamonds, giving Getricksky two spade discards. The finesse of the heart queen followed and the Major's trump was taken out. Two heart leads followed, putting the Golfer in, and the spade king won a trick. Five odd and game.

"I can go game at no-trump," remarked Hopkins.

"Not unless the opening is the small heart, instead of the jack, and then you will have to make both ace and queen before you touch the clubs."

The Professor said, "But I should have covered the first diamond with the ten."

"Then you get only one spade discard and cannot go game. I need two spade discards to get five odd."

ANSWER TO THE JULY PROBLEM

This was Problem LXXIV:

Hearts are trumps and Z leads. Y and Z want six tricks against any defence. This is how they get them. Z leads the spade king. A has three good defences. If he trumps high, Y discards a diamond. A's only sound return is a trump, because if he leads a diamond, Z will trump it and lead trumps, and Y makes all four of his trumps and the king of clubs.

If A leads a high trump for the second trick, Y wins it and leads a diamond, which Z trumps with the ten of hearts. Z then leads another spade, which Y wins, no matter what A plays. Now Y can pick up the trumps and make the king of clubs.

If A leads a small trump for the second trick, Z wins it with the ten and leads another spade for Y to trump, and Y leads a diamond for Z to trump. Now Z leads a third spade, and Y must make both ace and jack of trumps and the club king.

If A trumps the first trick with the six, Y overtrumps with the seven and leads a diamond, which Z trumps with the three of hearts. Z then leads another spade. If A discards, Y trumps and leads another diamond, which Z trumps with the ten, B discarding a club. Now Z must lead the club, or B will discard his remaining club. This A must trump with a high trump, or the king of clubs wins. The ace and jack of trumps are then good for the two last tricks in Y's hand.

If A passes up the first trick, Y will discard the king of clubs. Z leads another spade, and Y wins with the ace, seven, or deuce of trumps, according to A's play, leading a diamond for Z to trump. Now Z leads a club, and again Y must make a trump trick or get a diamond discard, while Z can still trump the second diamond and Y can trump the second dub and pick up the adverse trumps.