The Amusing Side of Contract Bridge

Hands, Bids and Misunderstandings That Make the New Game So Very Engaging

RALPH J. LEIBENDERFER

CONTRACT has turned out to be a more serious game than auction but, like everything else, it also has its amusing side. The fact that a player has to bid for games and slams and can no longer coast along as he did in auction bridge makes contract a much more exacting game. The players now have to think a little harder than they ever thought before at the card table. And this reminds me of the somewhat peppery Colonel who turned on his partner and said: "You thought, sir! You thought! Who the devil asked you to think? You are here to play THE GAME, sir, not to think!" That advice, of course, must not be taken too literally but very frequently too much thinking gets the player into difficulties. Here is a good example of what may happen as a result of too much thought.

No score, rubber game. Z dealt and bid one club. A happened to be a player who loved to try out pet theories and had just ■explained to his partner that an immediate overbid, in the opponents' suit, was the equivalent of an informatory double but indicated a much stronger hand. A had this kind of a hand and bid two clubs. Y was a good reliable player and decided that he would block A's plan, if possible, so bid three diamonds. This bid was successful in shutting out B, who passed. When Z passed, A decided to bid four clubs and so force B to bid. Y was undaunted, however, and bid four diamonds. By this time B decided that it was up to him to do a little independent thinking and. as a result, decided that A had a real club bid and that Z was the one who was fooling. B, therefore, bid five clubs and Z passed. A realized, of course, that B had misunderstood the previous bidding and tried to save the situation by bidding five diamonds. Y passed and B proceeded to bid six clubs to show A that he preferred clubs to diamonds! This bid was doubled and defeated several tricks. If B bad only obeyed orders in this hand, instead of "thinking," he would have bid the hearts in which suit he and his partner could have scored five odd.

AFEW hands later the theorist had a different partner, one who loved to take a chance now and then and, on a goulash, carried the bidding up to seven clubs, was doubled and lost 3400 points. "W by on earth did you do it," asked the theorist in pained tones. "I just felt like it, my dear sir. Just felt like it. That's all." We all like to do foolish things some times and particularly at the bridge table.

The amusing things that happen aren't always connected with the play or the bidding. Here is one, for example, in regard to the enforcement of a law that occurred at one of the London "Cock and Hen" clubs: A lady dropped the Ace of Diamonds face upwards on the table, before the bidding was finished, and the player on her left demanded a new deal. The lady objected strongly to this, but it was proved to her that it was in order, and the cards were dealt again. Directly she looked at her cards, she said, in a triumphant tone, "There! You need not have made such a fuss about that Ace of Diamonds, I've got it again!" And again there had to be a fresh deal! (Under English Laws).

The craze for slam bidding and the various conventions invented to make slams "easy and certain" have been the cause of most amusing results. A case recently occurred at a well-known New York card club in which a contract of seven spades was played by a declarer who did not have a spade in his hand. At first thought, this would seem to be impossible, but it happened in this way: Dealer started with a bid of four Hearts; Second Hand passed; Third Hand, having no Spades, five Hearts (headed by the Jack-Ten), KingQueen-Jack and two other Clubs, and three worthless Diamonds, bid four Spades purely as slam information. After a pass by Fourth Hand, the Dealer, whose hand originally consisted of seven Hearts headed by Ace-KingQueen, and six Spades headed by the Ace (it was a goulash), bid seven Spades.

THE Third Hand, perfectly appreciating JL the situation, was afraid to bid seven No Trumps on account of the Diamonds, and Fourth Hand, holding six Spades with four honors, was afraid to double for fear that a bid of seven No Trumps would be made.

A sad result for a hand that was a grand slam in hearts!

The amusing side of contract is not always confined to the bidding. Here is a hand in which an intelligent declarer made his opponents look "silly". Just follow' his line of play and no doubt you will sympathize with his hapless opponents.

Score, Y-Z—o, A-B—90, rubber game. Z dealt and bid three No Trump. His hand was so big that he didn't see how his partner could have a justifiable raise if he bid for less than game. All passed and A opened the four of diamonds. Y played the deuce, B the ten and Z the ace. He saw instantly that the only hope of game lay in making the Jack of Diamonds a re-entry in dummy and this was only possible by playing the Ace of Diamonds on the first trick and so creating the impression in A's mind that his partner held the Queen. This was a really brilliant play, well conceived and well executed. Z now led the Ace, King of Hearts and then forced A into the lead on the third round of Hearts. Z's brilliant coup now had its well deserved reward for his play of the Ace of Diamonds at trick one marked the Queen in B's hand, so A correctly (as he thought) led the nine of Diamonds and, much to his surprise and horror the Jack won the trick in dummy. Z then led the two good Hearts in dummy, took the Spade finesse and thus scored game and rubber. A truly brilliant coup! It will take A many a day to recover from it.

If you are a fisherman, or contract player, you have heard and told many a fish story and the biggest fish or hand, is usually the one that got away. Here is an amusing one, where the "biggest fish" was actually caught. No score, rubber game. Z dealt and passed. A bid one No Trump. Y bid two hearts and B bid two No Trump. Z and A passed and Y bid three diamonds. B bid three No Trump, Z and A passed and Y bid four diamonds. B doubled and Z and A passed. Y now bid four hearts, B doubled and Z and A passed. Y now had the stage set for the big scene so bid five clubs. B and Z passed and A doubled. Y redoubled and all passed. Needless to say, Y made the bid, only losing two spade tricks.

THE only reason Y was able to land the A "big fish", was due to the fact that his partner, Z. was an alert and intelligent player. After hearing Y bid hearts and diamonds and suddenly switch to five clubs, it wasn't difficult for him to deduce that the previous bidding was only camouflage and that the five club bid was the real article. For the one "fish" landed by such tactics, however, many more get away and the ultimate loss is more than offset by the occasional gain. It is usually wiser to play sound contract and leave the fireworks for the other fellow.

The growing popularity of contract is largely due to two facts: First, its element of the unexpected, the fact that almost anything can happen, and at the most unexpected moments; second, the fact that practically every contract player, even the inexperienced, thinks pretty well of his game, regardless of what his partner may think of it and the apparently unbeatable hand is very often beaten.