I don’t mind a bit of carefully controlled nostalgia but when it even nudges mawkishness I’m out. To prove it I am not going to gush and rhapsodise that this is my last column for the Speccie, but I will say that it has been a pleasure and a privilege filing this column every fortnight for the past 16 (give or take) years, and I have greatly enjoyed calling myself a ‘journalist’ at every opportunity. Particularly to journalists, some of whom get amusingly irritated! But that was then and this will be a new year; I don’t know who your next bridge columnist will be but I look forward to finding out.
This simple but instructive hand came up at the recent WBT Copenhagen 2025, which I may have mentioned was won decisively by my team, sans moi. It was played by my teammate Thomas Charlsen (Charlie), with typical expertise:
3 NT by South. West leads the ♠5 to the Jack and Ace, and East returns the ♠8 on which West plays the ♠2. Plan the play.
The experienced eye should always spot the lethal blockage in the Club suit, but at least one Bermuda Bowl finalist didn’t find the solution; did you?
We can try ducking a Club but if Spades are 5-3, as they seem to be, we will lose too many tricks. Have you spotted the solution? If you have, you’ve done better than about eight declarers who went down. The winning line is to continue a third Spade and discard a Club! As Charlie said, when you’ve seen that position and got it wrong you never forget!
I know Susanna would join me in wishing you all a very happy, healthy and successful new year.
Comments