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1. THE SUBSTITUTE A doctor is called away from a bridge tournament to tend to an emergency. There is still the last board to play. They ask a kibitzer to take his place, even though he knows nothing about the game. They tell him "Just bid what you have got and follow suit". He, sitting South, thereupon starts the following bidding sequence: H - J 10 97 H - 8 D - Q 10 D - J9 C - A South took the lead of the king of spades with the ace, cashed the ace and king of trumps, came to his hand with the ace of clubs and played all his diamonds. On the last diamond lead, West was hopelessly squeezed in hearts and spades, and ultimately discarded a heart, whereupon South made the last four tricks in hearts. the bidding, and got the following reply: LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL (submitted by Mary Martin)
2. FAMOUS BRIDGE HAND THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND IS FLEECED FOR £20,000!
Final contract: Seven Clubs Redoubled, played by South Opening lead: Jack of Hearts This is likely the most famous hand in the history of bridge, although it was actually first reported in a game of Whist. The story has it that the Duke of Cumberland (son of King George III) some 200 years ago held the East hand. The wager from his opponents was that in spite of the duke’s incredible hand, he would not win a single trick against a contract of Seven Clubs redoubled. The bet was some £20,000, and, alas, the duke lost his wager for the grand slam cannot be defeated if the declarer plays correctly. Assuming that West’s opening lead is a diamond or a
heart, the declarer trumps, ruffs a spade in dummy, and then returns
a club for a successful finesse against East. Now the declarer ruffs
another spade in dummy, takes another successful trump finesse, and
ruffs a third round of spades in dummy. His remaining spades are now
established, and he returns to his hand by trumping a diamond or a
heart. After cashing the ace of trumps, he claims. 3. A DEADLY GAME OF BRIDGE
The famous Bennett bridge murder occurred September 29, 1929, and enlivened Kansas City, Missouri for years. John S. Bennett, age 36, a personable and prosperous perfume salesman, and his wife, Myrtle, were playing rubber bridge with Charles and Mayme Hofman at a tenth of a cent a point, family against family. Just before midnight the fatal hand was dealt by John himself: North (Myrtle Bennett) A1063 1084 4 A9842 West - Charles Hofman East - Mayme Hofman Q72 4 AJ3 Q94 AQ1092 KJ763 J6 Q753 South (John Bennett) KJ985 K762 85 K10 South West North East 1S 2D 4S All pass West led Ace of Diamonds
Mr. Bennett opened the bidding with less than traditional values, and his wife took a shot (sorry about that) at game with a jump to 4 spades. West led the Ace of diamonds and shifted to the Jack of clubs. South won the K - the only correct play he made. He led the trump Jack. When Hoffman failed to cover he rose with the Ace. He led the spade 10 and when East showed out he won with the king. Next, Bennett trumped a diamond in dummy, cashed the club Ace, and led the club 9. Mrs. Hofman played the queen, Bennett trumped with the spade 5, Hofman over-trumped with the queen and cashed the heart ace. The Hofmans had their book. Bennett won the next Heart and was stymied. Dummy had two good clubs but he couldn't get over there. Confused, Bennett ran his trumps and had to go down two. Myrtle goaded John about his poor play and John accused her of overbidding. One taunt led to another and another until Myrtle jumped up, dashed into the bedroom, grabbed the family pistol, came back and shot John dead. During the trial some of the jurors became so intrigued with bridge they lost sight of the tragedy. Some learned to play between court sessions and asked for an expert to interpret the 4 spade hand. The famous Ely Culbertson was summoned. "Mr. Bennett overbid his hand," Culbertson announced. "Of that there can be no doubt, but even with this, so kind were the the gods of distribution that he might have saved his life had he played his cards a little better. He failed to make a plan." Culbertson admired Mrs. Bennett's boost to 4 spades and said he would have made the same bid himself. The jury was swayed and brought in a verdict of "accidental death." Some months later a dazed insurance company had to pay double indemnity. Mrs. Bennett continued to play bridge but encountered some difficulty finding a partner. 4. MAKING 7NT - Problem to solve from Peter Harris East. West S 7 S AKQ H AK H QJ10 D AKQ D J109876 C AQJ10987 C 2 East is declarer at 7NT. North led the Jack of Spades. Can you make 7NT without peeking?
Answer: West wins the lead of the Jack of Spades with Ace. Play the King and Queen of spades and discard the A and K of hearts. Lead the Q, J and 10 of hearts and discard the AKQ of diamonds. Lead the J,10,9,8,7,6 of diamonds and discard Q,J,10,9,8,7 of clubs. Lead the 2 of clubs to Ace. Making 7NT. The East hand took only one trick: the Ace of clubs.
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