Treating those two imposters just the same

Mark Amory

BRIDGE TRIUMPHS AND DISASTERS by Jose le Dentu, English version by Terence Reece

Gollancz, f5.95, pp. 143

There is only one problem in this enjoyable stroll through the past and the author admits that it was probably never dealt. The title is often a help but 'Every- thing Upside Down' did not help me. I treat all hands as problems anyway, bid for all four players, who therefore enjoy per- fect understanding and better still make signals which are invariably noticed, understood and acted on. So when you are supposed to see all the cards I consider myself at a disadvantage.

As South you have to make 4 spades. West leads a club, East ruffs and returns a diamond.

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• KJ987 9A32 0 A32 ♦ A2

At love all the bidding might go: South West North East 1♦ 4+ 4# No

No No

Solution West leads the queen of clubs, you play the king from dummy, and East ruffs. You follow suit with the ace. Naturally.

You win the diamond return draw the two remaining trumps, and play ace fol- lowed by king of hearts. Then you present the lead to West by playing, a low, a very low, club form each hand.

West, who has only clubs left, must win and play another club. You don't take a ruff-and-discard. Not yet. Instead you throw a heart from dummy and a diamond from your own hand. This leaves: You ruff the next club in dummy and dispose of your remaining diamond. You have made your contract losing just three tricks. And, funnily enough, although you began with Kx of clubs opposite Ax, the three tricks you have lost have all been in clubs.

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