CHAPTER ♣7

Leo’s lively four year old son was terrified by the thought of going to school. Several talks with him had been to no avail, and the little man would creep into his parent's bed in tears, only to fall asleep sobbing and weeping. The temptation to keep him at home for the time being was there, and Leo had had arguments about this with his wife Loes.
Linda's advertising agency was not running so well lately, and she was having a fight with her boyfriend Lex. She wanted to marry, but Lex was not ready for this yet. She knew that he loved her, but she also knew that he could be very indecisive. She understood this, but she did not want to live together for the rest of her life without any form of commitment. She envied Leo a bit, with his happy marriage and his cute little son...

N/all	♠ K 10 3 2 ♥ A 8 4 3 ♦ Q 9 5 ♣ A 9
♠ Q 5 ♥ 10 7 2 ♦ A 8 4 3 ♣ Q 7 6 4	N W         E S	♠ J 9 8 6   ♥ K 9 6 5   ♦ 7   ♣ K 8 5 3
	♠ A 7 4 ♥ Q J ♦ K J 10 6 2 ♣ J 10 2
West Rick van de Schans -   pass	North Linda   1 ♣   pass	East Dick van de Toren pass   pass	South Leo   3 NT

Silent and deep in thought Leo and Linda retrieved their cards from the first board of the second regional pairs evening. Leo sorted his cards absentmindedly, only to discover that he held five suits. Moving two diamonds from left to right, to join them with the other three diamonds, he saw Linda open 1♣. That promised at least a doubleton club, and he decided to reveal as little as possible about his hand by shooting an immediate 3NT. He recognized his arrogant right hand opponent from the previous week, and steeled himself to teach the guy a sharp lesson.

Rick van de Schans, an amiable thick-set man with abundant greying hair, had no attractive lead and eventually placed ♦4 on the baize. Linda displayed her mundane 13-count, and Leo plunged into a trance. His direct leap to 3NT had effectively concealed his strong diamonds, and with this favourable opening lead 3NT seemed easy. But Leo knew that that was precisely the moment to think twice.
While he was pondering he noticed that Dick van de Toren, a very tall young man with short bristly hair, had already pulled up a card. That meant that he probably did not possess ♦A. Leo finally called for a low diamond from dummy, and when East did indeed play small he won the trick with ♦J. Leo immediately continued with ♥Q!

West and dummy followed with a small heart, and East took the trick with ♥K. The ♥5 came back, taken by Leo's ♥J, and declarer continued with a diamond to dummy's ♦Q and a diamond to his ♦K and Wests ♦A. Rick van de Schans cleverly led a small club, ducked in dummy and won by Dick van de Toren with ♣K. The next club was for dummy's ♣A, and Leo jubilantly cashed his nine tricks.

>>>

"Yes, nicely played", said Rick van de Schans. "If you continue with a diamond at trick two I take my ace and shoot a small club through. You don't have nine tricks yet and since ♥K is offside you go down, losing ♦A, ♥K and three clubs. Taking the heart finesse before driving out ♦A is correct because East cannot effectively attack the club suit."
Dick van de Toren listened silently to his partner's learning, eyed his opponents disdainfully, mumbled "Routine dummy play...", and turned to address his partner.
"I know, club lead beats it", interrupted Rick van de Schans quickly. "Pretty hard to find, don't you think."

<<<

>>>

In the second round Leo and Linda faced the vicar and the priest. Oecumenism was a complicated affair in the countryside of Groningen, but the two clergymen had excellent rapport at the bridge table. They greeted Leo and Linda serenely and wished them wisdom and prosperity. Linda cast an eye on the immaculate convention card of her eminent opponents and noticed that they too played the Multi and Muiderberg.

E/EW	♠ A 9 ♥ K 10 6 4 2 ♦ J 8 3 ♣ A K 2
♠ 6 3 ♥ Q 7 ♦ Q 7 5 ♣ J 10 8 7 4 3	N W         E S	♠ K Q 8 7 2   ♥ J 9 8 3   ♦ A 6   ♣ 9 5
	♠ J 10 5 4 ♥ A 5 ♦ K 10 9 4 2 ♣ Q 6
West Leo -   pass   pass   pass	North vicar -   1 ♥   3 NT	East Linda pass   1 ♠   pass	South priest pass   2 NT   pass

<<<

Leo picked up his cards contentedly, savouring the thought of that 3NT in the first round, and saw North open 1♥ fourth in hand. Linda overcalled 1♠, and a few moments later South had become declarer in 3NT.
Leo led ♠6. The priest, who watched the dummy descend with mixed feelings, called for ♠9. Linda contemplated for a few seconds and then played ♠8! Surprised, declarer continued with ♦J from dummy and ran this to Leo's ♦Q. The ♠3 came back, won by dummy's ace, but by now the erudite priest was a doomed man after Linda's brilliant defence. The diamond continuation was for Linda's ♦A, who quickly cashed three spade tricks to put the contract 1 down.

"Heavenly, that ♠8 at trick one", exclaimed Leo just a little too loudly. "If you stick in an honour declarer is home, because our spade link is then severed..."
"True", interrupted the vicar. "But the catholic church can still prevail, by leading a diamond to the king at trick two! East-West will still make two diamond tricks, but the order is reversed. That eclipses East's spade suit..."

The priest opened his mouth with a frown, but the vicar continued her sermon imperturbably:
"A diamond to the king at trick two is more obvious than it seems. East has made a vulnerable overcall and could therefore well have ♠KQ and ♦A. But she had passed as dealer, so ♦Q in addition is not very likely anymore. Also, with ♠KQxxx and ♦AQxx she would always have opened the bidding with 1♠ or a Muiderberg 2♠. In short, South's chosen line would only be good if East had ♠KQxxx, exactly ♦AQx and not a single point in hearts or clubs. Not likely at all."

>>>

"1♠ by East goes 2 down after the obvious ♥A lead", the priest observed. "At this vulnerability perhaps I should have passed instead of bidding 2NT..."

<<<

>>>

Halfway through the evening Leo and Linda met Black and Jack. These two flamboyant personalities played bridge since only a few years, but they were rapidly improving thanks to their vast experience with poker and Black Jack. Black wore an intense rouge, which contrasted beautifully with her light blonde hair, bright blue eyes and deep black mascara. Jack had tied his raven hair in a pony tail, and sported a dark grey shirt, a smart black suit and a red tie. The professional gamblers were as always relaxed and good-natured, and greeted Leo and Linda heartily.

W/-	♠ 6 ♥ 7 5 4 2 ♦ 8 3 2 ♣ A Q J 10 2
♠ A K J 10 3 ♥ Q 8 ♦ A 5 ♣ 9 7 4 3	N W         E S	♠ Q 9 2   ♥ K J 10 9 6 3   ♦ 9 6   ♣ 8 5
	♠ 8 7 5 4 ♥ A ♦ K Q J 10 7 4 ♣ K 6
West Leo 1 ♠   pass   pass   double	North Jack 2 ♣   pass   4 ♦   pass	East Linda 2 ♠   3 ♥   pass   pass	South Black 3 ♦   pass   5 ♦   pass

<<<

After a rather wild auction Black ended up in 5♦ doubled, and Leo began with ♠AK. Black ruffed the second spade in dummy and played a diamond to her ♦K. Leo won with ♦A and started to panic. Dummy’s clubs were threatening, and if declarer had ♣K it was mandatory to quickly make a heart trick. Linda simply had to have ♥A (if she hade ♣K it would always come in), and Leo consequently continued with a heart. This however was to no avail. Black won with her ♥A, drew trumps and claimed eleven tricks.

"That is the first Biltcliffe Coup* I have ever encountered", Black smiled.
"What kind of coup?", Leo snapped irritably.
"A Biltcliffe Coup", Black repeated helpfully. "A Biltcliffe Coup has four characteristics:

1) Opponents are about to end up in a part score, but
     you keep the bidding open in the pass-out position.
2) Opponents then reach game.
3) You double this.
4) Opponents make their contract.

If all that happens, it's a Biltcliffe Coup!"
"How very interesting", Linda sneered, "but..."
"You're right", Jack interrupted wittily. "Leo can defeat 5♦. There was nothing wrong with his double and the ♠AK start. But Leo must subsequently duck the first round of trumps! Declarer has no chance after that..."


* Many thanks to Terence Reese and David Bird, who introduced the hilarious Biltcliffe Coup in their fantastic book "Doubled and Venerable".

>>>

At the end of a thrilling evening Leo and Linda opposed the sheriff and the prosecutor. Both knew the law by heart, and were particularly keen on exposing any irregularity at the table. Leo and Linda exchanged a glance of understanding and carefully retrieved their cards from the first board.

W/NS	♠ 7 6 2 ♥ K ♦ 8 5 3 2 ♣ A K Q J 10
♠ K 9 8 3 ♥ 6 3 ♦ K 7 4 ♣ 8 6 4 3	N W         E S	♠ J 10 4   ♥ J 7 5 4   ♦ J 10 9 6   ♣ 9 5
	♠ A Q 5 ♥ A Q 10 9 8 2 ♦ A Q ♣ 7 2
West sheriff pass   pass   pass   pass   pass	North Leo 1 ♣   3 ♣   4 ♥   5 ♥ *   pass	East prosecutor pass   pass   pass   pass   pass	South Linda 2 ♥   3 ♥   4 NT   6 ♥
* two of the five keycards

<<<

Leo sorted his cards with relish and moved his right hand towards the bidding box. Just in time he noticed that West was the dealer, and he smoothly redirected his hand to wipe an imaginary speck off the table. The sheriff glared at him as if he was the suspect of a capital offence, and with a threatening look he placed a pass card on the green baize.

Leo bid 1♣, and a traditional auction ensued which ended in a tight slam. The sheriff cleared his throat and started a cross examination.
"How many clubs does 1♣ promise?"
Linda, who did not dare to point out that it was improper to ask such closed-ended questions, answered timidly: "At least two".
"What does 2♥ mean?"
Leo, anxious not make any mistake, carefully answered: "Game forcing with at least six hearts".
"And what does 5♥ mean?"
Linda, equally careful, said: "Two of the five key-cards, without the trump queen".

The sheriff shot a severe glance at his opponents and led ♥3. Leo displayed his dummy, and Linda followed a sound habit to analyse the hand before playing a card from dummy. The prosecutor, always willing to challenge the outer edges of the law, illegally pulled up a card and waited impatiently for Linda to move into action.
"Thank you partner", she said finally. "King of hearts please."

The prosecutor banged ♥4 onto the table and Linda overtook dummy's ♥K with her ♥A! She continued with ♥Q and ♥10 to East's jack. The prosecutor fired back ♦J, but Linda played a determined ♦A, drew East's last trump and claimed with a broad grin.

>>>

"I cash all dummy's clubs and discard my losers in the pointed suits", she commented as if making a formal statement.
The sheriff and the prosecutor opened their mouth simultaneously, but Leo beat them to it.
"I fully agree with you. The sheriff should not have asked how many clubs my 1♣ bid promised. He can only ask what 1♣ means. And the prosecutor went wrong by pulling a card up before dummy had played to the first trick. I'm glad you noticed this as well, so we will let it pass this time..."
"... Certainly in view of the fact that 6♥ could have been beaten", Linda added softly. "If the sheriff here leads a club and the prosecutor continues with clubs after winning his ♥J, dummy is dead. The superior contract is 6NT by South. Then too I must overtake dummy's ♥K with the ace..."


                                        ♠  ♥  ♦  ♣

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<

<<<