What's Your Best Bridge Story?

[Winstonm]

[hv=n=s72ha4dj43cqj10532&s=sa4h863dkq2cak964]133|200|Scoring: MP

A True Story.

 

Auction: 1N-3N

Lead: Spade 6

 

This hand came up at a Wichita, Kansas sectional many, many years ago. East and West were two LOL's and North/South two budding experts. Seeing no way to come to 9 tricks without some subterfuge, declarer won the first trick with the Ace and in rapid fire succession played off five top clubs, PITCHING 3 diamonds, a spade, and a heart from dummy. He then crossed to the Ace of hearts and called for the Club queen. RHO, in quite a degree of consternation, grimaced and said, "Here come those Damned Clubs again" while she started discarding her spades.

 

Anybody else have similar stories from the "good old days of bridge?"[/hv]

[jdulmage]

Yeah here is one told by a fellow good player. I cannot remember who he was playing against, but he was in a cold 6♥ contract, all he loses is the A♠, however, with:

 

[hv=n=shakxxxxdc&s=shjxxxxxdc]133|200|[/hv]

 

12 card fit in ♥ - he accidently plays low to the J♥, losing to the stiff Q♥, down 1. The board is put away, silence fills the air.

[jdulmage]

Here's one straight from me - I'm playing in Montreal in 2002, I'm 18, partner is 14. We are a pretty good junior pair for the regional we were attending. I bid and reach a 4 spade contract. I play a few cards here and there and get down to the final holding (Don't remember all the spot cards)

 

 

[hv=n=sxxhdxxcx&w=shjxdxcax&e=sqhxdxxxc&s=sxxhxxdcx]399|300|[/hv]

 

I have already lost 2 tricks, I am doomed - one down losing the Q♠ and A♣, there was absolutely no way around it. Having seen the way the opponents play and knowing that they don't think, I said to myself "Well, I can make if they rough their good club trick with the good trump trick".

 

I promptly played a club, the A♣ flew up, I played a club off of dummy and..........ruffed by the Q♠ for +620.

 

Go figure.

[Echognome]

My favorite one was during a local team knockout match.

 

Playing our catch-all club, the auction goes 1♣ - (X) - XX - (P) - P - (1♦) - X - All Pass

 

Both the 1♣ and XX were alerted. As I am about to face my lead, RHO asks my partner, "What does the redouble mean?"... "Transfer to diamonds."

[keylime]

My new favorite one, happened somewhat recently.

 

We are playing against two opps of very mixed quality. One day they are great, next day they are lousy. The auction is this:

 

(1D) 1NT* (dbl*) 2H

(X*) P (3C) P

(3D) P (3H*) All pass.

 

1NT* is a three suited takeout promising three cards or more in unbids

 

dbl is showing cards, but the player decides to alert it as "me too", in response.

 

the X* from opener - showing heart stack; their pard took it as takeout

 

3H is meant as western cuebid, their pard thought it was natural for some reason and passed it!

 

So our opps ended up at 3H when pard and I hold a mere eight hearts together. Furthermore, 2H doubled has excellent play.

 

Lesson to be learned by this is not to be cute for one, and to listen to the auction.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

A close second has to be where our opps did not realize what the trump suit was at the local club. The contract was 4S and I was a dead goose....only to have them trick compress themselves by PITCHING trumps concurrently thinking I was playing HEARTS! I come down to the final three cards and swindle it home with the 3 and deuce of trumps......:-)

[LukeG]

[hv=n=sxxxxhqxxxdjxxxcx&s=sjxxxxhdcakqj10xxx]133|200|[/hv]

This hand occurred about 30 years ago at the old Boston Chess Club which, in spite of its name, was almost exclusively a bridge and backgammon club. South was one of my contemporaries, and North was far and away the best rubber bridge player I had ever seen, a man who represented the country twice in World Championships. NS were vulnerable and South opened 1♠! I have forgotten the exact bidding sequence, but EW bid strongly and South, at his second turn, bid 4♣ and North naturally returned to 4♠, which was doubled quite firmly by East. South now decided that his spades were a little thin to play opposite a somewhat forced preference and retreated to 5♣ which was doubled by West. North agonized and finally bid 5♠ which was DOUBLED by East, ending the auction.

 

West led a red card and declarer ruffed. At trick two our intrepid hero played a low ♠ from his hand and West showed out! Fortunately for him, West did not realize that East, with ♠AKQ10, was about to draw trumps and claim for down 10 and 2900. West "signalled" with red cards on the first two rounds of trumps before realizing what was happening, so the defense collected "only" 2300.

 

North, meanwhile, was quietly seething but said nothing. Until, that is, South asked "Well, at least I bid it right, huh"?

[olegru]

15 years ago at the Moscow bridge club.

 

Del E

NS vul

 

I was S with:

 

s. Q10953

h. QJ1065

d. 5

c. 72

 

E oppened 1 ♣ (Polish club) multymeaning.

 

I ovecall 2♦ - Wilkosh - 2-unspecified suits and 3 very slow passes follows.

 

Lead ♦4.

 

 

........♠ J8742

........♥ K9743

........♦ -

........♣ J105

 

♦4

 

........♠ Q10953

........♥ QJ1065

........♦ 5

........♣ 72

 

♥ from the table and ♦ TWO from the East...

 

-700 TOP.

 

EW cards:

 

s. K6..................s. A

h. 82..................h. A

d. KJ964.............d. AQ108732

c. A643...............c. KQ98

[Fluffy]

I actually made 5 trick in teh suit

 

♣KQ10x

 

♣A9xx

 

When I Was a beginner, and opponents weren't noticing, I realiced before making my 5th trick on teh suit, and I was sure I would be penaliced for it, I remember my partner silenting me in the end of the play everytime I wanted to note anything ;).

 

Already posted here when my grandfather redoubled 3 times after my 1NT psyke, while I Was bidding my 4 cards suit 4 times trtying to scpape. Opponent came bored after a while and bid 3NT wich was double by grandpa and collected +200.

 

At summer at our local, most good players are on vacation, but then, some others not regular come to play, during one of those summers we made a countest for the worst play during it all, the winner was this:

 

2NT-ps-3♦-ps

3♥-X*

 

X*:alerted and actually understood! as lead direting in ♥ (she had ♥AQx), the fact that she was gonna lead regardless of wich was the final contrat didn't occur to any of them.

 

To make it even sader, my partner didn't see the original double and quickly bid 3NT, we ended with the same +450 as everyone else.