Posted 2:06 PM by Floyd

Yesterday Sherry and I went to visit our friend Scott. Scott had a skiing accident a few weeks ago when his ski came loose and his knee was twisted. He felt badly injured and assumed he had torn his ACL. Two weeks ago he had an MRI and found that he had not torn his ACL; instead the top of his tibia had broken off! So he had surgery a week ago Thursday to put five screws in his bone; he also had a bone graft taken from his hip.

I talked to Scott the day after his operation and he was unhappy and groggy. By late last week he had recovered to where he could have company, and obviously he's been pretty bored sitting around his condo. So Sherry and I and drove up to Daly City where we met Scott and two other friends. We played a few bridge hands, and this interesting declarer play problem came up:

I held AT832 K3 53 K832. Scott and I play a strange strong club system that he made up called the "Caroline Club". In this system, all major-minor two suiters with 10 to 15 high card points are opened with two bids. So 2 is my system bid with this hand. Unfortunately 2 can show either spades and clubs, or a single-suiter with clubs. (All the other two level suit bids are unambiguous.)

Scott bid 2, asking me to describe my hand. I bid 2, showing the spade-club two suiter. Scott passed and LHO, who was my lovely wife, led the K. Here was dummy:

6 JT9872 AJ94 A4

The straightforward line is to win the diamond, take two high clubs and ruff a club, and then guess hearts. I would then need to take three of my five spades in hand.

Instead I chose to duck the diamond. I figured if I didn't show interest in a club ruff, the defenders might not pull trump. LHO switched to the 5, I played the J, and RHO (my friend Brian) won the A and played back the 6. LHO played the 4 on the second trick so I assumed she started with a doubleton.

I played a diamond and LHO played the ten. I finessed and took a club pitch on the ace; LHO played the Q on this trick. Then I played two high clubs and ruffed a club.

Now I was down to my five trumps in hand, and needed one more trick besides my ace. LHO appeared to be out of both red suits. I played a heart, on which RHO played the Q. I considered ruffing with the 8 but I knew I would be overruffed and then I didn't see how I could take any other spades. So I ruffed low and LHO overruffed.

LHO exited with the thirteenth club. RHO ruffed with the Q and I underruffed! Now I had a chance as long as RHO had the 9. If he played a low card I would play the 8 and LHO would win one of the two remaining honors and then lead into my AT. He chose to exit the 9 (correct on other layouts); I covered with the T, and LHO had to lead from K7 into my A8.