Two weeks ago I featured the Final Column of Philip Adler. Some salient facts about Adler:
2012: Non-playing captain of the silver medalist MSA team in the World Senior Championship in Lille, France.
2005 until May 1, 2015: Bridge columnist for the New York Times.
Adler wrote “As a player, I won several junior titles and the English national team championship, the Crockford’s Cup. But sadly I have not won a national title in the United States, getting close three times. He gives us an interesting hand:
North ♠AKJ104
♥93
♦QJ9
♣985
West East
♠976 ♠85
♥ ♥108652
♦K642 ♦A8753
♣KJ10762 ♣4
South
♠Q32
♥AKQJ74
♦10
♣AQ3
West North East South
1♥
2NT 3♠ 5♦ 6♥
PASS PASS PASS
West made an unusual Unusual No-trump overcall with 4=6, not 5=5, distribution. Then, against my six-heart-contract, he led the diamond deuce. East won with his ace and shifted to the club four. How did I continue?
I judged that if West had a spade void, he would have led a high diamond as a suit-preference signal. So I became worried that the trumps were breaking badly. I won with my club ace, played a spade to dummy’s ace and led the heart nine. East, thinking that it could not hurt, covered with his ten. I won with my ace and noted West’s discard. I returned to dummy with a spade to the ten, played a heart to my seven, drew trumps and ran the spades. Plus 1,430 was a cold top.
If East had played low smoothly under the heart nine, I would have put up my ace and gone down like everyone else. When you have a card surrounded like that, it will almost always be wrong to cover.
* * *
Results of Alejandro Duplicate Game last May 19, 2015:
Nena Ramirex-Joli Kansil
Ching Holley-Chris Tweddell
Winston Arpon-Justo Manlongat
Results at Manila Peninsula last May 20, 2015:
Joli Kansil-Elizabeth Golamco
Sylvia Alejandro-Margaret Kwok
Justo Manlongat-Satomi Suzuki
Results at Cambridge Game last May 21, 2015:
John McPhedran-Abla Assad
Martin Anastacio-Margaret Kwok
Comments to: sylvia.alejandro@yahoo.com ç sylgen717@gmail.com