Come on baby, drive my car

When you play bridge, sometimes it feels like driving a car. Usually you head down the main highway, taking the same road as the rest of the world. You know you are going in the right direction. However, on other deals, taking the same route as everyone else leads to disaster. Superficially, the trail looks promising, but it is actually heading off a cliff. You must turn down a track that at first glance seems unpromising but leads to safety in the end.

Today’s deal occurred during the 1957 American Masters Individual. In an individual, you swap not only opponents but also partners. This championship was contested from 1931 to 1960 but then fell out of favor.

East’s bid of two spades was a tactical gambit of dubious merit.

Against three no-trump, West led the spade eight, declarer winning with his jack. South saw that he had to get the club suit going, but even if the missing clubs were splitting 3-3, probably the defenders would attack hearts after he lost the inevitable trick.

What was the heart position? West surely had six for his three-heart bid, and as he hadn’t led a top heart, it looked as though East held a singleton honor, presumably the king. At trick two, South led a low heart from his hand!

Sitting West, you or I would have executed a crocodile coup, winning with the ace to swallow partner’s king and defeating the contract by two tricks. However, West played the “obvious” queen. Now declarer could lose a club trick to East and end with 10 tricks.

Who found this great play? Maybe no one — the reporter (West) left the dramatis personae unnamed.