August 2005 - 61

Bridge in the Menagerie

H.H. "But then Karapet obligingly
signaled his shape. He began by
telling me that he had five hearts,
leading the 5, then following with
the 3. Anyway, all the hearts could
be counted.
"More significant by far was
his 8. Whether his other spade
was the 5 or the 7, he was clearly
starting a high‑low to show a
doubleton. So he had seven cards
in the majors. He produced three
diamonds, leaving room for
precisely three clubs. No subtle
discarding by Papa could undo the
damage of that spade signal. It
pinpointed every card."
This was the deal in full:
Q6
742
 Q J 10 9 6
A 9 6
 A J 10 9 7
85
 K J 10 9 WNE  Q 8 6 5 3
3
875
S
Q32
 K 10 4
K432
A
A K 4 2
J875
"It happens all the time," went
on H.H., "defenders signaling to
declarer. Mind you, as often as
not, it's harmless. Neither does it
do any good. Virtue is, as usual, its
own reward, but it hurts no one,
and yet ..."
A squeeze without a menace
As he spoke, the Hog scribbled on
the back of the menu.
Dlr: North  A 7
Vul: N-S  A K J 7 6 5
Q64
97
542
 K Q J 10 9 8
N
 Q 10 9 8 2
-
W E
 A 10 9 3
J852
S
2
854
63
43
K7
 A K Q J 10 6 3

August 2005

West
W.W.

North
R.R.
1
3
4
6

East
M.M.
1
Pass
Pass
Dbl

South
H.H.
3
4
5
6NT

Pass
Pass
Pass
All Pass
"I would have passed 6, but
having been warned that the opening
lead would be ruffed, I naturally
converted to 6NT.
"Walter the Walrus led the 5.
With the A out against me there
could be no question of ducking,
so I went up with the ace and laid
down the A, just to confirm the
void. Next I reeled off my seven
clubs. With the marked finesse in
hearts I had 11 top tricks and I
looked to a squeeze for the 12th -
a three‑suit squeeze to be precise, in
hearts, diamonds and spades."
Spades?" repeated the Owl with a
puzzled frown. "But surely you have
no menace in spades.
"None," agreed the Hog, "but
unless the Walrus retains a spade
he will have no exit card when I
throw him in with the A. Being
squeezed out of an exit is much the
same as being squeezed out of a
trick. So the menace is there, very
much so, even though I have no
menace card. This is the five‑card
end position:

2
 Q 10 9
A
-

-
KJ7
Q6
-
N

W E
S

6
4
K7
3

virtue from every pore, he first
threw the 10, then the 3, then the
9. In other circumstances it might
have helped me. Here it made no
difference, for if Molly the Mule
had the A, I was beaten anyway.
Walter could signal with impunity.
The telling point about the hand was
Molly's Lightner double calling for
a heart head."
"What's wrong with that?"
protested the Owl. "With a void the
double was surely automatic."
"And that's precisely what was
wrong with it," retorted the Hog. "It
was thoughtless. Instead of inducing
a favorable lead, it drove us into a
contract against which Molly had
no conceivable defense. The Walrus
might have led a heart against
6 anyway, if only to complicate
my communications. There was a
chance.
"It didn't matter what was led
against 6NT, not as far as Molly
was concerned, anyway. The noble
savage wouldn't have doubled; his
noble partner doubtless would have
led a heart and I would have been
beaten.
"As Beethoven so rightly said
- or was it Botticelli? - a little
learning is a dangerous thing. Or
as I would have put it myself, 'tis
better to tell partner too little than

to tell declarer too much."

Richmond Trophy Leaders
Canadian Bridge Federation members only

KQ
-
J85
-

"As you can see," pursued H.H.,
"Walter is helpless. He throws a
spade. After discarding dummy's
7, I lead a heart into dummy's
tenace."
"Where does signaling come in?"
asked the Owl. "Did the Walrus
advertise the A?"
"Of course," replied H.H. "Oozing

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Barry Harper, Regina SK
Robert Hollow, Madoc ON
Gavin Wolpert, Thornhill ON
Cameron Doner, Richmond BC
Rock Shi Yan, Delta BC
Vincent Demuy, Montreal QC
Martin Caley, Montreal QC
Doug Fraser, Victoria BC
Gerald McCully, New Westminster BC
Rhonda Foster, New Westminster BC
Dan Jacob, Vancouver BC
Heather Peckett, Nepean ON
Bryan Maksymetz, Coquitlam BC
Alice Anderson, Tillsonburg ON
Michael Gamble, Shawnigan Lake BC
Duncan Smith, Victoria BC
Anna Boivin, Victoria BC
Jonathan Steinberg, Toronto ON
Allan Graves, Vancouver BC
Peter Clark, Ottawa ON

641
593
522
492
482
447
440
387
361
351
342
333
318
305
300
294
290
290
289
286

61
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2005
