July 2018 - 66

Special Contributors

Bridge with the Abbot
BY DAVID BIRD

The Parrot's analysis
The Parrot had replaced Brother
Xavier in the monastery team competing in the Winchester green-point
Swiss event. The Abbot was far from
happy with the unfriendly reception
that his partner had received. Were
the English not famed for welcoming
strangers into their midst? Did they
not realize that it was perfectly possible for a parrot to play bridge at a high
level? As for Mr. Glassover making an
inappropriate comment about jungles,
this was hardly appropriate in an event
where national green points were
awarded.

Nominations for the 2019 ACBL
Bridge Hall of Fame Blackwood
and von Zedtwitz awards
Each year, the Bridge Hall of Fame Committee considers candidates for the Blackwood Award, given for outstanding contributions to bridge outside of expertise at the
game, and the von Zedtwitz Award, which
honors inactive players who have achieved
prominence in the game of bridge.
ACBL members in good standing may
submit candidates' names to the Hall of
Fame Committee for induction into the
ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame in 2019. To be
eligible for induction, a candidate must be at
least 60 years old and live in North America.
Please submit your nominations for these
awards to the Bridge Hall of Fame Committee to elections@acbl.org. Nominations will
be forwarded to the chair of the committee.
In order to be considered, nominations must
be received no later than Nov. 1.

66 Bridge Bulletin July 2018

Near the end of their match against
the Glassover team, the Parrot's cardplay was tested again:
Dlr: South ♠ 8 4 3
Vul: E-W ♥ Q J 8 6
♦AKQJ4
♣A
♠ J 10 7 5
♠9
♥ K 10 3
♥974
♦93
♦8652
♣ Q J 10 8
♣K7543
♠AKQ62
♥A52
♦ 10 7
♣962
West
North East
South
Stan
The
Emily
The
Glassover Abbot Glassover Parrot
1♠
Pass
2♦
Pass
2NT
Pass
3♠
Pass
4♥
Pass
4NT Pass
5♦
Pass
5♥
Pass
6♠
All Pass
The Abbot used Roman key card Blackwood to locate the ♥A and the ♠A K Q.
Stan Glassover led the ♣Q against the
spade slam and down went the dummy.
The Parrot nodded his acceptance of
the Abbot's bidding and paused to plan
the play. If trumps were 3-2, he could
score five spades, five diamonds, two
aces and a club ruff for an overtrick.
What if trumps were 4-1? In that case
it might be a good idea to concede a
trump trick while dummy still had
ruffing protection in clubs.
The Parrot won the first trick with

the club ace and called for a trump. The
♠9 appeared from East and the Parrot
followed blithely with the ♠2. Stan
Glassover raised an eyebrow when the
9 won the trick. Had the strange bird
meant to do that? With any luck he
would be the only declarer in the event
to go down in a cold slam.
The Parrot won the heart switch
with the ace and drew a second round
of trumps, East showing out. He then
ruffed a club in dummy and returned to
his hand with the ♦10. After drawing
the remaining trumps, he claimed the
contract. "Three losers go on diamonds," he squawked.
Mrs. Glassover was not entranced
with the Parrot's overbearing manner.
"It's not very good etiquette to look so
pleased with yourself," she informed
him. "So what if you made twelve
tricks? There was nothing we could do
about it."
The Parrot made no reply, shrugging
his shoulders as he returned his cards
to the board.
Stan Glassover leaned forward,
anxious to support his wife. "If you're
as clever as you make out, perhaps you
could tell us how we could have beaten
it," he said.
The Parrot raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Diamond, diamond," he replied.
"That's true," exclaimed the Abbot.
"There's no way you could find such a
lead, I realize. If you do happen to lead
a diamond and play another diamond
when you take your trump trick, you
kill the diamond suit. Declarer can't
arrange his club ruff."
◾

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2018