April 2020 - 69

Special Contributors

George's World
BY GEORGE JACOBS

There were many clever, fun, whimsical and pathetic responses to the
Name that Squeeze contest. In a tight
finish, the winner was the By George
Squeeze. Note that playing to my ego
is rarely bad strategy. Sue Compton
of Escondido CA is the winner of my
newest book, "Hugs and Squeezes: The
Romcom about Heretofore Undisclosed Bridge Romances and the Unraveling of Many, with Some Interesting Bridge Along the Way."
Have I ever mentioned that Grant
Baze was my idol?
Here is a fun hand played on BBO:
Dlr: South ♠ 5
Vul: None ♥ 8 6 4
♦ K 10 8 4 3
♣QJ74
♠J9432
♠ A Q 10
♥J
♥Q932
♦QJ972
♦6
♣83
♣ K 10 9 5 2
♠K876
♥ A K 10 7 5
♦A5
♣A6
The bidding was short and sweet:
1♥-2♥; 4♥.
Left-hand robot led the ♦Q. It went
low, low, ace. Trick 2 was a low diamond to the 10, ruffed. A heart was
returned, and the ace dropped the jack.
At trick 4 came one of my favorite
plays in bridge: low to the low - a spade
away from the king! RHR won the 10.
Trick 5 brought the expected heart
continuation. Playing restricted choice
(this comes heavily into play in "Hugs

NOBET8888@aol.com

and Squeezes," as Ron Andersen, aka
The Hog, talked about this subject late
at night in the bars), the finesse of the
10 won, with LHR shagging (sorry) a
club.
A spade was ruffed in dummy at
trick 6, felling the queen, then the ♣Q
at trick 7, ducked all around, followed
by a club to the ace at trick 8. The ♥A
was cashed at trick 9, drawing the last
trump. Trick 10 was another low-tothe-low spade play, bringing down the
ace. A club ruff by declarer at trick 11,
and the last trump and the ♠K took
care of business. Making four was
purty good. Those robots have gotten
better. We best stay on our toes.
Here is a robot tip for you: They do
not lead away from kings. Play accordingly.
This space intentionally blank. (I see
that in legal contracts.)
What if we gave new players their
first entry for half price, and to get
them back, their second entry was
free? Entries three and four would be
discounted 25%, and then for three
months, it would be pay for three, get
one free. Yes, the rhyme is on purpose.
If each of us tries to get two new people
involved, we will make sure of the
future of our great game. In addition,
maybe I could get a raise. Do you know
that I have never gotten a raise? But of
course, unlike some, I would simply
settle for more space.
Back in the old days when Claude
oversaw our travel, we played in
Indiana somewhere, and he booked us

into some sort of barracks. It was quite
cheap and somewhat quaint (primitive). We had to get up early, make our
cots and run 2 miles. Then came a nice
breakfast, followed by stripping and
assembling weapons. But by 10 a.m.,
we were free to head out to the game.
I never did figure out what that was. It
certainly was not the worst place we've
stayed. I feel like I should write a book
someday. Misappropriation of
"Gulliver's Travels." I was gullible.
Hmm ... it could work.
As you may have heard, April looks
like it is my last column. All the words
I know have been written and I would
hate to repeat any. Misappropriation
was the last word. I hate it when I
repeat myself; I just hate it. Perhaps
some juicy tidbits from "Hugs and
Squeezes" will be a good sendoff.
Ciao.
◾

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IMPROVE YOUR PLAY
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April 2020 Bridge Bulletin

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April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2020