December 2022 - 70

Special Contributor
Bridge with the Abbot
Brother Damien's light opening
A
t halftime in the Hampshire
Cup match between the
Abbot's team and Brother
Cameron's squad from the novitiate,
the senior team led by 17 IMPs.
" Only 17? " queried the Abbot, with
a sad shake of the head. " I was hoping
for a concession by this stage. That's
one of the reasons I decided to start
the match so late. " He glanced at his
pocket watch. " Ten o'clock already.
Let's dispose of these refreshments
and get started again. "
Brother Paulo steeled himself to
take another mouthful of his unappetizing
margarine sandwich. If the
Abbot had been hoping for a bigger
halftime lead, he might perhaps have
played a couple of 3NT contracts
more carefully. Not that there was
any significant risk of losing the
match. Brother Cameron and Brother
Damien played a strong game, but
their other pair were moderate at
best.
The second half began, and Brother
Cameron was soon in a slam.
Dlr: North
Vul: N-S  8 4
k A 8 7 4
l A 10 6
' K 8 5 2
 9 3
k 9 6 3 2
l 7 5 3
' J 9 4 3
 K Q 10 7 6 5 2
k -
l K Q 4
' 10 7 6
 A J
k K Q J 10 5
l J 9 8 2
' A Q
 -
k 9 6
l 7 5 3
' J
 -
k Q J
l J 9 8 2
' -
Brother Cameron ran the lJ to
East's king. A diamond return would
allow an easy make and Brother
70 | Bridge Bulletin | December 2022
thesettingtrick.com
West North East South
The
Bro.
Bro. Bro.
Abbot Damien Xavier Cameron
1' 2 3k
Pass 4k Pass 4NT
Pass
5k Pass 6k
All Pass
The Abbot led the 9 and down
went the dummy. " I don't regard that
as an opening bid, " he informed the
young North player. " Eleven points
and an eight-loser hand? What's the
point of opening? You won't miss a
game if partner opens. "
" Nice dummy, partner, " said Brother
Cameron. " Small, please. "
He won East's Q with the ace and
led the king of trumps. It was a major
disappointment to find that trumps
were 4-0. What could be done now?
Abandoning the trump suit for the
moment, Brother Cameron cashed
the 'A Q. He then led the k5 to
dummy's 7 and ditched his remaining
spade on the 'K. A spade ruff to
his hand left these cards still to be
played:
 -
k A 8
l A 10 6
' 8
 10 7 6
k -
l K Q 4
' -
BY DAVID BIRD
Xavier preferred to return a spade,
even though this would concede a
ruff-and-discard. Declarer ruffed
with the queen in his hand, West and
the dummy discarding a diamond.
When a diamond to the ace stood up,
Brother Cameron placed his remaining
cards face-up on the table. " I can
ruff dummy's club with the jack and
score the last two tricks with the A-8
of trumps. "
The Abbot closed his eyes for a brief
second, before thrusting his cards
back into the wallet. No doubt a diamond
lead would have defeated the
slam. If Xavier made any comment in
that direction, the Abbot would gladly
dispatch him out of the nearest window.
If he didn't want a spade lead, he
shouldn't have bid the suit.
Brother Xavier leaned forward.
" It was a good decision by Brother
Damien to open the bidding, " he
observed. " If he doesn't open, they
might not reach the slam. "
" Overbidding sometimes pays off
when the cards lie so well, " declared
the Abbot. " It's a hopeless policy in
the long run. Particularly when you're
facing strong defenders. "
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December 2022

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