January 2025 - 68

Special Contributor
Bridge with the Abbot
Claude Yorke-Smith's invitation
T
he Abbot's older brother,
Claude Yorke-Smith, had sold
his hotel in Devon. He and his
wife had moved into a comfortable
bungalow, close to the sea, and were
enjoying their retirement.
" Did I tell you, my love? " said
Claude. " I've been invited to stay a
week at the St. Titus monastery. It's a
pity you can't come as well, but they
have strict rules on such matters. "
" I'll be fine here on my own, " his
wife replied, relishing the news.
" Who did the inviting this time? Was
it Hugo or you? "
Claude laughed. " Hugo's far too
busy for that sort of thing, " he
replied. " I just sent him an email,
saying when I'd be arriving. "
A week or so later, Claude YorkeSmith
found himself in the nonetoo-warm
monastery cardroom,
partnering the Abbot in the Thursday
duplicate. This board was before them.
Dlr: South s 10 6 2
Vul: Both h 9 5
d 9 8 3 2
c K Q 8 2
s J 9 5
h A 10 8 4 2
d Q 6 5
c 7 3
s K Q 8 4
h Q 7 3
d J 10 4
c 9 5 4
s A 7 3
h K J 6
d A K 7
c A J 10 6
West North East
The
Pass
South
Bro. Claude Bro.
Abbot Sextus Y-Smith Fabius
2NT
3NT All Pass
The Abbot led the h4, drawing
the queen and king. Brother Fabius
68 | Bridge Bulletin | January 2025
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paused to assess his prospects. He
had eight top tricks, including the
hK. The only apparent chance of
a ninth was a 3-3 diamond break.
Mind you, playing the suit from the
top was not promising. If the Abbot
held Q-x-x, or Q-J-x, he would
surely unblock his honors. This
would allow his partner to win the
third round and play a heart through.
Aiming to duck a diamond into the
safe West hand, Brother Fabius led
the cJ to the king. By keeping the
c6, he might have three entries to
dummy, should he need them. " d2,
please, " he said.
East's d4 was covered by the 7
and queen. Not rating the chance
that declarer's hJ was now bare, the
Abbot switched to the s5. Brother
Fabius won East's queen with the ace
and continued with the dA K. " That's
good news, " he said, when the suit
proved to be 3-3. Three more club
tricks and the 13th diamond then
gave him the contract.
BY DAVID BIRD
The Abbot looked disapprovingly
across the table. " Were you asleep,
Claude? " he exclaimed. " Surely you
can put in a higher diamond? You
had the J-10, didn't you? "
Brother Fabius leaned towards the
Abbot. " Makes no difference, " he
said. " I win with the ace, overtake the
c10 with the queen, and play the d9.
If Claude plays high again, forcing my
king, you will have to take the third
round with the queen. "
" Yes, it was obvious that would
happen, " Claude retorted. " Did you
manage to follow that, Hugo? "
" When the c9 falls, the c8 gives
me an entry to the long diamond, "
Brother Fabius explained.
Claude Yorke-Smith scribbled the
result into his scorecard. " Once you
missed the spade lead, Hugo, we
could pack our bags. "
The Abbot gritted his teeth.
Packing his bags was exactly what
Claude should be doing. Sadly, that
welcome moment was a week away -
a very long week. 2
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January 2025

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