With Bob Jones
East-West vulnerable. North deals.
NORTH
S-Q 2
H-Void
D-A J 7 5 3
C-A 10 7 6 3 2
WEST EAST
S-10 7 S-A J 8 6 5 4 3
H-9 8 6 4 H-3
D-K 6 4 D-Q 9 2
C-J 9 8 4 C-K Q
SOUTH
S-K 9
H-A K Q J 10 7 5 2
D-10 8
C-5
The bidding:
NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST
1C 1S 3NT Pass
4D Pass 6NT Pass
Pass Dbl Pass Pass
Pass
Opening lead: Four of D
South was Richie Coren, of Delray Beach, Florida, en route to victory in the prestigious Platinum Pairs at the recent North American Championships. Coren is also an excellent poker player, and it is hard to tell which game he was playing on this hand.
Tournament players, in their search for matchpoints, will sometimes take actions that rubber bridge players would consider comical. Coren’s bidding on this hand might qualify him for a stand-up gig on the “Tonight” show, but it somehow failed to amuse his opponents.
In tournament play, the double of a voluntarily bid slam calls for an unusual lead, but any lead should beat this silly contract. West, asked not to lead partner’s suit, chose a low diamond. Coren was appalled at the sight of dummy, realizing that he had no chance, but the poker player in him refused to give up.
Coren calmly called for a low diamond from dummy and East had a terrible problem. The winning play of the queen of diamonds did not seem like the right play. Didn’t South rate to have the king? East went with the percentages and inserted his nine, hoping partner had led from the 10. It was Coren who held the 10, and he happily won the first trick with it. He had to be careful and cash all eight of his hearts immediately — he had no entry back to his hand — but he claimed his slam shortly thereafter.
(Bob Jones welcome readers’ responses sent in care of this newspaper or to Tribune Content Agency, LLC., 16650 Westgrove Dr., Suite 175, Addison, TX 75001. E-mail responses may be sent to
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