The
Fugitive: starring
you as Dr. Richard
Kimble,
a bridge champion falsely
accused
of
murdering
his wife after a one-session Mixed Pairs.
Dealer
: South
Vuln:
Both
North — — — —
BRIDGE
MOVIE #31
West — — — —
East — — — —
As
you run from town to town, one step ahead of Lieutenant Gerard
(the law officer who is trying to capture you), searching for the
one-armed man who partnered your wife the night she was murdered,
you
occasionally stop at rubber bridge clubs to make a few bucks.
In
the
city of ---- you find yourself at the ---- bridge club, in a
half-cent game. You open 1 and
partner bids 1NT. Your rebid
choices
are 2, 3, 4, or 2,
the esthetic bid. Which will it be?
South You A
K Q J 8 5 3 A
3 J
9 6 4
A K 9 8 7 4
South
1
?
West
pass
North
1NT
East
pass
Dealer
: South
Vuln: Both
North — — — —
West — — — —
East — — — —
You
bid 2.
Yes you have honors in spades, and you have four weak
clubs, but partner may pass 2 or
3 with
short spades, and you don't
really care about his length in spades, you care about finding
a few
key highcards in his hand. So you bid 2,
hoping to hear more from
him. He raises clubs and now it's back to you. What do you bid
next?
South You A
K Q J 8 5 3 A
3 J
9 6 4
A K 9 8 7 4
South
1
2
?
West
pass
pass
North
1NT
3
East
pass
pass
Dealer
: South
Vuln: Both
North — — — —
West — — — —
East — — — —
You
now have enough information to know that 4 is
a reasonable
contract. For example, facing the KQxx of clubs and very
little else,
you will make 10 tricks. So you don't risk being passed in 3.
Honors, you remark, as the king of hearts is led. Partner
smiles. We don't play honors any more in this club, he says, too
bad.
South You A
K Q J 8 5 3 A
3 J
9 6 4
A K 9 8 7 4
South
1
2
4
West
pass
pass
all pass
North
1NT
3
East
pass
pass
Dealer
: South
Vuln: Both
North 6 A
8 K
10 7 6 5 4 Q
10 7 2
West — — — —
East — — — —
How
do you play the hand?
South You A
K Q J 8 5 3 A
3 J
9 6 4
A K 9 8 7 4
South
1
2
4
West
pass
pass
all pass
North
1NT
3
East
pass
pass
Opening
lead: K
Dealer
: South
Vuln: Both
North 6 A
8 K
10 7 6 5 4 Q
10 7 2
West — — — —
East — — — —
It
looks like you're cold for 11 tricks. Just draw trumps and
knock
out the top club honors. What could go wrong? Suddenly you spot
a man
coming out of the kitchen whose arm seems to be missing. He sees
you
and begins to run out the door. Darn it. You'd like to claim and
go
catch him, but what if the spades are 5-1? Then you'll get tapped
and
never score a tenth trick in clubs. And you need this 620 to pay
for
dinner. So you win the ace of hearts and lead a club to the jack
and
ace. West plays the queen of hearts and you ruff. Then you lead
another club to the queen and king. East wants to play another
heart,
but that spade 6 is in dummy, so it won't do him any good to play
a
heart. He returns a club instead, West ruffing in disgust. Now
you
claim!
South You A
K Q J 8 5 3 A
3 J
9 6 4
A K 9 8 7 4
South
1
2
4
West
pass
pass
all pass
North
1NT
3
East
pass
pass
Opening
lead: K
Dealer
: South
Vuln: Both
North 6 A
8 K
10 7 6 5 4 Q
10 7 2
West 10
9 7 4 2 K Q
10 7 J 8 A 5
East 3 J 9
6 5 4 2 Q 9
2 K 8
3
You
jump up and run out the door, but then you spot the Lieutenant
down the hall. So you rush back into the club, pick up the cards
for
the new hand and cover your face. The kibitzer is very impressed
and
has written down the whole deal, card for card, for the local
newspaper. You hope he won't ask you your name.
THE
END
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East 
