The
Music Man
starring you as Professor Harold Hill,
a
conman in a small Iowa town
adapted
for the screen from a true story by Roger Dunn
Dealer
: East
Vuln: East-West
North —
—
—
—
BRIDGE
MOVIE #35
West —
—
—
—
East —
—
—
—
After
your show-stopper, 76 trombones in the big parade,
you decide
to sit down for a friendly rubber bridge game to pick up a few
bucks
for supper, and find yourself staring at a 7-6! What will you open
in
second seat?
South You —
A
K J 10 7 6 2
—
10
8 7 6 4 3
A K 9 8 7 4
South
—
?
West
—
North
—
East
pass
Dealer
: East
Vuln: East-West
North —
—
—
—
West —
—
—
—
East —
—
—
—
You
decide to play it cool with a 1 opening,
hoping to walk
the
dog and buy the contract later, perhaps doubled. Partner's
negative
double is encouraging. He should have some diamonds and clubs.
What
is your next call?
South You —
A
K J 10 7 6 2
—
10
8 7 6 4 3
A K 9 8 7 4
South
—
1
?
West
—
1
North
—
double
East
pass
2
Dealer
: East
Vuln: East-West
North —
—
—
—
West —
—
—
—
East —
—
—
—
You
could have jumped in clubs, or hearts for that matter! But
you
decide to keep the conman game going, and bid only 3.
There surely
will be more bidding with such distribution in your hand, don't
you
think? Well it's partner who bids more! That 3 cuebid shows interest
in game at least, and could be asking for a spade stopper for 3NT.
(Little does he realize the nature of your hand.) What will your
next
call be?
South You —
A
K J 10 7 6 2
—
10
8 7 6 4 3
A K 9 8 7 4
South
—
1
3
?
West
—
1
pass
North
—
double
3
East
pass
2
pass
Dealer
: East
Vuln: East-West
North —
—
—
—
West —
—
—
—
East —
—
—
—
You
might assume a nice club fit and simply bid 6.
But your game plan
is to get doubled...you'd like to order champagne
for dinner (plus have a
nice story to tell your sweetheart).
So you bid only 4.
Partner now raises
to 5.
Will you bid six or not?
South You —
A
K J 10 7 6 2
—
10
8 7 6 4 3
A K 9 8 7 4
South
—
1
3
4
?
West
—
1
pass
pass
North
—
double
3
5
East
pass
2
pass
pass
Dealer
: East
Vuln: East-West
North —
—
—
—
West —
—
—
—
East —
—
—
—
You
bid six, because partner's failure to cuebid over 4 is
good news
for your hand! If he held wasted values in spades, he'd be
less
likely to hold strong clubs. Well, you got the double you
were
fishing for. Now what? Will you press your luck with a redouble?
South You —
A
K J 10 7 6 2
—
10
8 7 6 4 3
A K 9 8 7 4
South
—
1
3
4
6
?
West
—
1
pass
pass
double!
North
—
double
3
5
pass
East
pass
2
pass
pass
pass
Dealer
: East
Vuln: East-West
North J
8 7
8
A
K 10 5 3
A
J 5 2
West A
Q 10 9 6 5
4 3
J 8
6
K Q
East K
4 3 2
Q 9
5
Q 9
7 4 2
9
There
were bells on a hill but I never heard them ringing, no I
never heard them at all till there was you....
West
leads the ace of spades. You trump it and lead a club to the
ace. Then the ace-king of hearts and a heart ruff allows you to
claim
six. The score for this is ... 1380. You may order champagne and
2
steak dinners!
THE
END
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