Extreme Bridge #4: Fast and Furious Grand Theft Action!

OK, Bridge Addicts! Listen up!

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EXTREME BRIDGE #4: Fast and Furious Grand Theft Action! — Update

If you already have read the first part of this article somewhere, please skip to the “Update:” label. Otherwise, please start here.

I’ve numbered a few recent lunacies as follows:

#1. The 7NT Opening Preempt

#2. 2-Way Direct Finesse for a King in NT

#3. 13 Clubs Played, but No Ace

So this is #4. As usual, I’m pretty much beyond help, but perhaps some of you can help anyway. Here’s the action on this deal:

1. A woman who isn’t exactly a super expert had HKx. I want to make this “Fast and Furious” so I won’t bother you with any other cards. (At least there won’t be a safety play for 2 points at Trick 1, as in some “SUPER GAMES”.)

2. An expert RHO is in 7H, and it was apparent that he had lots of long great hearts. Maybe he even opened 7H or whatever.

3. She didn’t X. Probably, she was worried that they would run to 7S or 7NT and make it. (BTW, I’ll call BS on that last statement. : ) )

4. She suavely led a non-heart, and the declarer won trick 1, failing to find the play of rectifying the count. (My partners and I do that quite often for the first trick or two of a grand, usually because we can’t win the trick(s). BUT — sometimes, even when we can!)

5. He banged down the HA at trick 2. She brilliantly played low.

6. Then at trick 3, he banged down ANOTHER HA, DROPPING HER KING!!! “Making” 7H!

7. A kibitzer asked the woman why she didn’t X 7H.

8. She replied something like, “He always redoubles! See, I was right not to X. He made it!”

9. Yes, she was! ROFLMAO! (Note that this declarer played his best as he is supposed to do at all times per the ACBL rules, continuing on despite the two HA’s! Both of the declarers for Deals #’s 2 and 3, just “gave up” when their “discovery plays” determined that there were 2 CA’s and ZERO CA’s, respectively, for those deals. #2 involved the best play of dummy’s CAQx for no losers despite that I held the supposedly “protected” K behind dummy. AND — without any endplays or whatever. Declarer held CAJx. LOL!)

10. Anyway, this 7H story has been around for decades, and may have taken place in or near the site of the 2/2/14 not so super SUPER GAME. Perhaps NYC??? Supposedly, it was a new deck that had “a problem”, or maybe more than one. Does anyone know if it really occurred, and if the comments were similar to those shown above?

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Update: The Noble Henry Bethe is the son of Nobel Prize Winner Hans Bethe. Unlike some of the Comedy Central types of PC “Nobel Prizes”, it was a REAL one for Physics in 1967. Obviously, Noble Henry would not stoop to skullduggery and besmirch the family name, as Al the Plumber would, regarding this deal. Henry reported as follows:

“In the original of this story it was rubber bridge at either the Regency or the Cavendish in NYC and Johnny Crawford was declarer. Crawford was a notable ‘card shark’ and in fact during WWII was hired by the army to go around and demonstrate to GIs various ways that cards could be manipulated. As I was told the story, Crawford had in fact substituted a small heart for the already-played Ace as he collected the first trick.”

That sounds like a lot more plausible “lunacy”. : )  It’s probably correct. BTW, I was hired by card sharks to go around and demonstrate various ways that bidding could be manipulated! When I couldn’t explain them quickly enough to A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez), I just showed him how to buy his bad board results from the directors instead.

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Coming Distraction: As much as I hate to get even semi-serious, by some amazing coincidence, this all LEADS to my next topic which actually may interest some “serious” people for a change.

Al, The Plumber of the Depths of Lunacy

Email: al.the.plumber@comcast.net (but not used for many multiple mailings due to Comcast limits)

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NSA: (redacted by NSA)