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Contents:
Let me tell you about the "Bear", Ted Reveley, who is not noted for treating idiots kindly, especially his own team. There is a theory that he is becoming human, based on a recent Sunday, when he took a long time to play a hand [worrying me as dummy in a vulnerable game at imps] and it turned out he was merely trying to make the diamond seven at trick thirteen.
A propos of that, several years ago, I was playing a contract against a member of the team in England known as the "drinking team". Partner [Bill Niccol] looked puzzled at the line, and the time being spent over overtricks in a part-score at teams. "What are you doing?" he said. "I'm trying to make the seven of diamonds at trick thirteen," I said, "and he's trying to stop me." But I digress.
About fifteen years ago the Bear was playing with a mediocre partner at Liverpool BC. He held:
 Kx AKQ9xxx xx AK |
1 from partner, so the Bear bid 2, 2 from partner, Blackwood from the Bear, 5 [one ace], pity, 6NT, double, passed back to the Bear. 7! With heavy tension round the table, opening leader thought deeply before leading - a club! Of course doubler had AK! 2210!
The Bear was involved in another slam double twenty years or so ago. A good young player called Granville was famous for the Granville double. Whenever he doubled a contract it always seemed to be cold [though it didn't always make!]. Anyway the Bear and his regular partner bid 7 and this was passed around to Granville, who held the club ace! He passed! Great view: 7 was cold for the Bear.
| T8xx AJx A9x 8xx |
![[ ]](gif/table-ss.gif){kind=small} |
Jx K9x QJT8xx Kx |
I opened 3, being vulnerable, and was raised to 4 over LHO's double. RHO thought for a long time, but eventually 4 was passed out.
A, K, low spade, I played the 8, 9, ruff. Q run to the K, J. No point in ducking [wrong actually] so I played
K,
A,
Q,
Q. Bastard! He underled the Q! I glared at him [it was a very friendly game against very poor opponents] and he said "Sorry! I thought the jack was still out". On this East discarded a heart after some thought.
What on earth was he thinking about? Doesn't he know the clubs are useless? The oppos are not good enough to appreciate the idea of discarding to fool me, so what is he doing? Trumps turn out to be 2-2, so he might be thinking about a 3=4=2=4
hand, or maybe 3=5=2=3? He probably would not be thinking without the Q [and he thought during the auction, making 6 HCP more likely than 4 HCP]. Can I do anything?
Of course! If he is 3=5=2=3 with the Q but not the T then heart to the ace and run the jack! God I am wonderful!
On the heart jack he discarded! How am I going to explain this one to the Bear? And I wish partner [Ron Higgins] would stop laughing!
Forget you've seen the hand. The full hand is at the end of the article, anyway. We return to the Bear [and Steve Kayne] to score up. The Bear is looking sheepish. -300, say I. Eight out, says he.
Eventually I pluck up courage. What happened on board six? Steve Kayne falls about laughing, and the Bear continues to look sheepish. Let's see it from his angle:
| 97x xx Kx JT98xx |
|
| AKQ5 QT8xx xx AQ |
He bid 1 and everyone passed. The lead was 8,
9,
J,
K. The Bear learnedly
thought about a lead from 86 doubleton, went over to dummy with the
K, and ran the
7, small, small,
T. Now
A,
A,
to the K,
Q ruffed. For reasons the Bear himself cannot imagine now he didn't draw the two outstanding trumps, but led the A ruffed by East,
: trump promotion!
T,
J, damn, S locking him in hand to lead away from his
AQ! He's gone off!
The full hand:
| Love all Dealer South |
97x xx Kx JT98xx | |
| T8xx AJx A9x 8xx |
|
Jx K9x QJT8xx Kx |
| AKQ5 QT8xx xx AQ |
| 4-3 = -300. |
1-1 = -50. |
-8 imps. |
| It would seem more obvious [and easier!] to get: | ||
| 4-1 = -100. |
1+1 = 110. |
0 imps. |
| [I believe 1+1 translates into 1+2 in NAmerica] |
||
Playing with Ted Reveley is always an experience. True, he does not suffer fools lightly, but this always makes it sweeter when the great man falls from grace himself - and I am not slow to take the Mickey!
I was asked to play in the South West Lancs League, and while our opponents did not do too well, they had their successes. Actually, they were unlucky on this hand:
| . |
AKT98x AKQ -- Axxx |
|
Jx x KQJx KJ9xxx |
. |
| They bid: | ||||
|
2 [Acol] 2 [natural]4 [rebiddable suit]7 [second suit] |
2 [negative] 4 [Gerber]5 [more Gerber]NB |
|||
| LHO led the DA, and looked sick when it was ruffed - but RHO had an unassailable QTx. In the other room we bid: | ||||
| The Bear 1 3 [splinter]4 5NT [GSF] NB | Me 2 3NT 4 [cue]6 |
|||
| and considered ourselves lucky! | ||||
Just to show that we can bid a slam if it is completely obvious, our next hand was:
| . |
Axx AKQxxx AQx K |
|
KQJxx J Txx ATxx |
. |
| We bid: | ||||
| The Bear .... 3 4NT [RKCB] 7 | Me 1 3 5 NB |
|||
| We only took up RKCB the previous week! | ||||
Anyway, I digress. Later, the opposition held:
| Kx QT9xxxx Jx 8x |
|
AJx Jx Kxxxx AJx |
The bidding was 1NT P 4 AP. It is not a good contract, and did not make, but he played the diamond suit by low to the jack - and my ace! He got one past the Bear! I was duly appreciative,and told the Bear so <grin>. After grunting a bit, he seemed to spend the rest of the match playing the Q as early as possible on every hand!
But the piece de resistance was this hand, which our declarer played excellently, though I suppose he could have played it one trick better still:
| AJxx AQJ Qx AQTx |
|
KTx xx T9xx K9xx |
The Bear led a small diamond against West's 3NT [the bidding was 2NT P 3NT AP] which went to my jack and West's queen. Declarer played
Q,
to the K dropping the J, winning H finesse,
T and
now the master play .....
No, he did not cash the A, he cashed the A!!!!!!! Naturally the Bear revoked, discarding a diamond on it! Brilliant! Of course, the Bear realised immediately, and corrected it, leaving the small diamond as a major penalty card. Declarer rose to the occasion and played his small diamond. The Bear had to play his penalty card, I followed small, and declarer used the 9 entry to the dummy to repeat the heart finesse!
Getting into the swing of things, he didn't cash his
A, but played
K and another spade - and I had no diamonds left! Twelve tricks! What a play!
I was still chortling to myself about five boards later - and everyone in Merseyside will have heard about this defence by next weekend!