CHECK WHERE THE VICE WILL GRIP BEFORE TIGHTENING IT Some years ago, the BOLS Liqueur company ran a competition for top players to come up with pithy advice – the famous BOLS Bridge Tips. One piece of advice was (roughly) “Running off your winners can exert useful pressure, at least if nothing else presents itself”. This week’s hands illustrate the importance of checking that latter part of the advice. ♠ K7 ♠ AQ ♥ 107 West East ♥ QJ3 ♦ 10952 ♦ KQ ♣ KQJ107 ♣ 9842

Playing rubber bridge I was West partnering a keen but weak player nicknamed the Gerbil (shades of Victor Mollo) due to his small and active nature. North opened 1♠, the Gerbil bid 1NT (1517) and I bid 3NT despite some misgivings. South led the ♠8 which our hero took with the Queen to play clubs. North took the ♣A to play another spade after which knocking out the ♦A gives 9 easy tricks. Unfortunately declarer now applied the tip in quite the wrong way. He ran off the clubs and found himself on the last one with ♠Q ♥QJ3 ♦KQJ ♣None and had squeezed himself out of a stop, guard or winner – one off. This is a type of suicide squeeze but, as declarer managed to do the same thing again a week later, I’ve always called this “The Gerbil Coup” – an embarrassing suicide squeeze which should have been obvious to avoid. I was taught not to be so smug at Hitchin on June 20 th . Late in the evening, a strong visiting player complained his opponents had often displayed sound, basic technique on several hands but chaos seemed widespread elsewhere e.g. on Board 16 where E/W have an obvious 3NT. Two pairs somehow stopped in a part score, but how did the rest not make 3NT+2 on a heart lead? Whether you cash clubs first or set up the diamonds, the layout ensures N/S just make a heart and the ♦A. Perhaps running off too many clubs early on could cause declarer to panic unduly but what exactly were people doing? I made 11 tricks too, but kept quiet about my attempt not to. I must now own up ♠ Q94 ♥ Q985 ♦ A109 ♣ J98 ♠ A876 Hand 16, Dlr North ♠ K ♥ AJ10 N/S Vul ♥ 743 ♦ QJ642 ♦ K73 ♣ 3 ♣ AKQ1054 ♠ J10532 ♥ K62 ♦ 85 ♣ 762 East opened 1♣, I (West) bid 1♦ then 2NT over East’s quiet 2♣. East had points in hand for 3NT and North lead a heart to the King and Ace. Playing diamonds is sensible now, but I tried two rounds of clubs and they somehow felt like 33, a point confirmed by the third club winner; on the clubs I threw two spades from hand. It all looks good now, although running off clubs too early might pressure my hand, so a diamond to the Jack must be right. North played the ♦9 and ducked the next diamond

as well. The King won with South following. Three more clubs followed, on which I could safely shed diamonds but now it is time to concede a heart and take 11 easy tricks. Instead it was Gerbil Coup time with 4 tricks to play. I held ♠A8 ♥J10 and dummy had ♠K ♥74 ♦7. Insanely I cashed the ♠K before playing a heart. North took the ♥Q and naturally cashed his ♦A. If I hadn’t cashed the ♠K, I could just have shed a spade and had two winners left; as it was I had to remember (having not really paid close attention to the discards) which small card North had left. Fortunately he’d shed the ♥98 which had vaguely registered so I kept the ♠A for Trick 13 but what was I doing? There was never a chance of 12 tricks, so why try to turn 11 into 10? The lesson is simple enough though; keep concentration even (or especially) late on or when things seem all too easy.