The Matron's Missed Opportunity

By David Bird

In the previous week's pairs a true miracle had been witnessed. The Matron had finished in first place, ahead of the senior Maths master, Bertie Bellis. It went without saying that this was largely due to the efforts of the Matron's new partner - Bertie Bellis's daughter, Victoria. Two other factors had contributed. The Matron had played only one hand all evening and Bertie Bellis had been suffering from a heavy cold. Even so, the event was so staggering that it would surely pass into school folklore.

'Ah, Victoria!' said Bertie Bellis, as his daughter took her seat at his table. 'How are you getting on? Is lightning going to strike in the same place again?'

Victoria Bellis flicked back her chestnut hair. On the previous round the Matron had run into an 'unlucky ruff' on one board and made a disastrous ace underlead on the other. Finishing above average would be a struggle after two zeroes like that. 'Who knows?' she replied.

The players drew their cards for the first board of the round:

Dealer: South. N/S Vul.     Q 10 9 3   A 8 5   J 4   9 7 5 3     6   J 7 4   K 6 5   A K Q J 10 8   8 2   Q 10 9 2   10 9 8 7 3 2   2     A K J 7 5 4   K 6 3   A Q   6 4

West The Matron	North Percy Cutforth	East Victoria Bellis	South Bertie Bellis
			1
2	2	Pass	4
End

The Matron led the A, winning the first trick. No switch suggested itself and she continued with the K, her partner discarding a low diamond. Bertie Bellis ruffed the next club and drew trumps in two rounds. A successful diamond finesse would see the contract home, but the Matron's overcall suggested that she would hold the K. Even more persuasive was Victoria's discouraging discard of a low diamond. Surely the K was offside and he would need to endplay the Matron to make the contract.

Aiming to remove the Matron's safe exit cards, Bertie Bellis continued to run the trump suit. This was the position with one trump still to be played:

-   A 8 5   J 4   9     -   J 7 4   K 6   J   -   Q 10 9 2   10 9   -     7   K 6 3   A Q   -

When the last trump was led, the Matron could not afford to throw the J and was unwilling to bare the K. With a small shrug, she discarded a heart. Bertie Bellis was confident how the cards lay. He cashed the K and A, removing the Matron's holding in the suit. He then led dummy's 9 and discarded his losing heart.

The Matron won with the J and, at trick twelve, had to lead from the K into declarer's tenace. The game had been made.

Bertie Bellis smiled at his daughter. 'You need to ruff the second club and switch to a diamond,' he told her. 'Nothing I can do then.'

'Yes, but I didn't know how many clubs the Matron held,' she replied. 'If she has ace-king-jack to five, I need to ruff the third round.'

Bertie Bellis nodded. 'You had the chance for a clever play there, Matron,' he said. 'Your partner's 2 was clearly a singleton, so perhaps you should have led the 8 at trick two, forcing her to ruff.'

'Lead the 8 when the nine is in dummy?' exclaimed the Matron. 'You must be joking. I had all the top cards in the suit.'

Bertie Bellis inspected the curtain card that the Matron had thrust under his nose. 'Yes, I see, all the top clubs,' he replied.

The Matron chuckled to herself as she returned the curtain card to the board. 'Sometimes you and Percy are too clever for your own boots,' she said. 'Playing another top club was obvious. I didn't even have to think about it!'.