FEW PLAYERS ARE SO IMAGINATIVE

In his play "Artist Descending a Staircase," Tom Stoppard wrote, "Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art."

How does this apply to bridge players? The best partnerships are usually those with one player who has skill without imagination and a second who has skill with imagination. This pair will be tough to defeat.

Pietro Forquet and Benito Garozzo, mainstays of the Italian Blue Team, fit the bill. In this deal, Garozzo was sitting East, aided by the fact that it was a pairs tournament where overtricks were so important.

South was in six hearts. After winning the first trick with dummy's diamond ace, declarer was tempted to run the heart jack. But if it won, what then? A heart to the queen would be fatal if West suddenly produced the king and cashed the diamond queen.

Perhaps South should have played a club to the queen for an immediate diamond ruff, but that wasn't without risk.

At the table, South led a low trump from the board. Garozzo played his king! Taking this card at face value, South saw an overtrick in his future. After winning with the ace, he led a heart to dummy's jack and played a club toward his hand. Disaster! Garozzo ruffed and led a diamond to his partner's queen for down one.

bridge

Isn't that the most imaginative defense you ever saw?

Copyright United Feature Syndicate (Asia Features)