Contract Bridge

There were some members of the club who insisted that Sylvia was protected by a guardian angel. She would make the most dreadful plays imaginable, and somehow or other, these plays would work to her advantage.

Consider this deal where Sylvia (West) led her A-K-Q of spades and then, planning to cash the four next, inadvertently led the four of clubs instead. As a result, Sylvia was never able to cash her last spade.

However, declarer eventually went down anyway, and Sylvia’s sense of mortification was greatly allayed by this favorable turn of events.

Only in subsequent analysis was it discovered that South would have made three notrump had Sylvia cashed her fourth spade, since this would have squeezed her partner in the three remaining suits!

Thus, if East discarded a heart, declarer would win any return and cash three heart tricks. East would then be squeezed again. He would either have to unguard his diamonds or his clubs, and South would make three notrump by scoring an extra trick in that suit.

The same result would accrue if East elected to discard a club on Sylvia’s fourth spade. Declarer would then cash three club tricks, squeezing East in hearts and diamonds.

And finally, if East discarded a diamond on the four of spades, he would later be squeezed in hearts and clubs when declarer cashed four diamond tricks.

So, whichever way East turned, he could not escape being victimized by a fourth round of spades from Sylvia. To this day, some members of the club still contend that it was not Sylvia who led the four of clubs at trick four, but her guardian angel!