A Bridge Player Who Could Act

If you dismantled the Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) at Giza and used the stones to build a wall one foot thick and six feet high, how far would the wall stretch?

There are a number of excellent Egyptian bridge players, the best-known being Omar Sharif, who died in 2015. Bridge was lucky to have such a visible and charming PR agent.

Today’s deal, which Sharif declared, is in theory straightforward, but it would trip up many players. How should South play in three no-trump after West leads the club jack? Omar and his partner were using the Blue Club bidding system. One club was strong and artificial, promising at least 17 points. North’s response showed either an ace and a king or three kings. The rebid of one no-trump promised 18-20 points. Stayman and a bid of game concluded the auction.

Knowing dummy held four spades, West wasn’t willing to break open that suit. Instead, he tried to find his partner’s long suit, leading the club jack.

Omar’s immediate inclination was to finesse dummy’s queen, but then he noticed that East might win with the king and return a heart. This would remove dummy’s entry before declarer could unblock his club 10. Spotting the solution, Omar won trick one with dummy’s ace. Then he led a club toward his 10. He had guaranteed these nine tricks: one spade,

Win at Bridge Phillip Alder two hearts, four diamonds and two clubs.

How long did you think the wall would be? It would extend from Los Angeles to New York. That is almost twice the length of the Great Wall of China.