CONTACT BRIDGE

THROUGH ROSE-COLORED GLASSES

There are players who look at every hand they’re dealt through rose-colored glasses. Optimism has its place in bridge, of course, and it pays dividends many times over when there is a sound basis for it, but an ace is an ace and a deuce is a deuce, regardless of who views them.

The inveterate overbidder lives in a world all his own, imagining that the hand he is looking at has greater value than it actually has, or assuming that his partner will produce untold treasures suppressed during the bidding.

The South who bid this hand to a slam was a full-fledged member of the Optimists Club. It cannot be denied that he had an excellent hand, but it’s plain to see that he regarded his three losing spades as a matter of no concern, carrying that conviction even to the point of a redouble.

One thing that can be said for the perennial overbidder is that he usually plays his cards very well. He has had so much experience trying to fulfill overly optimistic contracts that he has learned how to get the most out of every hand. Today’s South proved to be no exception.

He won the opening spade lead in dummy and led a low heart to his jack, getting the bad news when West showed out. Undaunted, South then cashed the A-K-Q of clubs, discarding a spade from dummy.

Next came four rounds of diamonds, on which declarer disposed of his two losing spades. Nine tricks had now been played, and both East and South had four trumps left with the 10-5 of hearts still in dummy. A spade was then led from the table. East trumped with the seven, whereupon South undertrumped with the three!

East was forced to return a trump, and, whichever one he led, declarer was sure to make the last three tricks and the contract.

It just goes to show that you can’t beat scientific bidding.