GOREN BRIDGE

Hard Luck Louie almost didn't get out of bed this morning. He eventually got up and headed for the club, resigned to the likelihood that he would be even more unlucky than usual today. There were five players ready to start the game. Lucky Larry drew the first sit-out and sat down to kibbutz the first rubber.

Louie covered the opening diamond lead and ducked his ace when East produced the king. "It's starting already," thought Louie. East continued with a diamond to Louie's ace. Louie decided that he needed too much luck to succeed by playing on the majors — both finesses working plus 3-3 spades. He felt he had a better chance that the opponents' diamonds were blocked and they couldn't cash more than two diamonds when they got the lead. He played the ace and another club with his fingers crossed. Alas, East won with the king and led a diamond. West took three diamond tricks for down one.

"Could it be made, Larry?" asked one of the other players. "It is very lucky, but a heart to the jack and a spade back to the jack would both have worked. A heart to the ace followed by another low spade — not the queen — would have dropped the king. A low spade back to the queen, a club to the ace, and two more major suit tricks would be nine."

Louie felt sick. It had been his lucky day despite the calendar.