'COME INTO MY PARLOR,' SAID BRIDGE SPIDER

With Christmas so close, the bridge club was festooned with decorations. Everyone was in a good mood. The Senior Life Master smiled to the young man who was sitting in the other chair near the roaring fire. He moved to get up, but the SLM said, "Sit here for a moment, for I am reminded of a bridge story."

The SLM gave the man a piece of paper with today's deal inscribed on it.

The declarer (the SLM continued) was Cornelius Carter. I was sitting West, and Corny's fiancee, Divina Davenport, was East. (The SLM sighed.) How divine Divina was, both to look at and as a bridge player.

I led the heart queen against three no-trump. As you can see, the contract looks unbeatable. Declarer wins the first trick and takes a diamond finesse, losing to East's queen. Back comes a heart. Now South has to win four club tricks, which he does without difficulty, as West holds the queen.

Divina seemed to sense this was the position. When Corny took the diamond finesse at trick two, Divina won not with the queen but with the ace.

I will add that Corny was obviously aware of the possibility, for, after winning Divina's heart return, he didn't take an immediate diamond finesse. He cashed the club king and ace first. But when the queen didn't drop, he overtook dummy's spade queen with his ace and played a diamond to dummy's jack. Divina pounced with the queen and flashed back a heart for down two.

Corny congratulated Divina on her defense, adding, "You were slightly lucky I didn't have five diamonds."

Then, concluded the SLM, Corny did something that is rarely seen at the bridge table these days: He leant over and passionately kissed Divina.