Suffolk Bridge

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Tension was mounting as the "Quadrule" neared its halfway point. The Clubs, who were trailing in last place, were given a stern talk by Merlin. He announced that any player failing to gain points by chicanery would be banned from psyching for a month! However, the sneakiest play would earn the perpetrator double purple points towards their Mischievous Point ranking.

Dedi – The Seven of Clubs

Open any reference book on the history of magic and somewhere in the first chapter you will find the name "Dedi". This magician practised his art in Egypt around 2700BCE, his most famous performance was one in which he decapitated a goose and an ox and then restored their heads, presumably to their rightful owners.

The Pack's Dedi had a look of permanent dishevelment. As the Bard once quipped, when shevelment was being handed out, Dedi was last in line. His character traits were a fondness for beer, betting and practical jokes. The pallor of his skin was of a hue that could only be acquired from the nicotine laced air of bars and betting shops.

After every session he could be found in the bar partaking of "a small pick-me-up", as he would say. When in a jovial mood, he would borrow a coin from a fellow drinker and cause it to vanish, only to reappear a second later in the most unlikely and, if very late at night, embarrassing places. Of course the real trick was for the owner to recover the coin after the demonstration was over.

Dedi was one of life's wheeler-dealers and as the saying goes, "didn't miss a trick".

This is the hand he submitted for consideration in the Sneaky Play Contest.

Love All, Dealer South		Alice
		♠ 872
		♥ 95
		♦ AK109
		♣ AK109
	Buster		Dedi
			♠ A43
			♥ A8762
			♦ 7
			♣ QJ75
		Charles

	West	North	East	South
	Buster	Alice	Dedi	Charles
				3♠
	Pass	4♠	End

After a short sequence Buster led the Heart King to Charles's game contract.

Looking at dummy and my hand, I'd lay odds that South has the seven missing trumps for his first in hand pre-empt. Six spade winners plus the four minor suit winners in dummy makes ten.

But I think I see a chance to pull this rabbit out of the hat. Say I overtake partner's king and return my singleton diamond… when Charles plays spades I can win, put Buster in with a heart, and he'll return a diamond for me to ruff. That's four tricks, the ace of hearts, ace of spades, partner's heart trick and the ruff.

For this to work South must have at least two hearts, otherwise there'll be no entry to partner's hand. Declarer must have two diamonds too; else Charles will play low on the diamond return and overruff my spade.

That's not a lot to ask for… and yet for some reason I feel nervous about the hand. Ah, I see it, the cause of my unease; Charles has a countermove, a literal vanishing trick. He'll win the diamond and play three rounds of clubs. When I cover the third round, he'll discard his last heart and partner's entry will have disappeared. An s-word^* coup as we call it in the cupboard.

What's to be done?

Abracadabra – I've spotted a solution. It's all done by mirrors – in this case the mirror image of dummy's minor suits. If I return a club instead of a diamond, and Charles is 2-2 in the minor suits, there's a good chance he'll believe I've a singleton club and try for an s-word coup in diamonds.

Say I overtake partner's heart and return my namesake card, the seven of clubs, just as Charles will play clubs if I return a diamond, it's likely he'll play diamonds if I return a club. Right, that's the plan, time to place my bet…

Charles played as East had anticipated - and watched his tenth trick vanish as Dedi ruffed the second diamond.

The full deal:

		Alice
		♠ 872
		♥ 95
		♦ AK109
		♣ AK109
	Buster		Dedi
	♠ ---		♠ A43
	♥ KQJ3		♥ A8762
	♦ QJ8654		♦ 7
	♣ 864		♣ QJ75
		Charles
		♠ KQJ10965
		♥ 104
		♦ 32
		♣ 32

Dedi was awarded a Mischievous Player Certificate for his efforts, nicely engraved with scrolls and runic symbols. True, he did try to sell it as a genuine antique a few weeks later, but that was just his way.

The Pack took a break half way through the set to mark the halfway point in the Quadrule. It was amusing to watch the cards split into two competing camps - highlighting the priorities of the individuals - half crowded round the computer to catch a glimpse of the scores, while the rest made a dash for the buffet and Ma's celebration banquet.

When the results were announced, the diamonds had taken the lead, closely followed by spades and clubs in joint second place, leaving the Hearts trailing in fourth.

* As actors are superstitious about naming "The Scottish Play", so some members of the pack prefer not to utter the S-Word - that is "Scissors".