Suffolk Bridge

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After four hundred boards, a touch of lethargy had entered the play of the Quadrule – the contest between the suits. To reinvigorate their clans the prime ministers agreed to give their respective teammates an inspirational team talk. And none was more inspiring than that given by the star of today's hand.

Maggie – The Ace of Diamonds

I doubt there will be a reader who will fail to recognise the corporeal inspiration of Maggie, the Ace of Diamonds. While not being the most popular individual in political history, it should not be forgotten that, as a chemist, Maggie contributed to the development of soft ice cream, surely a redeeming feature.

A wag once quipped that Maggie was given the title, "The Iron Lady", because, like the Eiffel Tower, "La Dame de Fer", she looked down on the French. Another said it referred to the soft iron centre buried deep within her diamond hard exterior^*. Whether that is true is unimportant, what mattered in terms of the match was her undoubted ability to play the game and the determined leadership she brought to her tribe.

Love All, Dealer East:

		Mary
	Maggie		Genghis
	♠ QJ109
	♥ 942
	♦ A6542
	♣ 10
		Santa

	West	North	East	South
	Maggie	Mary	Genghis	Santa
			Pass	1♦
	Pass	2♣	Pass	2♥
	Pass	2♠	Pass	3♣
	Pass	3♥	Pass	4♥
	All Pass

Maggie's thoughts on the lead…

This is one of those hands where anything could be right. I'd guess, if I posed the problem to my clan members, I'd get twelve different answers. Only joking! Of course they would ask for my opinion first, and then agree with me.

What do I know about my opponents' hands? Well, south made a reverse bid which shows he has nine or more red cards, with longer diamonds than hearts. He also avoided no-trumps, so I doubt he holds a spade honour. Another point is - Mary didn't raise hearts immediately, so they may be playing in a 4-3 fit.

What of partner's hand? It's amazing how many players fail to consider what partner might hold before making the opening lead.

It's likely Genghis holds a smattering of points - six or seven possibly. Given north-south avoided 3NT, I suspect he's some values in spades and possibly a little strength in the other suits.

Does this help in finding the best lead?

A diamond looks wrong – even if partner has a singleton, and scores a ruff, there's little chance of a fourth trick – especially as Genghis probably doesn't hold the ace of clubs. The same logic rules out a club lead.

If my diamonds were better, a trump lead might be right. But the chances are Santa's diamonds are pretty solid, so he won't be looking for ruffs in dummy.

Which leaves spades – yes; that might work. If partner has the ace of spades, and south three small, we could win the first four tricks. Okay, here goes.

Maggie led the spade queen and was happy to see the king and two small in dummy.

		Mary
		♠ K42
		♥ K75
		♦ 3
		♣ KJ8653
	Maggie		Genghis
	♠ QJ109
	♥ 942
	♦ A6542
	♣ 10
		Santa

The defence took the first two tricks, but declarer ruffed the third round of spades with the ten of hearts, and promptly continued with the king of diamonds.

Well it was a good plan while it lasted. The only upside is I've an excellent idea of Santa's hand. His remaining cards will be the AQJ of hearts, KQJxx or KQJxxx of diamonds and Ax or Ace single in clubs.

First instincts are to take this trick and force declarer with another spade. But no, he'll just ruff in dummy with the king, draw trumps and claim. Trying to give partner a ruff if he has a singleton diamond won't work either.

So what's to do? What if I duck this trick and NOT play my namesake, the Ace of Diamonds?

Santa will play another diamond, and then a third which Genghis can ruff. This is more interesting… Declarer's diamonds still aren't established and we've three tricks in the handbag.

What will be the position at this point?

		Mary
		♠ ---
		♥ K75
		♦ ---
		♣ KJ86
	Maggie		Genghis
	♠ J		♠ 6
	♥ 942		♥ 86
	♦ A6		♦ ---
	♣ 10		♣ Q972
		Santa
		♠ ---
		♥ AQJ
		♦ 108
		♣ A4

If partner returns a spade, declarer will discard a diamond and ruff in dummy. Then a trump to his hand followed by a diamond ruff with the king will see him home. On a trump return he can draw two rounds of hearts then take a ruffing finesse in diamonds.

Which leaves a club return to consider.

There're only seven cards left but it's not an easy position to visualise. The problem for Santa is his two remaining diamonds. My singleton club means Santa will be held to two tricks in the suit - after drawing trumps the suit will be blocked.

He can ruff a diamond with the king, but that still leaves him with a loser. Alternatively, he could play two rounds of hearts, to denude partner of trumps, and follow up with a ruffing diamond finesse. But after I've covered with the diamond, ace, I'll still have a trump left and the lead will be in dummy with nothing but clubs left to play.

A quick review… I'll duck the first, second and third diamonds. Partner will ruff the third round and return a club to tangle declarer's communications. For this to work, Genghis will need to be on his toes… that's if he wants to keep them.

The full deal:

		Mary
		♠ K42
		♥ K75
		♦ 3
		♣ KJ8653
	Maggie		Genghis
	♠ QJ109		♠ A865
	♥ 942		♥ 863
	♦ A6542		♦ 97
	♣ 10		♣ Q972
		Santa
		♠ 73
		♥ AQJ10
		♦ KQJ108
		♣ A4

As Maggie left to compare scores, a glum looking Confucius slumped in her seat.

"You don't look so happy, what's the problem," asked Santa?

"I had a bridge joke about the difference between Maggie and Edwina Currie. But I can't remember the punch line," admitted Confucius.

"Never mind, I'm sure it'll come to you."

"I hope so. It was a good joke. Something about what Maggie did to the miners, and Edwina did to the Majors."

• One account states that Maggie was given the title "Iron Lady" in the the Soviet Defence Ministry journal (Red Star), following an assertive speech she delivered in January 1976.