Stamford Bridge Club starts beginners classes in early 2025

I’d like to wish all readers a Happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy New Year, writes Marcus Witt of Stamford Bridge Club.

I’d also like to thank Rutland and Stamford Mercury editor Kerry Coupe for giving me the opportunity to write this four-weekly column, and to James Bedford for processing the club’s results that appear in the sports section of the paper each week. Both the Mercury and Stamford Bridge Club are important organisations in the community and we are grateful for the continuing association.

Out of a sense of curiosity you may have stumbled across this article and are thinking of taking up a new interest in 2025. If so, the latest round of our beginners’ classes may appeal to you. There is a choice between Thursday mornings (taken by Sue Moss, starting on January 16) and Thursday evenings (John Prior, from January 16 too) and each course lasts for 10 weeks and costs £65. If interested, please get in touch with me: marcusstamfordwitt@gmail.com.

Hand of the Week

A fun hand for the festive season. Sam Fry was a leading American player in the early days of contract bridge and he played this hand back in 1934. It seems that 4H is doomed as it seems that declarer must lose two diamonds and two clubs. One approach would be to play West to have started with ace doubleton club – now declarer could play a club to the queen and a low one off the table, ducking. The ace would beat the air and South would restrict the club losers to one. Sam found something better after West led a diamond on which East played D8 as an encouraging card. West, however, switched to a spade. Why would West do that, Sam wondered. It could only be because West started with a singleton diamond.

Declarer won the spade switch perforce, cashed a top trump and returned to the second spade winner. Sam now ran the knave of hearts, allowing West to win the queen! This spectacular sacrifice of a sure trick guaranteed the contract. West played ace and another club but declarer now had three club tricks and a diamond loser could be discarded. It would not help for West to exit with a spade. South would ruff in dummy, discard a club from hand and play a club to the king. Now CQ and a club ruff would set up a long club again. Counter-intuitive and brilliant.