Dubious Logic

That Dog Again

Once I read, in a Scandinavian bridge magazine I believe, of how the players there affectionately referred to the eight of spades. "Spade Bad Dog" it was named, so called because it popped up in unexpected places to take tricks. After mentioning this in these pages a while ago, I did a search on the Internet that yielded almost nothing. I ransacked my magazine archive (at least that's what I call it), also to no avail and I'm starting to believe the whole thing is a story of the shaggy variety.

But, but… It's quite uncanny that, when you give a card a bad name – like the king of clubs always being alone for example – how often it happens. This deal was from the last county match, against Cambridge University:

West declared four spades after doubling South's weak no-trump and, for take-out, the daring raise to three clubs. The lead was ace and another club and West dropped the knave on the second round. South was fooled completely – unaware his partner had bid a three card suit as a desperate escape measure – and believed he had to switch, his actual choice of a heart running around to the knave. Certain of the location of the spade queen, West led the knave from dummy, queen, ace. He ruffed a club back to table and it was the moment of truth.

With certain diamond loser, West had to avoid a trump loser. He judged by the ease with which South covered the knave that he also had the ten, therefore it was close to an even chance whether he had two or three card in the suit. This time North's necessary deceit claimed declarer as he credited the 2♣ call with more distribution than 3=4=3=3. He advanced the spade nine attempting to pin the eight but that card took the setting trick.

At my table we defended the same contract but played from the East side after a curiously similar auction:

Here two clubs showed clubs and a red suit when again North was forced to innovate. With East-West's third club visible it was easy to play three rounds and East ruffed. The dog refused to bark as he negotiated trumps; knave first then dropping the ten. However he was undone when South pitched a club on the third round of trumps. Thinking the defender now holding only red cards, he tried to end-play South with the third diamond and was defeated when that player produced his fifth club.

Published Saturday 1.Apr.2006