Dubious Logic

The Reason for the Replay

It is time to catch up with some recent results. The Suffolk Singles was won by John Stanley who achieved an impressive 64% playing with a variety of partners. Friday the thirteenth saw some players defy fate to qualify from the Suffolk Pairs Semi-Final to the last stage. But one result that I cannot give is the semi-final of the Summer League for clubs.

As winner of the West section, Clare did meet Ipswich, second in the East, and bridge was played. Indeed, Ipswich left Clare believing they had won by 21 IMPs. I was about to say that bridge was unique in that scoring adjustments are possible after play is completed but I've just watched the England declared total in the 3^rd Test in Antigua be reduced from 568 to 566 when a boundary was revised from six to four.

By default all bridge events carry a protest period for scoring errors and, shortly after the match, one was discovered. A score for the home team was incorrectly entered in the 'visitor' column. It was this deal:

Four spades by west cannot be defeated (indeed, neither can five and the defence to beat east's spade game is tough^*) but Ipswich pairs didn't bid game. The Clare east-wests did but Andrew and Jane Moore selected the no-trump game. South naturally led the heart king and declarer ducked, I discarded a diamond and south continued with the heart queen – I had one last chance to defeat the contract… Can you see what it was?

I wish I could say I spotted it but I did not. I put declarer with king-queen of spades to raise his west's non-forcing response and hoped partner had a club honour. I realised a quarter of a trick later when east led the spade knave from dummy. Though I ducked declarer put up the king; the north-south spades crashed on the next round and declarer had nine tricks. As north, I wrote the score in the minus column but that was reserved for Ipswich positives. This temporarily scored up as +8 to Ipswich but was actually to +13 to Clare – the swing of 21 left the match tied. A replay is being arranged – had my error been discovered before Ipswich left we would have played extra boards.

The defence? Discard the ace of spades on the first (or second!) heart. To be fair, it's not completely clear – you would concede the contract if partner had the club king instead of the spade queen and it's not certain that west will play as he did. But you don't usually get into the newspapers for failing to discard an ace.

* As a further problem you might like to find the defence that defeats four spades by east. This didn't appear in the newspaper version because of space and a narrative reason you will discover [answer below].

** To defeat 4♠ by east, south has to lead a top heart, covered by the ace and north has to ruff with the spade ace. That allows south to gain the lead with the ♠Q and cash two hearts. If north ruffs the opening lead low, declarer can transpose into the line that makes eleven tricks from the west side: winning the club exit, crossing to the ♦A and playing a spade. North can get off lead safely but after drawing trumps, declarer cashes minor winners, ruffs a club, ruffs a diamond and plays the fourth club discarding a heart. Down to the only remaining minor-suit cards, north must concede a ruff and discard.

Published Saturday 21.Feb.2009