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After Scarlet doubled to show her nice 2-suiter and Ozzie (East) raised to 2♠, promising 4 of them, Rhett had an interesting dilemma. Would his partner understand that a bid of 3♥ was merely a “pre-balance” rather than an attempt to get to game? He was convinced he needed to push the opponents up a level to give his side a fighting chance for a plus score.
Rhett’s 3♥ bid worked nicely, as Harriet took the push to 3♠ as hoped, but then Scarlet chimed in with a 4♥ call. Ozzie’s double did not surprise Rhett, who was not a happy man. As a matter of fact, earlier in the game he heard a guy named Stanley K yelling out “STEL-LA, STEL-LA, YOU ARE OVERBIDDING AGAIN, STEL-LA! Rhett wondered to himself if that boisterous dude was indeed referring to the board they were now playing.
The opening lead was the ♠2 (4th best) and before tabling dummy Scarlet sighed nervously: “I do declare, dear Rhett, I sure hope I haven’t gone overboard this time.” Rhett was about to reply “Frankly, Scarlet, I don’t give a damn,” but instead he exuded: “It’s Valentine’s Day, dear, bid as many hearts as you’d like – the more the merrier. Oh, and by the way, I believe I do declare, since I am the one who bid hearts first…”
When Rhett saw the dummy he realized their 20 point game contract was a pretty decent one, as long as those V-Day favorites, hearts and diamonds, behaved. In fact, if hearts were 2-2, he had a laydown. He recognized that he should consider dummy the master hand since it held more trumps than he had, noting that one of dummy’s clubs and possibly a losing diamond could be ruffed in hand.
After Ozzie won the first trick with the ♠A, he cashed the ♣A, followed by the ♣Q and then played the ♣3. Declarer ruffed as Harriet followed 6, 4, 8 (standard carding). You can follow the play by clicking here and hitting the “Next” button repeatedly.
Rhett took a moment to review the club suit and concluded his LHO held the ♣K and the suit was very likely 4-4. Why? If RHO held AKQ3 he would not have played A,Q,3, and he might not have been as willing to continue with the Queen without holding the Jack as well. Furthermore, if LHO was KJ864 rather than K864, she would certainly have no problem signaling with the 8 when her partner cashed the ♣A and Rhett followed with the 10.
After ruffing, Rhett played the trump Ace and a trump to the King. When West pitched a low spade, Rhett grimaced. The contract now depended on the play of the diamonds, which he had already surmised were Scarlet’s best friend, and he wondered if they would still be after this board had concluded.
Rhett decided to execute a key bridge play: he stopped to think! He remembered that important acronym bridge writers and teachers extol: “ABC” (Always Be Counting) or in this case “ABCD” = Always Be Counting Diamonds, especially on Valentine’s Day.
The spades were known to be 4-4 (no support double plus the opening lead was the 4th best 2). Furthermore, the first trick revealed that East had ♠AQ (he had won that trick with his Ace and West would have led King from KQ).
As noted above, clubs appeared to be 4-4, East having AQJ3. Holding but a single trump, West was therefore presumed to be 4=1=4=4, indicating diamonds were 4-2 in West’s favor. Harriet was therefore twice as likely to hold the missing ♦J.
Rhett had a 2nd hint about the Jack. On the previous deal, Ozzie proudly announced “14-1/2 to 17” when his wife opened 1NT. Rhett’s experience had shown that people playing that range would use any excuse to upgrade a 14-pointer. East was already marked with a nice 13 count, so Rhett was sure that adding ♦Jx would be all Ozzie needed for 1NT, further evidence that Harriet held the Jack. Rhett cashed one high diamond in dummy, came to his trump Queen, picking up the missing trump in route, and led the ♦10. When it was not covered, he confidently let it ride, making his doubled contract and claiming a well-earned top!
Already excited about her pairing with Rhett, Scarlet was now swept off her feet. Exclaiming “Fiddle-dee-dee!” she then added, “How in heaven’s name did you know to finesse for the Jack?” Rhett’s surprising reply: “Why, my dear Scarlet, didn’t you see Cupid fly by? He not only shot an arrow in your direction, he whispered in my ear ‘if you really want her to fall in love with you, play lefty for ♦J-4th!’”
As they moved to the next round, Harriet could be heard asking her husband if there was anything they could have done to beat the contract. Ozzie just shrugged, as he so often does, wishing inwardly that he hadn’t doubled.
I’m sure the Hollywood ending would have our sweethearts winning the Lovers Cup (Stella and Stanley K actually claimed that cherished prize after Stella stopped overbidding), but our twosome did become an “item” both at the bridge club and in the bedroom — that is, until the pandemic hit.
One morning Scarlet discovered that Rhett and all his belongings were no longer present in her condo. He was in fact gone with the wind. Rumor had it that he was headed for Louisiana and that Stella had travelled with him. He was allegedly planning to help her find some kind of streetcar named Desire, whatever that meant. They have not been seen at our bridge club since…
Happy Valentine’s Day, Everyone! Here’s hoping I will be returning to the North Penn club long before Rhett and Stella do – I miss you all!
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