Among many small and big cities of Pakistan only three cities namely Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad figure prominently in deeper interest in playing and promoting the game of bridge as a social and intellectual pastime.
Particularly Karachi can rightly claim to be the city where bridge is comparatively a more popular sporting pursuit. Here there are a number of clubs, which periodically organise duplicate bridge with some modest prizes to offer.
But Karachi Bridge Association, the hub of bridge activity and the central bridge institution, provides a forum for bridge players to play bridge twice a week regularly.
In fact the Karachi Bridge Association, played a pioneering role in encouraging and grooming bridge players for over two decades and also credited with some of its members having represented the country in the international bridge competitions.
In one of the team events which was recently held at the Aslam Bridge Hall at the National Stadium, a hand came up which somehow reflected unimaginative bidding by fairly experienced bridge players. The involvement of emotions in the game bridge is reduced to minimum level as the bridge calls for cold-blooded calculations on scientific basis.
The South, having opened a pre-emptive bid in hearts, somehow fell a pray to emotions and thought he would get away with positive score on the deal. He forgot that the cardinal rule is that when one is vulnerable he has to be very cautious in stretching the bidding. By throwing the textbook formula to the winds North and South thoughtlessly continued bidding which the East West opponents felt pushed to a slam in spades. Whereas the East West pair had stopped at four spades but by emotional bidding of North South landed East West in a slam in spade, which they were unprepared but some how succeeded.
THE COMPLETE DEAL WITH BIDDING IS AS UNDER:
NORTH LED HEART ACE:
When the dummy was laid down the West saw the contract of six spades was almost fool-proof as there was only one loser in heart and another loser in the clubs if the king of clubs was on off side. Looking at the pre-emptive bid by South he may not have the king of clubs hence the king of clubs was under finesse. After winning the ace of hearts the North shifted to small diamond, which the West won with the queen of diamonds.
Then the West played two rounds of trumps and confidently moved the queen of clubs with the intentions of finessing. When it was not covered by North he allowed it to run, again jack and ten of clubs were followed, which the North refused to cover with the king of clubs but there was no trick for the defence after that.
So the slam in spades was a gift of God mostly because of continual bidding by North and South without having tangible values.
In fact the East West were quite content with the contract in spades on sketchy holding in diamonds and club suits plus two losers in hearts. In the close room the partner of North South playing in East West position stopped at four spades. If the North and South allowed the East West to play a game in spades that could have been a flat board. But with conceding a slam in spades for East West the team lost heavily in terms of points for no good reasons.
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Dealers South
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Both side vulnerable:
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East West North South
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S Q 7652 S AKJ 108 S 94 S 3
H 8 H 62 H A 105 H KQJ 9743
D 32 D AQ 9 D J 876 D K 1054
C A 8765 C QJ 10 C K 943 C 2
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The Bidding:
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South West North East
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3 H 3 S 4 H 4 S
5 D 5 S 6 H 6 S
Pass Pass Pass
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