Bridge Column for October 30, 1994
Both sides vulnerable.  South deals.
                              NORTH
                              S: V o i d          
                              H: A 10 9 6 4 2
                              D: K Q 10 7 2  
                              C: J 7     
            WEST                             EAST
            S: A 10 4 3 2                    S: K J 9 8      
            H: 7 3                           H: J 8        
            D: 5 4                           D: J 6               
            C: K Q 6 5                       C: A 10 4 3 2  
                              SOUTH                         
                              S: Q 7 6 5
                              H: K Q 5      
                              D: A 9 8 3  
                              C: 9 8      
                  SOUTH    WEST    NORTH    EAST                  
                  1NT(1)   Pass    4D(2)    Pass
                  4S(3)    Pass    4NT(4)   Pass
                  5C(5)    Dbl(6)  Pass(7)  Pass
                  5H(8)    Pass    Pass(9)  Pass
     Columnists routinely document the brilliant bids and plays
of the greats and not so greats.  As a result, thousands of
ordinary players truly believe that these select few never
experience the kinds of problems that they encounter every other
hand or so.  Truth be told, even the best paint themselves into a
corner now and again.  Here is a great example (the names are
being withheld to protect the columnist!).
     The easiest way to explain the bidding is through the
annotation.  
     1.  One no trump (in this system) shows a balanced hand with
ten to twelve high card points.  
     2. Four diamonds was intended to be a "Texas Transfer" which
demands that partner bid four hearts.  
     3.  South thought that four diamonds was a "South African
Transfer" demanding that he bid four spades.  
     4.  Four no trump is "Roman Key Card Blackwood with spades
as the trump suit.  North was stuck.  By agreement, any suit bid
after this transfer sequence would be "Exclusion Blackwood"
asking partner to tell about his key cards outside of the bid
suit.
     5.  South has one or four key cards.  In his mind, spades
are the agreed upon trump suit, so the ace of diamonds is his
only key card.
     6.  Lead directing for clubs.  Of course, West appeared to
be the hand that would be on lead since spades were first bid by
South, so we can infer that he was reminding himself to lead a
club.
     7.  By partnership agreement, this is a forcing pass and
requests partner to show values other than aces, which are
already known.  I am sure that North gave an unspoken thank you
to West for his double which provided the thinest chance to
escape from this horrible situation.
     8.  A cue bid showing heart values.
     9.  Taking advantage of the opportunity to pass what
appeared to be the last makeable contract.
     As you can see, five hearts made.  The moral of this column
is to be kind to yourself when you make a mistake and try to
maintain a positive mental attitude.  Everyone suffers a little
bit at the bridge table.  The suffering helps to build bridge
character.