The Phantom of Wallingford

In the days before computer dealing, deals with wild distribution were much rarer than they seem to be today. Except for the goulashes at rubber bridge, one could go months without seeing an eight card suit for instance. There was one exception to this: a session at Wallingford Bridge Club could be guaranteed to produce numerous hands with 7411 distribution, or a void in each of the hands round the table, and such like. This was so pronounced that we used to refer to the influence of the "phantom of Wallingford" when such extraordinary hands appeared several times in a session. My friends who lived between London and Oxford used to love visiting there for an occasional game, guaranteed to be full of surprises and unusual bidding/play situations!

I was reminded of the phantom at the Cambridge Club's Mixed Pairs evening this week, where we had such delights as a 3019 hand including a club suit solid down to the 5 (except for the 7), and one deal where at different tables both North-South and East-West contracted to play in 4♥ doubled (it didn't make either time).

This was another one:

It is both difficult and (potentially) satisfying to bid up to a (making) slam after the opponents have opened the bidding. My partner and I ran out of steam after this less than satisfactory auction:

North	East	South	West
Pass	Pass (1)	1 ♣	Dbl (2)
Pass	2 ♣ (3)	Pass	3 ♥ (4)
Pass	3 ♠	Pass	4 ♥ (5)
Pass	5 ♦ (6)	Pass	Pass (7)
Pass	Pass	Pass

 

(1) Could open but first in hand vulnerable, prefer to wait it he hope of showing two suiter later. Holding spades, I am less likely to be pushed up too fast.

(2) Although this hand might be considered too strong for a one level overcall, double - when one is almost certain to hear a large number of spades from partner - is high risk and not an efficient use of bidding space.

(3) Trying to find out the nature of partner's hand before committing to spades or diamonds

(4) Overemphasising the strength of the heart suit and, at the same time, taking up bidding space

(5) Getting nervous about that spade void. Maybe 4♦ is ambiguous.

(6) We seem to be getting higher than I would like here. 5♦ doesn't look likely to score well.

(7) Chicken. Partner is a passed hand - are we really missing slam?

I would have preferred:

North	East	South	West
Pass	Pass	1 ♣	1♥ (1)
Pass	1♠ (2)	Pass	2♦
Pass	5 ♦(3)	Pass	6♦(4)
Pass	Pass	Pass

   

(1) Take it gently, there are a lot of spades around

(2) Void in partner's suit: be cautious

(3) Can hardly bid less

(4) With four first round controls, but facing a likely shortage in hearts, six is probably enough.

The play in 7♦ is not  uninteresting. If South leads a heart, declarer can take the free finesse and cash his side winners in clubs and hearts, before making the balance of tricks on a cross-ruff. On the lead of a top spade, there is a bit more work to be done: the sequence has to be right. After ruffing in dummy, declarer plays a club to hand and ruffs a second spade, cashes the heart ace and ruffs a heart before ruffing a third spade in dummy with the trump ace. The top spades having now all appeared, he can now cash the club ace and ruff another heart in hand before leading his master  ♠J. When South fails to ruff, declarer can let this run and then ruff his remaining spade in dummy with the ♦Q. His last three cards are winning diamonds.