Master Of Psychology

by Mark Horton

Playing on vugraph can be a nerve-racking experience, especially when you realize that you are being watched not just by the audience in the theatre but also by several thousand on line spectators.

Under those circumstances it takes an awful lot of courage to adopt a psychological line of play as opposed to taking a genuine chance. Take a look at this deal from the Round 15 Bermuda Bowl match between Japan and England.

Board 8. Dealer West. None Vul.
	♠ J 6 ♥ A K J 7 4 ♦ A Q 10 ♣ 6 5 4
♠ 10 4 ♥ 10 9 6 ♦ K 8 6 5 ♣ 10 9 3 2		♠ A K Q 9 7 5 2 ♥ 8 ♦ 9 3 ♣ A K J
	♠ 8 3 ♥ Q 5 3 2 ♦ J 7 4 2 ♣ Q 8 7

West	North	East	South
Jason	Furuta	Justin	Chen
Pass	1♥	Dble	3♥
Pass	Pass	4♠	All Pass

In the other room, where North opened a strong no trump, East had surprisingly contented himself with an overcall of Two Spades, so some IMPs were sure to change hands.

South led the three of spades and, after some thought, declarer put up dummy's ten. North covered with the jack, although in view of what happened later he would have done better to play the six, giving declarer an entry he needed to take the losing club finesse. Justin won in hand and had nothing better to do than play off his trumps. This was the seven –card ending:

	♠ – ♥ A K J ♦ A Q 10 ♣ 6
♠ – ♥ 10 9 ♦ K 8 6 5 ♣ 10		♠ 2 ♥ 8 ♦ 9 3 ♣ A K J
	♠ – ♥ – ♦ J 7 4 2 ♣ Q 8 7

North's discards of the four and five of clubs convinced Justin that the queen of clubs was not going to fall, so instead of cashing the ace and king he tried a very cunning jack of clubs!!

It's easy to say that South should not have been caught out, but when he played the seven declarer had achieved a spectacular coup - and on vugraph to boot!