| The X-Ray Attack – Part II
or “Emeril Makes an Appearance”
Last month's column featured an interesting thematic hand that occurred during a "live” tournament. Lori Johnson, of Columbus, Ohio, made her bid by employing a most unusual technique. Sure enough, an eagle-eyed reader of this column found an alternative line of play that results in the defeat (euchre) of the South player. We refer to an alternative solution as a "cook." ("Emeril" is a very good cook!) Edward Schelling (IL) came up with this ingenious defense. (The hand is reproduced for convenience.) | |
| ** SCORE 9-9 / UPCARD -- JACK OF HEARTS **
West, with three trump, eschewed ordering up to South, and opted to pass. North and East also passed, and South picked up the Right, and dumped the useless 10 of Diamonds. West opened the natural Ace of Clubs, and South trumped with the Heart 9. She next pushed the 9 of Spades, and East was in with the Ace. The Diamond Ace hit the table, and South ditched her last Spade. West was forced to trump with his 10, and the hand rolled in. (West was endplayed and had to lead from the Left Queen into the Right Ace.) I was impressed with the technique, and dubbed it "The X-Ray Attack." Enter "Emeril"! Ed Schelling sent an e-mail to me and mentioned that South could be euchred with "best" defense. Well, let us see:
Suppose that West leads the 10 of trump instead of the Ace of Clubs. North's hand is useless, and he discards anything. East drops his lone Club (or the Diamond Queen), and South wins the Ace of Hearts. (Ducking with the 9 loses, as West shifts to a Spade.) Now, South must try the Spades, and East wins the Ace. The Ace of Diamonds is played, and South ruffs with the 9. If South, instead, drops his last Spade, West ditches his Club Ace, and now he will score his Left. (A sort of reverse "X-Ray" play!) West overruffs the Heart 9 with the Queen, and plays his top Club. This punches out South's last trump, the Right, and West's Left sets the bid. There is a lot of analysis here! And a lot of hindsight! I am sure that most West players would have led the Club Ace, after South picked up the Right. However, I do give Ed credit for a very neat line of play! | |
