| Hobson’s Choice
Here is an interesting hand played by Harriet Andrews, one of the original New England Hearts Players' Association Life Masters. She recently became the third player to complete a perfect Tournament with five First Places (and no losses). Harriet is a ferocious defender, who pays great attention to detail. In this deal, she was willing to take the Queen of Spades in order to prevent a "Moonshot."
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| This hand was played on the Internet, and was the first deal of a match. The pass was completed and South (Harriet) was a bit uncomfortable with her shaky minor (Club and Diamond) suits.
The Club Deuce was led, as West covered with the Ten, North played the Six, and East was in with the Queen. The Four of Clubs was a reasonably safe lead, and South covered with the Jack, drawing the Eight and North's King. The King of Spades was played in an attempt to coax out the Ace, and East was thrilled to win this trick, as the Eight and Seven were tossed. The Spade Ten was a natural continuation, and it drew the Three and Five. North grabbed the Jack and quickly dropped the Spade Nine on the table. East found it absolutely irresistible to unload the Ten of Hearts.
Gurgling with glee and anticipation, North banged down the Heart Ace, and was mildly shocked to see a high Club discard by East. South released the Seven, and West said "sayonara" to his lonely Four-spot. The King of Hearts drew East's last Club, the Six from South, and the Club Ace from West. The layout of the Heart suit was now quite clear, and North knew that South had a guarded Jack. Thus he tried a "slick" Nine of Hearts. East dumped a high Diamond, and South ducked with the Five, while West heaved a high Diamond. Now the Eight of Hearts was pushed (East's and West's discards were high Diamonds once again). South proclaimed, "Not through The Iron Duchess"!
She played the Jack, as ducking would have allowed the Moon. The rest of the hand was anticlimactic. North had safety in the Deuce of Hearts. West ducked a desperate Six of Diamonds, and a disgusted North unloaded the Spade Queen, as East played the Five. Obviously, East and West were quite happy with the result.
Was the price for saving the Shoot too high? I suppose the first hand of a match is quite appropriate for such defense, as there is plenty of time to recover. However, a lot of players would not be willing to take the Spade Queen in this instance. The "Iron Duchess" had no problem! | |
