August 1, 1890.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



201 



Trick 2. 



A 



^ 





O 



B 



Tricks— AB, ; CD, 1. 



*** 



"b 



rwAs— AB, ; CD, 2. 



4. 4, 



rc/c/.- 1. — D plays king at head of six. 

 7 '/■/(■/,■ 2. — C has not echoed, and does not hold both ac-e 

 and seven. 



Trick 3. 



Thick 4. 



Tricks— AH, ; CD, 3. 



Tricks— AB, 1 ; CD, 



Trick 3. — The roup de sacrifice, a beautiful play. 



Trick 4. — The two of hearts, to throw the play, if pos- 

 sible, into C's hand, that on his lead D may get rid of his 

 diamonds. 



Tkick 5. 

 A 









 <> 



Trick G 

 A 



■c/,-.s- 



. B 



-AB, 2 ; 



CD, 3. 



Tricks 



o 





B 

 -AB, 3 ; 



CD, 3. 



Trick 5. — B reads the six trumps of D, consequently the 

 three of C's hand, also the five diamonds of !>, and the 

 best diamonds in A's hand. 



Thick 7. Trick 8. 



♦ ♦ 



B 



-/Vicyls— AB, 5; CD, 4. 



Tricks— AB, 5 ; CD, o. 



Tnc/i 9.— C reads the rest of the trumps in D's hand, 

 and but one spade and the last diamond, and plays ace. 



Teicks 11, 12, and 13 are taken by D's trumps, 



CD MAKE TWO BY CARDS, AND 

 AB SAVE THE GAME. 



A's Hand 

 S.— 5, 4, 2. 



H.— Kn, 7, 5, 3. 



C— Kn. 



D.— Qn, Kn, 10, 9, 7. 



C's Hand. 



S.-Ace, Qn, Kn, 8, 7. 

 H.— Ace, Qn, 10, 9. 

 C— 7, 6, 3. 

 D.— 2. 



B's Hand. 

 B.— Kg, 10, 9, 3. 

 H.— Kg, 8, 6, 4. 

 C— Ace, 9, 8. 

 D.— Kg, 4. 



D's Hand. 

 S.— 6. 



H.— 2. 



C— Kg, Qn, 10, 5, 4, 

 D.— Ace, 8, 6, .5, 3. 



Remarks. — At Trick 3 many players in D's position 

 would continue the trumps. This is obnously the best 

 course if C holds the ace. If B has it, D has still to con- 

 sider that he requires two tricks at least, if not three, fi-om 

 C in order to make game, and that he will be giving C's 

 cards the best chance by throwing the lead into B's hand. 

 If B has both ace and seven (the eight and nine may not 

 improbably have been false cards), he is tolerably certain 

 to make them sooner or later, and, as the game can only 

 be won by strong cards in C's hand, it is, in this case also, 

 desirable 'to place the lead with B. But, as D prefers to 

 open the Diamonds, he is surely ill-advised in abandoning 

 the command, especially as A has shown strength in the 

 suit by his discard at Trick 2. The lead of ace from a 

 live-suit is correct at the commencement of a hand, but 

 not when the trumps are mostly out, and there is no doubt 

 that the ace will make later on. D should have opened 

 the diamonds with the live ; B, pursuing the same tactics 

 as in the actual game, would have won his partner's trick 

 with the king, drawn a round of trumps, and returned the 

 small diamond. D could then have played his ace, and 

 continued with the three, showing five originally. A's best 

 chance would have been to lead a heart or a spade ; but C, 

 if he had counted his partner's hand would have played 

 his two aces, and D would eventually have made game 

 with his trumps and the last diamond. B's play of the 

 king is clever, but we do not see that there is any certainty 

 that A holds all the best diamonds, as the foot-note to 

 Trick 5 implies ; he may have discarded from the best 

 protected of three four-card suits. 



D's play at Trick 4 is still more open to question. Why 

 not continue the diamonds ? The worst that can happen 

 is for B to be void of them and to make the seven of 

 trumps, if he has it ; and in that event he will have to 

 lead spades or hearts up to C. D's aim should be to clear 

 his diamonds, not to seek means of throwing them away. 

 C shows himself worthy of his partner. He only discovers 

 at Trick 9 what is perfectly clear after Trick 3 — \-iz. that 

 1) holds queen, five, four, two, of trumps, and at least four 

 small diamonds, and therefore can have only two other 

 cards. Consequently ho embraces the opportimity which 

 D afi'ords him of throwing away the game by a jltimse. 

 His play is the more inexcusable inasmuch as the deuce of 

 hearts is obviously a " singleton." The best of players 

 may sometimes fail to count his partner's hand correctly, 

 although the hands in which such lapses occur are not 

 usually selected for publication in a standard work ; but in 

 this instance C's play appears to us to savour of dulness 

 as well as inattention. Knowing that B could have no 

 trump but the ace, it was clearly his duty to make sure of 

 Trick 4, and to return the hearts at once tor D to ruff. D 



