Winkle Heaven

Commenting on the USBF Round of 8 I saw a winkle.  I can’t remember when I last encountered one.  When I was a university student if you performed a winkle you were allowed to stand up on your chair and yell; “Winkle.”  And I do remember that I did this once or twice in my career.  (Although perhaps a bit quieter than that.)

So I have a particular fondness for winkles and I think anybody can enjoy the beauty of such a deal.

So here in the USBF Round of 8 first stanza this wonderful hand came up. With everybody vulnerable East, Fred Stewart, opened 1 and Lew Stansby bid 1NT doubled by Kit Woolsey.  Chip Martel had nowhere to go.  The auction had been the same in the Open Room where Adam Wildavsky and Doug Doub had gone down 3 for –800.  The hand is obviously hopeless so Stansby’s job was to reduce the damage and as we said at the start of the play down 2, –500 would be a triumph.

	Martel J86 1042 J73 10974
Woolsey		Stewart
	Stansby 1053 KJ3 AK95 AJ3

 

Woolsey started the K which held the trick and continued with 9 won by Stewart with the A.  Stewart returned a heart, Stansby ducked and Woolsey won the Q and rattled off three spades.  Stewart threw two hearts and a diamond on the spades.  Stansby came down to this position

 

	Martel – – J73 10974
Woolsey		Stewart
	Stansby – KJ AK9 AJ

 

Now Woolsey exited a diamond and Stewart’s 10 forced the A.  Stansby got out a heart throwing a club from dummy.  Stewart returned a heart.  This was the position as the third round of hearts were led.

	Martel – – J7 1097
Woolsey – – 2 K652		Stewart – 9 Q8 Q8
	Stansby – J K9 AJ

 

Stansby won the heart return carefully (and necessarily) discarding the J from dummy.  And now the moment we have waited for: he played the A and J.  If Woolsey ducks then Stewart is immediately endplayed in diamonds.  So Woolsey rose on the K smothering Stewart’s Q.  But this had the effect of setting up dummy’s clubs.  So returning a club would give up the rest.  Woolsey therefore led a diamond picking up Stewart’s diamond position.  Stansby was out for down 2 and a win of 7 imps.

 

The whole hand was:

	Martel J86 1042 J73 10974
Woolsey KQ972 Q5 42 K652		Stewart A4 A9876 Q1086 Q8
	Stansby 1053 KJ3 AK95 AJ3