As the tax collector for King Henry VII, the Archbishop's rule on taxes went something like this. If the King's subjects were living lavishly, then they must be able to afford higher taxes. If they were living modestly, then they must have the savings to afford higher taxes. Either way... higher taxes.
The following deal was covered by Phillip Alder in his syndicated column:1
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West | ![]() | East | ||
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South 1 ![]() 3NT 4 ![]() 5 ![]() Pass |
North 2NT 4 ![]() 4NT 6 ![]() |
"The hand was played during the 1991 Gold Flake Asia and Middle East Bridge Championships in New Delhi. Tahir Masood, who was helping Pakistan win the Open event, was the only player to make six spades on this deal.
"North used the Jacoby forcing raise. South's rebid showed a balanced hand with extra values. Two cue-bids were followed by Roman Key Card Blackwood, South showing the trump queen and two key cards (two aces, or one ace and the trump king).
"If the diamond finesse was working, the contract would be easy. So Masood assumed it was wrong. He drew trumps ending in the dummy and then led the club three, impaling East on Morton's Fork. If East went in with the ace, declarer could discard his two diamond losers on the fourth heart and the club king. But when East played low, Masood won with the club queen, discarded his second club on the long heart and took the diamond finesse in an unsuccessful quest for an overtrick."
Another example written by Charles Goren and Omar Sharif:2
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West | ![]() | East | ||
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West 1 ![]() 2 ![]() Pass |
North Pass 3 ![]() 6 ![]() |
East Pass Pass All Pass |
South Dbl 4 ![]() |
"North bid aggressively to force the partnership to slam despite West's opening bid. South correctly decided to reopen the auction with a double, for he was too strong for even a jump to two spades. He confirmed the strength of his hand with a jump to four spades over his partner's cue-bid, and North simply took the bit by the teeth and leaped to slam.
"West led the king of hearts, and declarer could play the hand virtually double-dummy. West's bid and rebid and East's pass marked West for every missing card, and there was obviously a danger that declarer would lose a trick in each minor suit. However, declarer found an elegant solution to his problem.
"He played low from dummy to the first trick and ruffed in his hand. After drawing two rounds of trumps, declarer led his deuce of clubs toward the king-queen and West was impaled on the tines of Morton's Fork. If he played low, dummy's queen of clubs would win the trick. Declarer would then cash the ace of hearts, discarding his remaining club, and the only trick for the defense would be the king of diamonds.
"Unfortunately for the defenders, West would be no better off if he elected to with the ace of clubs. When declarer regained the lead, he would cash the jack of clubs, enter dummy with a trump and discard his three losing diamonds on the ace of hearts and the king-queen of clubs. This time, the ace of clubs would be the defenders' solitary trick."
1 Alder, P. (1992, March 17). The Catch-22 of the Tax Collector. Portsmouth Daily Times.
2 Goren, C. and Omar Sharif (1976, September 15). Goren on Bridge. Wilmington Morning Star.
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