Three Saturdays ago I was having a nice dinner with my daughter Becky, her husband George, and my handsome, two-year-old grandson Woody as we discussed excitedly the upcoming birth of their second child, which was due in two weeks.

Well, that changed quickly! Some contractions, clothes thrown in a suitcase, a mad dash to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, and three hours later we welcomed into our family a beautiful little girl, who carries the beautiful name Lourdes.

She is healthy and gorgeous and everyone is doing well – but all that is preamble for this week’s hand!

In 1986 I did “A hand for Daniel”, my firstborn, and nearly exactly a year later in 1987, one for Becky. On Christmas Day 2022, I did one for Woody and in 2023, one for Dan and Veronica’s son, Dylan! Which now brings us to “A hand for Lourdes”!

She is, of course, gorgeous and charms everyone, which is why the hand today fits the bill as “elegant but deadly”!

The way I imagine it, Lourdes would be South on the hand above – she would open one heart and partner raises to four hearts which becomes the final contract.

West cashes the Ace-King of spades and switches to a trump – the more pedestrian declarers in the room drew trumps and took the club finesse by running the Jack. When this lost they then took the diamond finesse, and when that lost the contract was defeated by one trick!

This line of play was too Neanderthal for our Lourdes who noted that West, who was silent in the bidding, had already shown up with the Ace-King of spades and therefore could not have both minor suit kings or he would have entered the bidding – so, East had to have at least one of the missing kings.

With this locked into that pretty brain, she won the first heart in her hand, crossed to dummy with another trump and led... the four of clubs!

East had to win, which he did, and switched to a diamond, but the hand was over – spurning the finesse Lourdes won the Ace, cashed the club Jack, crossed to dummy with a trump and discarded her two diamond losers on the AQ of clubs – contract made!

And what if East played low on the club? Well, now there is no club loser and she could afford to lose a diamond and make the contract. And what if the club Jack loses to the King with West?

Well, now one diamond goes away on a club and with the diamond finesse pretty much guaranteed to work the contract is again successful!

As I said, “elegant, but deadly” – just like her mum!

Some Bridge Club News – here is what is in store in the next few weeks:

• Social Bridge – Sunday, February 16, 3pm to 5pm

• Happy Hour at the club – Friday, February 28, 4pm onwards

• Non-Life Masters Championship – Saturday, March 1, 2025, 9.30am (two sessions)

• Junior Pairs Championship – Tuesdays, March 11 and 18, 7pm  (two sessions)

• Bermuda Bridge Club annual meeting – Wednesday, March 12, 6pm

• Curry and Quiz Night – Saturday, March 15, dinner at 7pm, followed by quiz

• ACBL Unit 198 annual meeting – Monday, April 28, 4.30pm followed by Happy Hour

In closing, congratulations to Charles Hall and Margie Way, and Stephanie Kyme and Diana Diel, who had 70-plus per cent games in January.

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Friday, February 7

North/South

1 Richard Gray/Wendy Gray

2 Gertrude Barker/Molly Taussig

3 Tony Saunders/Patricia Siddle

East/West

1 Stephanie Kyme/Diana Diel

2 Martha Ferguson/Judy King

3 Stephen Cosham/Rachael Gosling

Monday, February 10

North/South

1 Rachael Gosling/Margaret Way

2 Diana Diel/Patricia Siddle

3 Richard Gray/Wendy Gray

East/West

1 Gertrude Barker/Jane Smith

2 Sancia Garrison/Charles Hall

3 Joyce Pearson/Barbara Miles

Tuesday, February 11

North/South

1 Felicity Lunn/Sandra Ogden

2 Keri McKittrick/Mark Stevens

East/West

1 Richard Brunton/Chris VanRooyen

2 Jean Schilling/Catherine Kennedy

Wednesday, February 12

1= Elizabeth McKee/Rachael Gosling

1= Martha Ferguson/Judy King

3 Stephanie Kyme/Molly Taussig