Bridge in the Tri-Cities: Harry Emtman

Opening Lead: Nine of diamonds.

With the passing of Harry Emtman, the Tri-Cities lost a gentleman and a very good bridge player. I didn’t play with him much because he preferred to play with his wife, Sandra, and they had a very successful partnership. Today’s story is from years ago, but very fresh in my mind. Harry was declarer, playing with Sandra and I was East.

The Bidding: They were a little short on points, but long on hope. Our side never found the heart fit and that was probably a good thing. 3NT was the final contract.

The Play: Harry paused for thought and played the ace from dummy after the nine of diamonds lead. He attacked clubs and came to nine tricks (two spades, one heart, one diamond and five clubs). The queen doubleton of diamonds prevented me from running my remaining diamonds, so I switched to a heart, but Harry had his nine tricks. Winning the opening lead in dummy was the winning play. It prevented a heart shift and was not found at the other tables.

In Memory: So long Harry, may all your heavenly finesses be successful..

Bridge Futures: The Richland Duplicate Bridge Club (RDBC) has a game at the Richland Community Center (RCC) at 5:30 p.m. every Monday except holidays. RDBC also plays on the first, third and fifth Friday at 12:30 p.m. at the RCC in the lounge. Call Tom Edwards at 946-1824 for details.

This story was originally published August 5, 2017 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Bridge in the Tri-Cities: Harry Emtman."