MAGIC TRICKS APPEAR FROM NOWHERE.......( By Johnny Supremo ) Either I'm lucky or God loves me. Why just the other day I found myself in 4S after the bidding went 2S (weak), 3D overcall, and 4S from my over-ambitious partner. As she tabled her 11-point hand : xx........AQxx....xxx.....KQxx...I was looking very despairingly at my J109xxx.....Kxx......xxx......A

• I knew immediately I was facing a minus 3 score for a wretched bottom. But hold on.......the power of prayer was still there to be exploited. My RHO opponent took the opening King of diamonds with her stiff Ace ( prayer one answered ). Then she switched to lead back a club ( prayer 2 answered, for a spade return would have meant curtains ). This I gratefully seized with my stiff Ace. At trick three I hopped over to dummy via the Queen of hearts to pitch my two losing diamonds on the club King and Queen. Things were beginning to look better, because one-off may still earn a few match-points..
• However, when the 4th club was played, my RHO opponent ruffed in with the 3 of spades, which was immediately over-ruffed by me. So now, if the remaining spades were breaking 2-2 ( prayer No. 3 ) this impossible contract was coming home. Next came the Jack of spades taken on my left with the queen, and I noticed my RHO dropping the 8. On recapturing the heart return with my King, I volunteered the 10 of spades, taken on my left with the Ace.........only to be shocked in more ways than one, when seeing my RHO discarding the 3 of clubs !! Play continued until the King of spades appeared........and when it did it turned up on my right. This meant I could establish 2 revokes ( prayers really answered this time ) . Obviously, my short-sighted opponent had suited the 2 black threes incorrectly. With uncharacteristic meanness, I asked for a ruling and I obtained a 2 trick adjustment, giving me an unbeatable score 0f +450. So four tricks magically appeared from nowhere..............and the moral of this true story is......always believe in the power of prayer.