REBECCA ROOD'S MAILBAG...............................................................

• Dear Rebecca, I'm at a my wit's end and almost ready to commit murder. For years I've been stuck with a partner who believes he can read the cards. However, it's his inability to read the cards which is second to none. Why just the other day, he railed on me for not playing the queen of clubs ( which he was swore I still had in my hand ), only to be told that he had played that card at trick 3. What do you do with partners like him? Yours ready to kill, Cy Coe
• Dear Cy, I really do sympasthise with you. I too have had the misfortune to partner people who have no card reading abilities whatsoever. I remember one chap who failed to make in a single trick in hearts holding KQ76. Declarer held four hearts to the J1098 opposite dummy's A43. When declarer started on the suit he played the 10 from hand. My fool of a partner quickly surmised that I had the jack ( !) and so calmly played the 7. When declarer got back to hand with a trump, he next played the 8, and so yet again my partner read the situation with alarming inaccuracy. He now figured me to hold the 9, and rather than waste an honour he stuck in the 6 !! A few tricks later, declarer played over to the Ace, and still had a trump in dummy to ruff the 4th heart. At the end of session I told partner that he was a complete turnip, and that he needed to find partners of similar ability and skill. Sure enough, he accepted that fact we would never play again.....and so he happily went off seeking grandmasters to partner him, such was his misplaced arrogance and blinded conceit. Yours always ready to jettison riff raff at the first opportunity, Rood