BIGOT

ADMITS

HE WAS

WELL

AND

TRULY

FORKED !

..........

How Bigot cursed the day Morton's Fork came into being. Indeed , it was King Henry VII's chancellor ,  Cardinal Morton , who extracted taxes from London merchants with comfortable lifestyles on the grounds that could obviously afford to pay : and also from those that lived frugally , but  this time on the grounds that they must have salted their money away. This argument became known as Morton's Fork.

In bridge terms ,  this is a play that screws up a defender big time , whichever  way he chooses to play.  When such a manoeuvre was used to "f....k" Bigot , he becomes a very unhappy bunny. 

The contract was 3NT with South as declarer, and so Bigot confidently kicked off with the queen of spades. However , this South after taking the trick with the spade Ace spurned the diamond finesse !  Instead , he elected to lead a low club towards dummy's King. Bigot was well and truly f.....ked . 

If he rose with the Ace, declarer was home with 4C, 2S, 2H and 1D. If he ducked , then the king of clubs would hold , enabling declarer to switch to diamonds, happy to make instead 4D , 2H, 2S and 1C . 

Incensed like a rampant bull inside a cage full of waving red rags , Bigot rounded on South , who just happened to be the great Johnny Supremo  , spitting feathers like there was no tomorrow : " How come you declined taking the diamond finesse at trick 2 ........you bugger ? "

The answer was as swift as it was cutting : " You sir , by making that vulnerable 2 level overcall in spades made the contract a simple formality...... clearly , you were either in possession of the Ace of clubs or the king of diamonds. If you held the club Ace, I was home and dry ,  and even  if you didn't then I would succeed in 3NT anyway.... by simply picking up your diamond king. "