6S

[Trumpace]

[hv=n=sakjt92h3dakc5432&s=sq654hq92d32cakq6]133|200|Scoring: Rubber

Contract 6S.[/hv]

 

In a rubber you South, are in 6♠.

 

LHO leads a low heart, which RHO wins with the A and returns the ♥J.

 

Plan the play.

 

Adv+ please hide. (your answer, that is).

[vuroth]

EDIT: Never mind. I thought myself into a knot. The 9♥ seems like the key card, though.

[cherdano]

Cover, hoping that RHO has the ten. If he also has four clubs, you have a simple squeeze by running trumps and diamonds.

[ralph23]

♣♦♥♠

 

 

Cover the Jack with the Queen, West covers with his King, and you ruff in the North hand. Your 9 of ♥ is now a threat card, that only the ten can guard. Presumably, East has the ten after his lead of the Jack at t2.

 

Pull trumps in two rounds. Try the top two clubs. If they break 3-2 you are home. If West showed out on the second club round, then return to North & play all your pointed cards. East will be squeezed. This is a simple positional squeeze that works if East was dealt 4+ clubs and the JT of hearts.

 

Theory 2: West has made a bizarre opening lead of low from Kx of ♥. Here, playing low on t2 gets the money. But this theory is too bizarre to deserve much consideration, unless EW are playing with mirrors.

 

Theory 3: West holds AKJx in hearts and is being cute. Seems as unlikely as Theory 2, but of course, playing the Queen on the Jack gets the money.

 

Theory 4: West holds AJT(x) in hearts and a singleton club (or no clubs). He's psychic and knows that South holds AKQx in clubs and that partner may get squeezed. So he leads the Jack, Queen, King, and has transferred the guard in hearts to his own hand. BUT partner was not subject to a squeeze anyhow... so much for THeory 4.

 

I don't see any reason not to cover and will therefore try the theory that East has the ten of ♥ along with 4♣.

 

 

 

 

[Echognome]

Covering is potentially taking a losing option. East could have exited passive and the only play you'd have would be to play for a squeeze with the ♥K and four clubs. By covering, you are transferring that squeeze. That is to say, you can now only make if the defense made a mistake. (assuming clubs aren't 3-2) Thus, do not fall into that trap and simply ruff the heart and run all your winners.

[cherdano]

Covering is potentially taking a losing option. East could have exited passive and the only play you'd have would be to play for a squeeze with the ♥K and four clubs. By covering, you are transferring that squeeze. That is to say, you can now only make if the defense made a mistake. (assuming clubs aren't 3-2) Thus, do not fall into that trap and simply ruff the heart and run all your winners.

 

If LHO has ♥K you have no squeeze anyway, as this squeeze only works as a positional squeeze (both guards with RHO discarding in front of you threat cards).

However, your point about the losing option is right in case LHO has mad a strange lead from ♥Kx and has the four clubs...

 

[Fluffy]

 

Actually if East doesn't play a heart you will still succeed, it is no defense mistake:

 

[hv=n=s[hidden]xx

hdc

xxx

&w=sh

kxxxx

dc&e=sh

j10

dc

jxx

&s=sh

q9

dc

kqx

]399|300|[/hv]

 

when you play second last trump East is squeezed and south throws useless club, next comes a club to dummy if clubs aren't high ♥Q will maek a uffing finese[/HIDDEN]

[neilkaz]

 

 

 

I am in complete agreement with the fine analysis of trying for a squeeze if ♣ don't break I think covering and assuming the J was played from the T is the best option.

 

[jdonn]

Covering is potentially taking a losing option. East could have exited passive and the only play you'd have would be to play for a squeeze with the ♥K and four clubs. By covering, you are transferring that squeeze. That is to say, you can now only make if the defense made a mistake. (assuming clubs aren't 3-2) Thus, do not fall into that trap and simply ruff the heart and run all your winners.

 

You would have been cold anyway if rho has JT of hearts, so you always had a winning option. Meanwhile they aren't always psychic and double dummy at trick 2.

 

[jdonn]

If LHO has ♥K you have no squeeze anyway, as this squeeze only works as a positional squeeze (both guards with RHO discarding in front of you threat cards).

 

 

That is not true, you would have a trump squeeze. 5 card ending is a trump and 4 small clubs with north, Q9 of hearts and AKQ of clubs with south. West has to either bare the king of hearts so it ruffs out, or pitch a club from 4.

 

[Trumpace]

If LHO has ♥K you have no squeeze anyway, as this squeeze only works as a positional squeeze (both guards with RHO discarding in front of you threat cards).

 

 

That is not true, you would have a trump squeeze. 5 card ending is a trump and 4 small clubs with north, Q9 of hearts and AKQ of clubs with south. West has to either bare the king of hearts so it ruffs out, or pitch a club from 4.

Do we talk in hidden now? :)

 

Anyway,

two rounds of hearts have been played. That puts the trump squeeze out of

question.

[jdonn]

Do we talk in hidden now? :)

 

Anyway,

two rounds of hearts have been played. That puts the trump squeeze out of

question.

Yes only hidden now :P

 

 

Regarding the trump squeeze you are missing the point entirely. Essentially, Echo said "If west has the heart king, and east has JT of hearts and four clubs (the situation most are playing for when they cover the heart at trick 2), east could have exited passively since your only possible squeeze then would have been on west (since he would have the heart king)." Cherdano then said essentially "If east exited passively there would have been no squeeze on west anyway, since he discards after south." And I said "Not true, there would have been a trump squeeze." The entire sequence was focused around the possibility of east having returned something besides a heart at trick 2.

 

[Trumpace]

Do we talk in hidden now?  :)

 

Anyway,   two rounds of hearts have been played. That puts the trump squeeze out of question.

Yes only hidden now :P

 

 

Regarding the trump squeeze you are missing the point entirely. Essentially, Echo said "If west has the heart king, and east has JT of hearts and four clubs (the situation most are playing for when they cover the heart at trick 2), east could have exited passively since your only possible squeeze then would have been on west (since he would have the heart king)." Cherdano then said essentially "If east exited passively there would have been no squeeze on west anyway, since he discards after south." And I said "Not true, there would have been a trump squeeze." The entire sequence was focused around the possibility of east having returned something besides a heart at trick 2.

:P

 

Yes. I did misunderstand you. As a side note: If the ♦K was in the South hand, the hand becomes pretty interesting on a passive exit from East::

We can now try and cater to any opp holding 4 clubs

::

[ralph23]

deleted...

[cherdano]

If LHO has ♥K you have no squeeze anyway, as this squeeze only works as a positional squeeze (both guards with RHO discarding in front of you threat cards).

That is not true, you would have a trump squeeze. 5 card ending is a trump and 4 small clubs with north, Q9 of hearts and AKQ of clubs with south. West has to either bare the king of hearts so it ruffs out, or pitch a club from 4.

 

[hv=n=s2hdc5432&w=shk5dcjt97&e=sht64d9c8&s=shq9dcakq]399|300|Five card ending...[/hv]

 

The squeeze won't work. West can simply throw away a useless ♣ on the final trump. The North hand has no

Nope, Josh was right - note that in his diagram, West still has 6 cards and has to make a pitch. Whatever he pitches, North won't play his last trump instead cross to dummy.

[ralph23]

OK got it, I think. The North hand will lead a *♣* with 5 cards left, then? Is that the plan ?

 

Assume West's last 5 cards are K♥ and jt98♣.

Then just ruff out the King and return to the good South hand with a ♣.

 

If West's last 5 cards are K6♥ and jt9♣, then play the 3 top clubs from South, ruff a heart and North's last club is good.

[Trumpace]

Ok now that we are discussing trump squeezes in this thread, I have changed the original hand a little.

 

[hv=n=sakjt92h3da2c5432&s=sq654hq92dk3cakq6]133|200|Scoring: Rubber

Contract 6S.[/hv]

 

LHO leads a low heart, RHO wins the A (assume true card) and returns a diamond.

 

Plan the play.

[ralph23]

♣♦♥♠

 

Pull trumps and run your pointed winners:

 

If West started with 4 (or 5) ♣, and by assumption he also holds the ♥King, he can be squeezed.

 

Reduce to this five-card ending, with the lead in North:

 

[hv=n=s2hdc5432&s=shq9dcakq]133|200|[/hv]

 

All you have to watch for, after pulling trumps and coming to this ending of 5 cards, is whether or not West has discarded a ♣ on the run of your pointed winners.

 

Case 1. If he has, then (if he started with long ♣), he has released his guard on the ♣ and he now holds in the 5-card ending:

 

♥Kx

♣JT9

 

In this case, play a ♣ toward South hand, and run the ♣AKQ, extracting his ♣JT9, then ruff a ♥ back to your hand and cash your good ♣ for trick 13.

 

Case 2. If he has not, then (if he started with long ♣) he has released his guard on the King of ♥ and holds

 

♥K

♣JT98

 

So here, play AK of ♣ (East showing out on second round of ♣), ruff the ♥9 to drop West's King of ♥ and thereby establish your ♥Queen, and take the last 2 tricks with South's two rounded Queens.

 

NB - Small but obvious variation if West started with all five missing ♣. Then upon leading the ♣ from dummy in the 5-card ending, East will show out.

Edited August 4, 2007 by ralph23

[Trumpace]

Ralph,

 

Is there some holding with East having 4 clubs which we can also cater to?

 

The way you play it you go down if east has 4 clubs.

[ralph23]

Ah yes. Very good... The ♦ King gives us extra chances.

 

So win T2 in North with the Ace of ♦.

 

Pull trumps in (let's say) 2 rounds.

 

Play off the top 2 ♣.

 

Now we know who has the long ♣, if they split 4-1.

 

Case A. If it's West, play trumps from the North hand until you reduce to this four-card ending, watching for ♣ discard from West:

 

[hv=n=s2hd2c54&s=shq9dkcq]133|200|[/hv]

 

Now lead the ♦ to the King. West will be squeezed and will have to come to 3 cards, either (1) ♥K and ♣JT, or (2) ♥Kx and ♣J. If (1) then ruff out his King of ♥, establishing the ♥Queen, and return to the good South hand with a ♣; and if (2) then cash the ♣ Queen and trump a ♥ back to North, taking the final trick with North's good 5 of ♣.

 

 

Case B. If it's East, then you can have a simple positional squeeze on him, if he started with AJT in ♥. In this case, after cashing the second high ♣, lead the ♥ Queen and ruff West's King; with luck you will see East play the ♥Jack or ♥ten. If so, you have (possibly/probably, unless East started with ♥AJ tight or ♥AT tight) transferred the ♥ guard-duty from West to East.

 

Play a ♦ to the King at this point and return to North with a trump, and reduce to this 3-card ending:

 

[hv=n=s2hd2c54&s=shq9dkcq]133|200|[/hv]

 

Upon your play from North of the final trump in this position, East is holding (1) Jack of ♥ and (2) Jack Ten of ♣; he will be squeezed and must part with either (1) a ♣ (allowing you to discard the 9 of ♥ threat and win the two South ♣); or (2) his ♥Jack (in which case you will of course win the last two tricks with the high ♣ and high ♥).

[jdonn]

I didn't read any of that, but the A and K of diamonds seem irrelevant to me as entries. Presuming west has the king of hearts and east has the jack and ten, you can squeeze either one with four clubs, and in fact you will have a sure thing with no need to guess. When you have a spade and xxxx of clubs opposite Q9 of hearts and AKQ of clubs, just play AK of clubs. If west has clubs guarded you ruff out the heart king. If east has clubs guarded then he has already pitched the J or T of hearts (presuming he has them both) and you lead the queen of hearts to crush the other and set up the 9. What do diamonds have to do with it?

[Trumpace]

I didn't read any of that, but the A and K of diamonds seem irrelevant to me as entries. Presuming west has the king of hearts and east has the jack and ten, you can squeeze either one with four clubs, and in fact you will have a sure thing with no need to guess. When you have a spade and xxxx of clubs opposite Q9 of hearts and AKQ of clubs, just play AK of clubs. If west has clubs guarded you ruff out the heart king. If east has clubs guarded then he has already pitched the J or T of hearts (presuming he has them both) and you lead the queen of hearts to crush the other and set up the 9. What do diamonds have to do with it?

Yes, you are right. We don't need a diamond entry in South hand.

[Fluffy]

Only problem is East might win ♥A with ♥AK10x and ♣J10xx, and then switch. You will have to guess in the end.

[Trumpace]

Only problem is East might win ♥A with ♥AK10x and ♣J10xx, and then switch. You will have to guess in the end.

Yes, Ace could have been a "false" card from AK, but given no other information, chances that it is a true card are higher than it being a false card (restricted choice again).

 

Anyway, the problem statement did mention that assuming that the A is a true card is a reasonable assumption.