34 consecutive days!

[Walddk]

Yet another BBO vugraph record will see the light of day (and darkness of night). Starting on May 14, ending June 16, we will be having presentations every day! In other words: 34 consecutive days, many of which will have more than one broadcast.

 

During that time span we will be visiting 16 nations, some more than once. They are:

 

Poland (2), Czech Republic, Scotland, Bulgaria (3), Finland (2), Belgium, Germany (2), Norway, Chile, Sweden, Hungary, USA (2), Guadeloupe, Estonia (3), Indonesia and Canada.

 

http://online.bridgebase.com/vugraph/sched...?order_by=event

 

Why not make it your start page?

 

Roland

[jonottawa]

And here I thought this thread would be about Roland being master of his own domain.

 

Tell us about this hand, Roland.

 

http://forums.bridgebase.com/index.php?showtopic=32080

[Walddk]

We had vugraph presentations from six nations over the weekend. I was there most of the time and witnessed many exceptional hands. This was (or could have been, rather) the prettiest of them all:

 

[hv=d=w&v=b&n=sa1043h104dj87cqj54&w=sj9872hj963dak5c8&e=sk5hkq75d962cak103&s=sq6ha82dq1043c9762]399|300|Scoring: IMP

E: 4H

Lead: C2[/hv]

The tournament is the Serdika International Swiss Teams, and the venue is Sofia, Bulgaria. In the closed room the contract was also the normal 4♥, just made. The same contract was reached in the open room after 1NT by East and a Stayman sequence.

 

South led ♣2.

 

Supferficially, there is nothing to the play. The hand can be made in several ways, but this was the penultimate match of the tournament, and many players were tired. So let us assume that declarer was hit by fatigue when he won in hand, entered dummy with a diamond and led a spade to his king.

 

He exited with a spade to South's queen. The trouble for declarer was that he never took a diamond pitch. South switched to a diamond, won by dummy's king. Now it was too late to lead trumps. He did, South won the ace and cashed a high diamond.

 

At this point the contract could have been set if South had led his 13th diamond. That pesky ♥8 will now come into play no matter what declarer does. However, South got out with a low trump. These cards remained:

 

[hv=d=w&v=b&n=sa1043h104dj87cqj54&w=sj9872hj963dak5c8&e=sk5hkq75d962cak103&s=sq6ha82dq1043c9762]399|300|Scoring: IMP

E: 4H

Lead: C2[/hv]

 

Do you see how declarer could have made it from here? It's not easy even with all cards in view, and it cost the commentators many brain-cells to figure it out.

 

We have come across a very rare bird: the entry-shifting squeeze!

 

Win ♥J in the dummy and cash ♥9! To this trick North is entry-shifting squeezed. If he pitches a spade, declarer lets the 9 hold and sets up the spade suit, and if North lets go a club, declarer overtakes with the queen and establishes the club suit instead.

 

You have to agree. This would have been amazing!

 

Roland