Cute 6NT from tonight for your enjoyment

[lmilne]

[hv=pc=n&s=saq84ha8dkj3cakt4&n=s93hkj9daq972c963]133|200[/hv]

 

After you open a strong club and partner responds 2♦, RHO overcalled 2♠ (us vulnerable).

 

West leads the ♠10 against your 6NT. There are a few ways to make this - see if you can find a 100% one!

[sathyab]

Unblock ♠9 from dummy win in hand. High ♣. ♦K, ♦J when LHO follows overtake, ♣, if honor appears claim, otherwise duck. LHO is out of ♠ now for RHO's 2♠ missing so many ♠ spots. LHO comes back with a ♥. Win in hand. High ♣ as RHO discards, run ♦ throwing a ♠ when RHO guards a ♠. Now to hand with the ♠A. LHO is known to be 2♥ and one ♣ now has to come to a stiff in each of the suits. RHO has a ♠ and a ♥ left. Non-simultaneous double squeeze.

[JLOGIC]

Unblock ♠9 from dummy win in hand. High ♣. ♦K, ♦J when LHO follows overtake, ♣, if honor appears claim, otherwise duck. LHO is out of ♠ now for RHO's 2♠ missing so many ♠ spots. LHO comes back with a ♥. Win in hand. High ♣ as RHO discards, run ♦ throwing a ♠ when RHO guards a ♠. Now to hand with the ♠A. LHO is known to be 2♥ and one ♣ now has to come to a stiff in each of the suits. RHO has a ♠ and a ♥ left. Non-simultaneous double squeeze.

 

And if LHO plays a diamond instead of a heart when he's in?

[benlessard]

IMO just duck a club and cash the clubs.. If east has 4 clubs its easy (at 4 card to the end you play a D and he need to keep 1S+1C so he can only have 1H so you take the marked finesse) if west have 4 clubs you end up with

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sa8ha3dc5&n=s5hkj5d7c]133|200[/hv]

 

for the non-simultaneous double squeeze Sathyab was looking for.

 

I didnt find a solution if East has only 5S. (edited its gonna work even if S are 2-5)

 

Even if the A of S is cashed and dummy doesnt have a S its working.

[benlessard]

Simpler is that position.. you are on dummy

 

---

KJ9

7

---

 

8

Ax

---

T

 

and you know who has 4 clubs.

[sathyab]

♠

And if LHO plays a diamond instead of a heart when he's in?

Right that does screw things up. But ducking a ♣ doesn't work if RHO wins and returns a ♠. That was the reason why I went to dummy to play a second ♣, so RHO can't win and play back a second ♠. So may be it's best to overtake the 1st ♦ itself after one high ♣. Then the double works even if RHO has Hx in ♣. In theory LHO can be short in both pointed suits, but in practice, if anyone is short in ♦ it's going to be RHO.

[sathyab]

IMO just duck a club and cash the clubs.. If east has 4 clubs its easy (at 4 card to the end you play a D and he need to keep 1S+1C so he can only have 1H so you take the marked finesse) if west have 4 clubs you end up with

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sa8ha3dc5&n=s5hkj5d7c]133|200[/hv]

 

for the non-simultaneous double squeeze Sathyab was looking for.

 

I didnt find a solution if East has only 5S. (edited its gonna work even if S are 2-5)

 

Even if the A of S is cashed and dummy doesnt have a S its working.

No, it doesn't. In the three-card ending RHO can come down to two ♥ and a ♠. It's the fact that you have the ♠ link that forces him to retain an additional ♠. That's the reason why I went to dummy to play a ♣ in the first place to prevent a second ♠ being returned.

[sathyab]

No, it doesn't. In the three-card ending RHO can come down to two ♥ and a ♠. It's the fact that you have the ♠ link that forces him to retain an additional ♠. That's the reason why I went to dummy to play a ♣ in the first place to prevent a second ♠ being returned.

If RHO has only 5♠, he will almost surely have another suit. If it's ♣ there's a simple black suit squeeze against him. If he has ♦ (unlikely see my post above), his partner can be squeezed in rounded suits. The problem is how to combine the various chances. My line gives up on LHO being short in both pointed suits, but works against other lay-outs.

[gnasher]

Even if the A of S is cashed and dummy doesnt have a S its working.

 

No, it doesn't. In the three-card ending RHO can come down to two ♥ and a ♠. It's the fact that you have the ♠ link that forces him to retain an additional ♠. That's the reason why I went to dummy to play a ♣ in the first place to prevent a second ♠ being returned.

Your're talking about this position

[hv=pc=n&s=s8ha3dc5&n=shkj5d7c]133|200[/hv]

with West known to have the club guard? The squeeze works here: when East keeps his spade, we throw the spade from hand and West is squeezed.

 

I think Benlessard's line fails when RHO is 6214 with both black honours (or 5??4 with at least one black honour). After you duck a club, they play a second spade. Continuing with your plan, you cash the top clubs and discover that you shouldn't have done so, because the winning line was a black-suit squeeze.

[sathyab]

Your're talking about this position

[hv=pc=n&s=s8ha3dc5&n=shkj5d7c]133|200[/hv]

with West known to have the club guard? The squeeze works here: when East keeps his spade, we throw the spade from hand and West is squeezed.

 

I think Benlessard's line fails when RHO is 6214 with both black honours (or 5??4 with at least one black honour). After you duck a club, they play a second spade. Continuing with your plan, you cash the top clubs and discover that you shouldn't have done so, because the winning line was a black-suit squeeze.

,

OK, right that works. If they return a second ♠, I don't know if you can combine chances for a double squeeze and black-suit squeeze against RHO. I'd probably give up on the double and simply go for the black-suit squeeze.

[gnasher]

How about a compound squeeze?

Win the lead, cash one diamond to make sure they're not 0=5, and duck a spade to East. Win the return, cash one club, then all but one diamond, reaching:

[hv=pc=n&s=sa8ha8dckt&n=shkj9dac96]133|200[/hv]

Then:

- If East has kept 2202, cash ♥A, ♠A throwing a club, ♥K, ♦A.

- If East has kept 2301, cash ♦A throwing a club, ♥A, ♣K, ♠A.

 

Note that it's important to lose the trick to East not West, to protect our heart communications.

 

I like this line because I've never played a compound squeeze at the table, and (a secondary concern) because I'd expect to make. However, it doesn't meet the requirement of being 100%, because we have to judge which round suit East has unguarded.

[Fluffy]

I think Benlessard's line fails when RHO is 6214 with both black honours (or 5??4 with at least one black honour). After you duck a club, they play a second spade. Continuing with your plan, you cash the top clubs and discover that you shouldn't have done so, because the winning line was a black-suit squeeze.

Benlessard's position, which is the same you posted also has a has guard squeeze when east has the club guard, or a marked finesse if you want to call it that way, ♥J will be the 12th trick.

[sathyab]

How about a compound squeeze?

Win the lead, cash one diamond to make sure they're not 0=5, and duck a spade to East. Win the return, cash one club, then all but one diamond, reaching:

[hv=pc=n&s=sa8ha8dckt&n=shkj9dac96]133|200[/hv]

Then:

- If East has kept 2202, cash ♥A, ♠A throwing a club, ♥K, ♦A.

- If East has kept 2301, cash ♦A throwing a club, ♥A, ♣K, ♠A.

 

Note that it's important to lose the trick to East not West, to protect our heart communications.

 

I like this line because I've never played a compound squeeze at the table, and (a secondary concern) because I'd expect to make. However, it doesn't meet the requirement of being 100%, because we have to judge which round suit East has unguarded.

You've never played a compound squeeze, I haven't even successfully followed a line of play until now.

 

I loved the second-ending which is consistent with RHO being 6=3=2=2. I thought you were giving up on the double squeeze as you were throwing the ♣ threat from hand, until I realized that dummy's ♣ is the threat in the 3-card ending :)

 

A +1 one for each of the double squeezes in the six-card ending :)

[lowerline]

I'd duck the first trick and take it from there... I assume LHO has to switch because he only has one spade.

 

Steven

[sathyab]

Curious to know what the 100% line is.

[lmilne]

When I played this hand at the table, I thought I had come up with a 100% strip-squeeze line. Because of the spade pips, if we can come down to ♠A8x in hand opposite a small spade in dummy, no tricks lost, and the lead in dummy with East having ♠KJx, we can play spade and duck when they split. And in the process of running our winners, if East ever comes down to 2 spades (hoping to have a winner to cash at the end) we can duck a spade, establishing our long spade.

 

So, my line of play: unblock the 9 of spades and run 5 rounds of diamonds pitching clubs from hand. At the table, East had a singleton diamond and had to make 4 pitches. In the ending, we have:

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sa84ha8dcak&n=s3hkj9dc963]133|200[/hv]

 

Now we cash the ♥A and the ♣A: if East shows out on either we are 100% (heart finesse or strip-squeeze), while if East follows to both we will cash the ♣K. If East was 2=2 in the rounded suits we play a heart to the dummy and do the spade endplay, if East was 3=1 he has to discard on the top club for the same strip squeeze. The only problem is that we might not know in the ending whether East is 2=2 or 1=3, and if we play a heart to dummy's King and East pitches a spade (holding onto a top club) I think we can go down.

 

We will be 100% double-dummy (we can take the heart finesse when East holds on to 3 clubs) and will usually make it from the discards but it's not completely guaranteed as there will be a guess to East's shape in the ending. But, there is a 100% line I think...

[lmilne]

I gave this hand to Andy Hung (master of squeezes) and he replied:

 

"Ok let's give it a go.

 

I win the ♠Q, then cash the ♦K. I plan to next play ♣A and play a small club to dummy's 9. [They return a spade and we cash a top club.] Here are the subsequent scenarios:

 

If diamonds break 3-2 or 4-1 either way:

 

- If clubs 3-3, or East has five clubs, we're good [club finesse]

- If East has 4 clubs, and assuming a spade return to our SA, we then squeeze East out of his heart cards and presumably take a heart finesse when East comes down to 1-1-0-1.

- If East has less than 3 clubs, then there's a double sqz with hearts as the suit that will be unguarded. [note: one of gnasher's endings. We never regret cashing the top club, sacrificing a black suit squeeze, as we get to take a heart hook when East keeps all the black cards at the end.]

 

If diamonds break 5=0:

 

- Same as 3-2 diamond break with the finesse

 

If diamonds break 0=5:

 

- If East is 5053 then I have 2+3+4+3=12

- If East is 5152 same as previous

- If East is 5251 or 5350, then the 3 rounds of clubs will sqz East out of his hearts, and 3 rounds of hearts will simple sqz him.

 

If in any above scenarios where West wins the 2nd round of clubs and switches to a heart, I will win the HA and play as planned similar to above with my SA as entry back to my hand to play heart to the king when East has to have a top spade and West a top club as part of the 2-card ending.

 

Or something like that."

 

I can't see anything wrong with this.

[gnasher]

Curious to know what the 100% line is.

I thought we'd covered that? It's Benlessard's line, described in posts 4 and 5.

 

Actually it's not quite 100%, because after a heart return you have to decide whether spades are 5-2 or 6-1, but it's close enough.

[sathyab]

I thought we'd covered that? It's Benlessard's line, described in posts 4 and 5.

 

Actually it's not quite 100%, because after a heart return you have to decide whether spades are 5-2 or 6-1, but it's close enough.

I was interested in 0-5 ♦ break as well. For someone who started out with the idea of either a double squeeze or black suit squeeze against RHO it was not quite clear how to cope with a ♠ return after a ♣ duck to RHO. That the loss of a black suit squeeze is compensated by a ♥ finesse in a simple 1-1-0-1 ending made it easier for me to comprehend.

[gnasher]

- If East has less than 3 clubs, then there's a double sqz with hearts as the suit that will be unguarded. [note: one of gnasher's endings. We never regret cashing the top club, sacrificing a black suit squeeze, as we get to take a heart hook when East keeps all the black cards at the end.]

That's not my ending: two other people had described it before I did.

 

- If East is 5251 or 5350, then the 3 rounds of clubs will sqz East out of his hearts, and 3 rounds of hearts will simple sqz him.

Can't he discard two spades, keeping two hearts, so that we have to guess the hearts?

[rhm]

deleted

[benlessard]

it doesnt matter if the S are 52 or 61

 

you can always reach this position on a S return.

 

--

KJx

A

----

 

 

x

Ax

---

x

 

if east has 4C he wont be able to keep 2H (1101) (guard squeeze or marked finesse wich one is correct term ?)

while if the club guard is west its a double squeeze (not a non-sim squeeze like I thought)

-------

on a H return you let it run to the A without playing the J

 

 

x

KJ

A

--

 

A8

x

---

x

 

now we have the double squeeze if S are 2-5 and non-sim squeeze if S are 1-6.

 

----------you can cash one D before ducking a C. If west show out I dont think you have a 100% lines because you need 2 tricks, best is just to finesse H and squeeze WEST

[lmilne]

I think if dummy had ♥KTx rather than KJx, and the honours were divided, it would be a guard squeeze (some of the time) when East has to discard down to singleton honour, exposing his partner to a finesse.