Play 7NT

[Lord Molyb]

[hv=pc=s&s=sak6h43dkqj9532c6&n=s84haj872dat4cak8&d=n&v=n&b=5&a=1dp1h2n(%21S%20+%20%21C)3dp3s(western%20cue)p3np4c(cue)p4s(cue)p4np5s(2+%20%21DQ)p7nppp]266|200[/hv]

bidding is reversed, south is dealer and opens 1♦, therefore east made the 2NT overcall and south is declarer.

West leads the ♣9 (high from a doubleton, low from 3/4), and you win the ace (good play). Plan the play.

[inquiry]

[hv=pc=s&s=sak6h43dkqj9532c6&n=s84haj872dat4cak8&d=n&v=n&b=5&a=1dp1h2n(%21S%20+%20%21C)3dp3s(western%20cue)p3np4c(cue)p4s(cue)p4np5s(2+%20%21DQ)p7nppp]266|200[/hv]

bidding is reversed, south is dealer and opens 1♦, therefore east made the 2NT overcall and south is declarer.

West leads the ♣9 (high from a doubleton, low from 3/4), and you win the ace (good play). Plan the play.

 

You have the hands screwed up. You have north holding the south hand and you have West making 2NT overcall when it really should be East. So the club nine from doubleton makes no sense.

 

Anyway, you have to play this as a compound squeeze.It is a bit of big hope that East has seven clubs... but who knows, but the club nine lead suggest that the QJT may be with the overcaller, so you don't need him (east, now west) to hold seven club.... Fix the hand and we will return to solution.

 

 

 

[gnasher]

As I understand it, East showed the black suits, South is declarer, and West led ♣9.

 

I don't see how the compound squeeze can work against best defence. Suppose that we cash a second club, throwing a heart, then start cashing diamonds. With one to go, we reach:

[hv=pc=n&s=sak6h4d2dc&w=sj32hk2&n=s84hajdc8&e=sq4hq3cq]300|300[/hv]

On the last diamond, West throws a heart. We can't squeeze East in the round suits because the club menace is in the wrong hand.

 

Edit: We should probably play this line anyway, because East may mistakenly keep spades rather than hearts, or West may have both heart honours. Then the last diamond followed by ♥A works.

Edited October 21, 2013 by gnasher

[rhm]

There is no compound squeeze.

East controls clubs behind dummy.

So the basic threat would have to be hearts, which West must have under sole control.

Still no compound squeeze since you have no communication in clubs. Both opponents would keep clubs and the compound squeeze would fail.

But the ♣9 lead gives you hope that East has now sole control of the clubs. If the lead is honest, East would have to be 5-7 in the blacks.

 

So this hand looks like an ordinary double squeeze.

Since West did not lead hearts hope that East has a singleton, likely to be the queen or king.

If East can control clubs and hearts and West spades there will be no squeeze against competent defense.

However, an average West holding something like ♠7xx and ♥KTxx in the majors might relinquish control in spades on the run of the diamonds, in which case you have a simple squeeze against East.

Just cash your second club (not necessary here, but it is more likely to induce West to a discarding error).

You discard a heart from hand and now run your diamonds, discarding three hearts and one spade from dummy.

West will have to keep hearts and East clubs and nobody can keep three spades.

 

Rainer Herrmann

[cherdano]

I would play West for ♥KQ, or East for a singleton heart, with the line Andy suggested. I would just call that a double-squeeze, though :)

[nige1]

[hv=pc=s&s=sak6h43dkqj9532c6&n=s84haj872dat4cak8&d=s&v=n&b=5&a=1dp1h2n(%21S%20+%20%21C)3dp3s(western%20cue)p3np4c(cue)p4s(cue)p4np5s(2+%20%21DQ)p7nppp]266|200|

West leads the ♣9 (high from a doubleton, low from 3/4)[/hv]

Agree with Rainer. ♣AK discarding a ♥. ♦s discarding a ♠. ♥A. Unless ♣8 or ♥J are good, ♠s from the top.

[Fluffy]

Sorry offtopic.

 

Whenever I read 'Western Cuebid', I think of John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. I still don't know what that term stands for.

[Zelandakh]

Just replace it with the words "stopper ask" Fluffy. Alternatively, the description "treat like fourth suit forcing" usually works too. In this auction it is essentially the opposite of the popular method where you bid the suit where you hold values after the opponents have shown two suits.

[Hanoi5]

Western cue-bid = California? Some people call it that here.

[MinorKid]

Ha that's the deal (similar) we had bid and made to 7♦ :lol:

[Lovera]

East has bidden 2 NT (is it not has all the remaining points ? ). If club 9 is in a doubleton we play probably for (s) 3/4 (h) 2 (d) 1/- © 7 and playing diamond we can read distribution then .. with a little help from my friends..

[Zelandakh]

East has bidden 2 NT (is it not has all the remaining points ? ). If club 9 is in a doubleton we play probably for (s) 3/4 (h) 2 (d) 1/- © 7 and playing diamond we can read distribution then .. with a little help from my friends..

Do you find it likely that East showed both black suits with 3217 shape?

[Lovera]

Do you find it likely that East showed both black suits with 3217 shape?

Is 2 NT bidding Unusual No Trump ?

[Zelandakh]

Is 2 NT bidding Unusual No Trump ?

You can call it what you like but if you click on the bid (with yellow background) in the OP you can read what it means.

[Lovera]

You can call it what you like but if you click on the bid (with yellow background) in the OP you can read what it means.

I don't know this one (that is what i have said) principally it is important there is a bidding and a jump for attribution of points and then relative controlls.

[Lovera]

This hands (expecially if really played in any tournament) is interesting for vary situation, possibilities and consideration of squeezes. Then when in my post i have said (i have not think to click on bidding knowing altough it when i have played) i refer to number of cards of controll necessary for a position of squeeze and catching any possibilities to consider ultheriorly : infact if are indicated spade and club means almost 4 cards (i have said 3/4 on this aim). Beeing necessary to have more informations and not preclude any possibilities of squeeze i, after winning first trick with Ace , leave King in club playing diamond Ace for looking East if respond or not : the possibility of 5 spade is good or also if 4 East discarding an heart (equivalent).

[awm]

I would come to the following end position with North to lead:

 

[hv=pc=n&s=sak6hdc&n=s8hjdc8]133|200[/hv]

 

It seems that West started with doubleton club, and two rounds of clubs have been played here, so if dummy's club is not good East must have the guard. I am hoping that West has the only heart guard here; that would give East either a singleton (quite possible given the apparent at least 5-6 in the blacks) or simply neither of the king and queen. In this case neither opponent can hold more than two spades, and the south hand is good.

[lamford]

I think you are cold as well if both opponents are still guarding both clubs and spades after trick one, as long as East has a singleton heart honour, quite likely with the lack of a top heart lead v 7NT. Say that West has led the ♣9 from ♣T9x, deceptively. You win cash a high spade, AND the second high club (essential). Now run all the diamonds to reach this ending, with the lead in South:

[hv=pc=n&s=sa6h5d65dc&w=sQ9hkTcT&n=s8haj8dc8&e=sJThqcqj]300|300[/hv]

 

South leads the six of diamonds, pitching the eight of hearts (or even the eight of spades as I find later). Say West throws a spade and East a club. Now you cash the last diamond, pitching the eight of spades (although if West throws a club you can also throw the jack of hearts) and both opponents are toast. I think it is just a guard squeeze. Nice hand!

Edited August 3, 2014 by lamford

[lamford]

There is no compound squeeze.

East controls clubs behind dummy.

So the basic threat would have to be hearts, which West must have under sole control.

Still no compound squeeze since you have no communication in clubs. Both opponents would keep clubs and the compound squeeze would fail.

I think that of those four statements, only the second is likely to be true; at least I assume that the 2NT bidder has a club guard! But I agree that the squeeze is not compound.

[Lovera]

I think you are cold as well if both opponents are still guarding both clubs and spades after trick one, as long as East has a singleton heart honour, quite likely with the lack of a top heart lead v 7NT. Say that West has led the ♣9 from ♣T9x, deceptively. You win cash a high spade, AND the second high club (essential). Now run all the diamonds to reach this ending, with the lead in South:

[hv=pc=n&s=sa6h5d65dc&w=sQ9hkTcT&n=s8haj8dc8&e=sJThqcqj]300|300[/hv]

 

South leads the six of diamonds, pitching the eight of hearts and the first part of the squeeze operates. Say West throws a spade and East a club. Now you cash the last diamond, pitching from the black suit West doesn't discard in (so you do have to read the distribution), and both opponents are toast. I think it is just a double guard squeeze. The double squeeze may also still operate here, and you may have to choose. I am not sure as I am not an expert on squeezes, and this line works of course if one of the black suits was never guarded by West. Nice hand, though!

It is not just so: infact W discard two spades and E two clubs and you discard club 10 mantening opp controll ; this is an incomplete ending of compound guard squeeze but is required another winner in spade that take another idle card . Then 10 9 x in club is MUP (middle-up-down) and we consider instead 9 from a doubleton as initially said (post 1).

[Lovera]

It is not just so: infact W discard two spades and E two clubs and you discard club 10 mantening opp controll ; this is an incomplete ending of compound guard squeeze but is required another winner in spade that take another idle card . Then 10 9 x in club is MUP (middle-up-down) and we consider instead 9 from a doubleton as initially said (post 1).

Or better is have to discard little spade in dummy (second idle card) and now you can realize.

[Lovera]

In adjunction and response of post 18 by lamford and for a diversion we can say that when we talk of compound squeeze we refer to Clyde E. Love that have first study and analyzed the endings, when we talk of compound guard squeeze analogally we refer to Julian Pottage (that has republished and up-to-date the Love text), when we talk of clash squeeze we refer to Chien-Hwa Wang. A little but important observation of compound guarda squeeze:when you see an (casual) ending in form of scheme you'll find that an idle card of the opp that has the guard for preserve to impasse partner is located in suit of squeeze card: this means that idle card had to be on disposition and must not be in the suit with the guard or, if so, must be descard (otherwise squeeze may fail).

[lamford]

It is not just so: infact W discard two spades and E two clubs and you discard club 10 mantening opp controll ; this is an incomplete ending of compound guard squeeze but is required another winner in spade that take another idle card . Then 10 9 x in club is MUP (middle-up-down) and we consider instead 9 from a doubleton as initially said (post 1).

No, you are wrong, and it is irrelevant whether West is guarding clubs or not, so we don't care if he has false-carded; and we can discard all the spades from North, so declarer can pitch the spade whatever West discards. Declarer is cold if West has spade guard, heart honour, irrelevant, club guard, opposite spade guard, singleton heart honour, irrelevant, club guard, provided of course he reads the position. In this position:

[hv=pc=n&s=sa6h5d65dc&w=sQ9hkTcT&n=s8haj8dc8&e=sJThqcqj]300|300[/hv]

Declarer will obviously make if West's ten of clubs is a small card, and he can also make by leading the diamond and discarding the eight of spades without even looking at West's card if he really wants to showboat. The really classy play is to discard the eight of spades on the fourth round of diamonds, showing that you understand guard squeezes completely, and it is not a compound guard squeeze, just a simple one, but seemingly not simple enough!

[Lovera]

No, you are wrong, and it is irrelevant whether West is guarding clubs or not, so we don't care if he has false-carded; and we can discard all the spades from North, so declarer can pitch the spade whatever West discards. Declarer is cold if West has spade guard, heart honour, irrelevant, club guard, opposite spade guard, singleton heart honour, irrelevant, club guard, provided of course he reads the position. In this position:

[hv=pc=n&s=sa6h5d65dc&w=sQ9hkTcT&n=s8haj8dc8&e=sJThqcqj]300|300[/hv]

Declarer will obviously make if West's ten of clubs is a small card, and can also make by leading the diamond and discarding the eight of spades without even looking at West's card if he really wants to showboat.

See my post 21,bye.

[lamford]

See my post 21,bye.

OK, I did not understand that properly and now realise that it corrected the wrong assertion you made in post 20. It is irrelevant whether West's nine of clubs is a true card as well. I think this is indeed one of the squeezes in The Squeeze at Bridge by Wang, which I originally commissioned and edited for Maxwell Macmillan 20 odd years ago, with Glyn Liggins doing the technical editing. I shall try and find my copy.

 

Assuming East is 5-1-1-6 with a singleton heart honour, you can actually claim at trick one. And, as gnasher correctly points out, you cannot make it with best defence if both sides are guarding hearts, so maybe you should make a suggestion that play be curtailed.