Solution: DSBA Declarer Problem of the Month

DSBA Web Page Declarer Problem of the Month

April, 1999

This month's hand is from a regional pairs event at the Spring Nationals recently held in Vancouver, BC. You are sitting against a decent pair, when the following deal arises:

Dealer: South
Vulnerable: E-W

	NORTH T 8 6 5 4 A 7 A 3 8 7 6 4


	SOUTH A K Q J 8 5 3 Q 9 4 A Q T

AUCTION
SOUTH	WEST	NORTH	EAST
1	1	1NT	Pass
2	Pass	3	Pass
4	Pass	Pass	Pass

West leads the 2. You win in hand, cross back to the A (both opponents) following, and play a club to the ten, losing to West's K. West exits with his last heart, and East discards the 3 (!!). How do you continue?

Solution Part B

East's discard seems to be an error, and the hand is pretty much an open book now. East must hold the bare Q now, so your next move is to cash the clubs. If they break 3-3, you will pitch a diamond on the 13th club and simply concede a diamond for +450. If West pitches on the third club, you will know his shape exactly. When you run your trumps, you reach the following five card ending, with one trump left to play:

	NORTH T 8 --- A 3 8
WEST K J --- K ? ? ---			EAST Q --- ? ? ? J
		SOUTH A 8 Q 9 4 ---

When you cash your last trump, you can throw a club from the dummy, but what will poor West play? If he pitches a spade, your

T will be good. So he must pitch a diamond. But then you simply play a diamond to the ace, and duck a diamond on the way back to his now-bare king. Down to all spades, he must play a spade to your

A and good

Q.

The full deal:

	NORTH T 8 6 5 4 A 7 A 3 8 7 6 4
WEST K J 9 7 2 9 6 2 K 8 5 K 3			EAST Q 3 T 4 J T 7 6 4 J 9 5 2
		SOUTH A K Q J 8 5 3 Q 9 4 A Q T

Perhaps you see why East's spade discard seemed like an error: in the end position, if East has kept both of his spades, West can keep three diamonds. However, take another look at the actual deal in the six-card end position, with all the spots shown, and assuming East does NOT make the early fatal spade discard:

	NORTH T 8 6 --- A 3 8
WEST K J 9 --- K 8 5 ---			EAST Q 3 --- J T 7 J
		SOUTH A 8 5 Q 9 4 ---

When you cash the next-to-last trump, pitching a spade from dummy, East is squeezed in three suits! He obviously must keep the master club, and if he pitches a diamond from his

JT7, then the

9 will set up. Thus, he is forced to part with that spade after all! That transfers responsibility for guarding the spade suit to partner, and the above-mentioned ending is reached. Endings like this one (a non-simultaneous double squeeze without the count) are rare indeed.

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