Solution: DSBA Declarer Problem of the Month

DSBA Web Page Declarer Problem of the Month

March, 1999

This month's hand is from an OKBRIDGE IMP Pairs tournament. You are in good position in the event, and one more good result might see you in first position overall.

Dealer: South
Vulnerable: N-S

	NORTH T K Q 6 3 K Q 8 7 5 A K 5


	SOUTH A Q 8 A T A J T 9 7 6 3 2

AUCTION
SOUTH	WEST	NORTH	EAST
1NT	2 (1)	3 (2)	Pass
3 (3)	Pass	4NT(4)	Pass
5 (5)	Pass	5NT(6)	Pass
6 (7)	Pass	6 (8)	Pass
6NT(9)	Pass	Pass	Pass

(1) "DONT": Clubs and another suit
(2) General force, tends to ask for a four-card major
(3) Presumably natural, but could be bid in a bind
(4) Roman Key Card Blackwood for diamonds
(5) 0 or 3 Key Cards
(6) Ask for specific kings
(7) No help
(8) One more try for a grand slam
(9) "No thanks."

West leads the Q; East plays the 4. Plan the play.

Solution

That West player sure is frisky. His bid may come back to haunt him, though. You have 11 top tricks, and there are several possibilities for the twelfth:

1) The spade finesse

2) The heart finesse

3) A squeeze against West. Since West is known to be guarding clubs AND (presumably) one of the major suits, this seems like the best bet. There are two possible lines in this category. The first is to play a heart-club squeeze against West. In this variation, you cross to the A, and, when both follow, continue with the Jack and overtake the ten. Then you can take the spade finesse, and even if it loses, you can easily reach the squeeze ending (with the lead in the dummy):

	NORTH --- K Q 6 3 --- 5
		SOUTH A 8 A T --- 9

In the above ending, West can keep 4 hearts and the boss club, but when you cross to the

A and cash the

A, he is ruined. Of course, in this line, if West shows out on the

A, you will have to cash three diamonds, remaining in hand, and then duck a CLUB to West (any other effort results in unmanageable transportation problems).

Having said all that, we note this line of play is inferior to playing the club-spade squeeze for several reasons. First, it seems more likely that West has spades, not hearts (since you have six hearts but only four spades). Second, it seems more likely than not that West has the

K for his bid. That being the case, you can squeeze him in the blacks REGARDLESS of which two suits he holds.

The point of the hand is to notice that in a club-spade squeeze, the club threat is the

5 in the DUMMY. The desired two-card ending, with the lead in the dummy, is:

	NORTH T --- --- 5
		SOUTH AQ --- --- ---

In this ending, West can not keep both the boss club and the Kx. The only way to reach this ending is to rectify the count by losing a HEART (you need to keep the spade for transportation, and you can not both duck a club AND have the club threat be in the dummy). Therefore, you should take the heart finesse at trick two, playing low to the T. If it wins, you can play to the above ending for an overtrick. If it loses, the count is rectified and you can score up your slam.

So, the full sequence of plays is: win the club, heart finesse to the T. Assuming it loses, win the club return (best), cash the A and the diamonds (overtaking the third round), and other top hearts to reach the above ending.
The full deal:

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

A few final points: First, on the recommended line of play, you will go down if diamonds are 5-0 and the heart finesse loses, because you will not have the transportation to cash your tricks without promoting a diamond trick for East.

Second, and most importantly, you must take the heart finesse at trick two. Otherwise, there is a possible pitfall that could have been avoided: if diamonds are 4-1 (without the

9 singleton) you will not have the transportation to take the finesse later (without using a club, which risks losing the contract immediately if the heart finesse fails). In this case, if you try to rectify the count by simply playing the

A and the

T (ducking), East may be able to win and play a spade, ruining the communication for the squeeze.

Finally, you might be tempted to win the first club and rattle off your eight red suit winners, reducing west to 2 clubs and the

Kx. Then you can play the other top club and exit a club, endplaying West for a lead into your spade tenace. In fact, this line of play will work on the layout above. However, the problem with this approach is that if West started with 4-4-1-4 pattern, in the 4-card ending you will not know whether he has blanked the

K and kept a winning heart. However, even in this case, if you follow the recommended line, all you have to do is watch the clubs, and you will know exactly what to do (under the presumption that he holds the

K).

Thanks to Andy Kaufman of Smyrna, DE, for submitting this month's hand.

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