Posted 2004-April-28, 17:37
Ok.. from the lack of responses, this maybe either a non-problem or a non-interesting one, at least to forum members. So I will go ahead and answer it and explain what I believe you have to do and why.
First for the hypothetical hand proposed by bridgeboy and a seperate one by temp3600. Did you notice that declearer with AQJxxx of spades took your partner's ♠T as honest. I mean to duck a ♠ could cost at trick if WEST had ♠Tx or ♠Txx. So if he had that either proposed hands, he would play to ruff the ♦ in dummy and two cards in his hand, then exit small ♠ at the end from ♠AJx, which you win, but then endplayed into leading a ♠ from your hand. Let's imagine the hand where he is 6-1-4-2....
After ♠Q wins, club hook, club, club ruff, ♦KQ, ♦ ruff, ♥ or ♣ ruff, exit small ♠. Swtching ♣ for ♥ hardly alters the play.
As for singlton ♣K and ♦KQ. I think he would have won first ♦ in hand and unblocked. But he could always play to overtake the ♣K anyway (if he held four ♦ to the ♦KQ. The four ♦ theory also gives your parnter two singeltons, not impossible, of course.
So, why is declearer ducking a ♠? He knows you have one ♥, and wants to give you your trump trick now. But why not lead a ♣ to dummy to repeat the ♣ hook in case your partner was being cute from ♠Tx? Because he can't afford to waste the club entry to dummy. Beginning to see the picture now? Declearer is setting up some sort of squeeze, perhaps. What if declearer has a perfectly normal hand? 6-2-3-2. What does he have for his bid? Spades we know, two small ♥ too. If ♣Kx, with ♦KQx he makes five. But what if he has ♣Kx and ♦Kxx? Certainly a reasonable hand. Now he is going to have a ♥-♣ squeeze on your partner after you win the ♠K. You can return a ♦ or a ♣ or a trump. He wins in hand, and runs his ♠. Your partner is a dead man. And, in fact, declearer will play simple squeeze as a double. You will have to quard ♦ and your partner ♥ so neither of you could keep a fourth club to stop the dummy's fourth club.
So Free got it right for the wrong reason perhaps (imho). The correct play is to duck the ♠9. In dummy, declearer has to screw up his own squeeze chances with his next lead. If he leads a ♥ you get your three tricks. If he leads a ♣, when you do win your ♠ (correcting the count), you exit a ♣ killing the entry to the dummy, and if he enters his hand with a ♦, when you win your ♠K you simply cash your ♦ winner.
Seems fairly "clear" squeeze defense to me (as if squeeze defense when you are protecting your partner and trying to mess up declearer's entry conditions is ever easy). This wasn't matchpoints, but I was the only declearer to make 11 tricks (well one other did after silly defense), but as a matchpoint problem, this would become a very interesting defensive hand imo. So what do you think, interesting r not?
Ben
--Ben--
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