[FrancesHinden]

Scoring: IMP

1♣ 1♥*
1♠ 2♦ (FG)
3♣ 4♣
4♠** 6♣
P

---

*I don't know why partner didn't respond 1D
** Your style is to cue first round controls only in this sequence (with 4NT to show interest with no control), so choosing to cue the SK implies very good trumps

I'm not asking for comments on the auction, but if I don't give it there will be complaints. You've ended in the right spot, which is the main thing.

Opponents in theory play standard leads and carding, but you have seen they generally don't bother signalling, and they may not religiously lead their systemic card against a slam.

8 of diamonds lead.
You win in dummy, RHO playing a nondescript low diamond.
Club to hand, all following.
Heart to the king and ace.
Club return, on which LHO discards a heart.

The speedball players now ruff a spade in dummy.
Do the players with more time available see a better line?

[Fluffy]

ruff a diamond before ruffing a spade?

[FrancesHinden]

Fluffy, on Jan 16 2009, 12:45 PM, said:

ruff a diamond before ruffing a spade?

any risk associated with this?

[Fluffy]

sure, west might had led the 8 from Q1098xx. Or most dangerous Q1098x or Q98xx or Q108xx East having 3 spades. Not so likelly on any kind of leads I know.

Well, I tihnk its better to cash ♥Q before ruffing third diamond now you say it. If East discards a spade we can now switch to a single/double squeeze.

[Codo]

What about a squeeze?

I can try: Ace of diamond Queen of heart, diamond ruff.

I play all my trumps but one and reach

SAx,
H 8
DJ

S Kxx
H-
D-
Cx

So whenenver west holds 5+ spades and the queen of diamond or a 5. heart, I get him. East will be squeezed if he holds 4 spades and one of the guards in a red suit.

Is this more likely? No, so I go for Gonzalos 2. line. Ace of diamond, Heart, diamond ruff and when nothing spectular happens, ruff a spade.

[Hanoi5]

I think ruffing a spade is the percentage play. If the double squeeze works (with both opponents guarding spades) then ruffing a spade would have landed the contract, too. And if LHO has 5-6 spades (or 7, which are the only cases ruffing the spades is wrong) then RHO would most probably be able to guard the red suits making the double squeeze inexistent.

However, ruffing the diamond and:

If diamonds are 4-3 and the queen hasn't appeared: discard on the heart and ruff a spade

If the Queen doesn't appear but the opening leader held 5: play for the double squeeze for show/appearing in the newspaper or ruff the spade to make your contract (RHO is then probably more likely to have at least 3 spades, however if he throws a aspade you have to try the newspaper)

If the Queen appears, draw trumps...

seems better

[awm]

There is another squeeze line as follows:

Win the club return, spade to ace, queen of hearts pitching a spade, ruff a heart. Run the trumps, ending at:

♠-
♥8
♦KJ
♣-

♠K5
♥-
♦6
♣-

This creates a double-squeeze around the diamonds. If LHO guards hearts and RHO guards spades, then the spade king forces two diamond tricks. If the same player guards both spades and diamonds then we have a standard squeeze on the same line. It is also possible that we can try a diamond finesse, since running all the trumps will often give us a good count on the hand and who is guarding what (especially if RHO is not good enough to bare the diamond queen in tempo).

[brianshark]

Play Q of hearts, A of diamonds and try ruff out the diamond Q. If that fails, ruff a spade. However, if RHO discards a spade on the diamond or heart, instead draw trump and play for LHO to be squeezed in spades and diamonds.

[Free]

Well we need to shorten our trumps by ruffing twice. So ♠A, ♥Q, ♥ ruff, ♠K, ♠ ruff, ♥ ruff, ♦K and we have ♣Q9 behind Jx.

[brianshark]

Righty has only a singleton club J remaining.

[nige1]

FrancesHinden, on Jan 16 2009, 05:25 AM, said:

Scoring: IMP

1♣ 1♥*
1♠ 2♦ (FG)
3♣ 4♣
4♠** 6♣
P
** Your style is to cue first round controls only in this sequence (with 4NT to show interest with no control), so choosing to cue the SK implies very good trumps
I'm not asking for comments on the auction, but if I don't give it there will be complaints.  You've ended in the right spot, which is the main thing.
Opponents in theory play standard leads and carding, but you have seen they generally don't bother signalling, and they may not religiously lead their systemic card against a slam.
8 of diamonds lead.
You win in dummy, RHO playing a nondescript low diamond.
Club to hand, all following.
Heart to the king and ace.
Club return, on which LHO discards a heart.
The speedball players now ruff a spade in dummy.
Do the players with more time available see a better line?*I don't know why partner didn't respond 1D

---

Scoring: IMP

1♣ 1♥*
1♠ 2♦ (FG)
3♣ 4♣
4♠** 6♣
P
** Your style is to cue first round controls only in this sequence (with 4NT to show interest with no control), so choosing to cue the SK implies very good trumps
I'm not asking for comments on the auction, but if I don't give it there will be complaints.  You've ended in the right spot, which is the main thing.
Opponents in theory play standard leads and carding, but you have seen they generally don't bother signalling, and they may not religiously lead their systemic card against a slam.
8 of diamonds lead.
You win in dummy, RHO playing a nondescript low diamond.
Club to hand, all following.
Heart to the king and ace.
Club return, on which LHO discards a heart.
The speedball players now ruff a spade in dummy.
Do the players with more time available see a better line?*I don't know why partner didn't respond 1D

---

[Free]

brianshark, on Jan 17 2009, 01:16 AM, said:

Righty has only a singleton club J remaining.

woops

[Winstonm]

The heart pitch from LHO is curious - surely this is the "idle fifth" or perhaps even a sixth - I can't imagine this early in the hand LHO pitching from 3 or 4 hearts.

Beginning to build a picture I see: Q10x(x) Jxxxx 8xx(x), x

As long as LHO has the heart length and RHO holds the diamond Queen there appears to be an almost foolproof line of draw the final trump, then diamond to K, Q of hearts, ruff low heart, run the clubs for the heart/diamond double squeeze.

Actually, this would also work if LHO happened to hold the danger hand of Q10xxx, Jxxxx, 8x, x where a spade overruff kills the contract. A simple squeeze played as a double squeeze still kills LHO.

The failing case would be when RHO guards the red suits by himself.

[gnasher]

If LHO started with five hearts, there's what we might call a "double squeeze played as compound". It's easier to follow if you pretend that dummy's diamonds are AKxx.

On the fourth round of trumps (on which I throw a diamond), West will have to come down to either two spades or one diamond. If he's unguarded diamonds, I play DK, HA, H ruff, trump, playing a double squeeze with spades as the pivot. If he's unguarded spades, I play SK, SA, HK, H ruff, trump, playing a double squeeze with diamonds as the pivot.

If East has the heart guard, the same approach doesn't quite work. On the fourth round of trumps he can unguard spades.