[xx1943]

This hand occured yesterday evening in a Swiss-team:

Scoring: IMP

Bidding went:
West North East South
------ Pass 1NT. Pass
2♣.... X.... 2♥.. Pass
3N.... Pass Pass Pass

---

X was explained by South as lead director.

North was a well known expert, South one of his students but advanced+ in BBO-terms.

Without any thought South leads ♦ 2 (3th or 5th) She didn't obey partners lead director.

Questions
1) what distribution has South probably?
2) How do you manage to make 11 tricks against best defense without venturing taking 10 tricks for sure.?

Overtricks are not so unimportant in team-play and you shld try for it, if it is sure
The second overtrick got us IMP and we won by 18:12 instead of 17:13 and finished 2. instead of 3.

Regards

Al

[inquiry]

Absolutely.

I have moved this thread from the beginner section to the interesting hand section. This might seem odd that I am moving it because the material is too complicated for beginner/intermediates when I am post there on things such as entry-shifting trump squeezes, and the like, and I will post there on strip squeezes soon. But I hope my post are with sufficient background (and in a logical order) such that to help identify squeezes like this.

Now to the questions at hand.

1) Most likely distribution for south (if not tricky) is 4-4-5-0. South with 3 diamonds would give north 6-5 in minors and might easily have bid 2NT rather than double. Of course, you have to realize that 3-5-5-0 or the like is possible, not wanting to lead a heart to your suit.

2) How to win 11 tricks..

• Win diamond ACE (or QUeen)
  
• Knock out heart ACE
  
• To keep it simple, assume diamond back, win queen....
  
• cash all three hearts, ending in EAST
  
• If north throws 3 clubs, duck a club... if not, he will discard 2clubs and a diamond or a spade
  
• Cash diamond king, discard spade from dummy
  
• cash spade in EAST then cross to dummy's high sapde... the ending will be as follows....

With lead in dummy. Lead a small club from dummy. North has to play the 9 or your eight will win. Win the ACE, and return the eight ducking in dummy. North wins the jack but has to lead from Qx into the dummy's KT

---

The heart strips the third spade from North (exit card). He can delay the decision by pitching his diamond, but the diamond King before the spades will pull that third spade. This is a classical vulnerable stopper strip squeeze. I am not sure how you win an imp, however (although this helps prevent lose and imp) as 4H by EAST alwyas makes five by rufing a spade in dummy (spade discard on thrid diamond) despite four-1 trump split. North wins a heart, and gives south a club ruff, but that is it for the defense. Of course, 4H by WEST (acol 1H opener) would only make 4.

By the time I finish with my squeeze pattern recongnition threads, I hope that anyone who works through the verbage (it will be essentially book-length) will be able to tick off the possible squeezes on hands like this in their mind and find them very quickly. Of course, currently, this hand jumps ahead of where we are by a few chapters... hand in there, the pattern reconginition for this hand is coming..

:-)

Ben

[Fluffy]

You have to play ♣ to the A before ♠K, or you might find South with singleton ♣ wich won´t make you happy.

[inquiry]

Fluffy, on Dec 3 2004, 10:22 AM, said:

You have to play ♣ to the A before ♠K, or you might find South with singleton ♣ wich won´t make you happy.

Well, if it is singleton "x" it will not bother me.... Surely it will not be singelton Q or J. And with QJ not with the nine (give south singleton nine), north will split club most of the time anyway. Finally, you will know about diamonds, you will know about hearts before you play a spade to king. It would be next to impossible for north, looking at four clubs in dummy to KTxx to discard early two clubs from a five card suit.

No, I think your concerns are unfounded. A small diamond from J9xxx or T8xxx and without outside winners is not an attractive lead, especially given the lead directing double. If south had a club, south would have lead one.

The indicted play is clearly marked on the bidding, the opening lead, and the play (including discards and follow suits).

Ben

[Free]

I really don't see any reason for North to keep 4 ♣s... He only needs 3 (QJ9) to keep the suit controlled, and an exit card (♠ probably) is always nice.

[inquiry]

Free, on Dec 3 2004, 10:36 AM, said:

I really don't see any reason for North to keep 4 ♣s...  He only needs 3 (QJ9) to keep the suit controlled, and an exit card (♠ probably) is always nice.

Ok... let's dot the "i's" for you then... going to the last free heart...

East leads heart King, all follow but north... let's assume as free suggest north discards another club (just keeping three)... can YOU see how to make five now (after three club discards by north?) Simple isn't it?

---

In this ending, if North discards a third club. East just ducks a club, establsihing the fourht club in dummy as the 13th. That is 2♠+3♥+3♦+3♣ = easiest 11 tricks with 100% no risk, no fuss, no muss. This is the REASON why north has to keep four clubs.

[xx1943]

Fluffy, on Dec 3 2004, 04:22 PM, said:

You have to play ♣ to the A before ♠K, or you might find South with singleton ♣ wich won´t make you happy.

That is how I played South put me back to dummy with a spade. I came then to the ending, Ben described without CLub 9 from North and Club xx from EAST and WEST.

Al

[inquiry]

xx1943, on Dec 3 2004, 10:48 AM, said:

Fluffy, on Dec 3 2004, 04:22 PM, said:

You have to play ♣ to the A before ♠K, or you might find South with singleton ♣ wich won´t make you happy.

That is how I played South put me back to dummy with a spade. I came then to the ending, Ben described without CLub 9 from North and Club xx from EAST and WEST.

Al

I am lost.. if you cashed club ACE, how did you make 11 tricks? South really had a siiff club high honor? Hard to believe....

Ben

[xx1943]

inquiry, on Dec 3 2004, 05:21 PM, said:

xx1943, on Dec 3 2004, 10:48 AM, said:

Fluffy, on Dec 3 2004, 04:22 PM, said:

You have to play ♣ to the A before ♠K, or you might find South with singleton ♣ wich won´t make you happy.

That is how I played South put me back to dummy with a spade. I came then to the ending, Ben described without CLub 9 from North and Club xx from EAST and WEST.

Al

I am lost.. if you cashed club ACE, how did you make 11 tricks? South really had a siiff club high honor? Hard to believe....

Ben

Hi Ben

you are not lost Think this was a misunderstanding due to my bad English.

Here the full hand, as I played it:

Scoring: IMP

---

West North East South

 -     Pass  1NT   Pass
 2♣    Dbl   2♥    Pass
 3NT   Pass  Pass  Pass
 

D2 DA D3 D4
H9 H2 H8 H3
H6 D6 HQ HA
ST SA S2 S3
DQ DT D5 D7
C4 C9 CA D8
HK H4 HJ C5
HT H5 H7 C2
DK D9 S5 SJ
SK S7 S6 SQ
C8 S8 C6 CJ
C7 C3 DJ CT
CK CQ S4 S9


Sincerly

Al

[inquiry]

Ah.. i misunderstood about the club nine.. I thought you said it WASN'T played. Yes this is fine line. You can lead the first round of clubs from dummy at anytime you like.

ben

[Fluffy]

Ben what I mean, is that if you don´t play a ♣ before ♠ honnors you don´t knwo how ♣ are divided, therefore you won´t knwo if North ahs 3 or 4 left, ,finding south with singleton ♣ when North has discarded 2 will eman you only make 10 trricks, to cutter this you need to play ♣ to the ♣A before cashing ♠K.

Here an alternative to the ending you described with just 2 clubs discarded form north:

---

[inquiry]

Ok... I thought you meant first "cash" the club ACE. This is very wrong. If you meant lead towards the A8x earlier and play the 8 if north plays low, that is absolutely fine. I was dealing with the questions asked about distribution and if it was a strip squeeze, so just trying to show the ending simply. The club play while still having spade and diamond stopper is clearly correct.... and transposes to the right ending.