[han]

The following hand is today's "play" hand from www.bridgeclues.com, a great website that offers daily puzzles created by Mike Lawrence. I will give the hand plus Lawrence's text:

We No Ea So
-- -- 2♦ Dbl
3♦ 4♦ Pa 4♠
Pa Pa Pa

---

West leads the king of hearts, follows with the ace (east showing out) and west leads a small heart, east ruffing. East returns the jack of spades. Are you in an impossible contract?





Not hopeless but not very good, either. You can set up a heart in dummy but that only takes care of one of your four clubs. Somehow you have to play clubs for no losers.

If either opponent has a singleton king of clubs you can succeed. But that is unlikely. But it could happen.

Question: How can you find out if someone has a singleton club?



Count. East returned the jack of spades and if you draw the last trump, you see West had it. You know that East has two spades and one heart and probably six diamonds. This means East has four clubs and West has two. No singleton king of clubs on this hand.

Question: Do you have any chance at all?

[han]

Here is Lawrence's answer: (hidden)

Spoiler

In theory, you are down, but in practice, you can try a swindle. You know it has a chance to work because you expect West to have two clubs. Lead the jack of clubs and see if you can sneak it by West. If he does not cover, you will lead a low club next and West's king will fall on air.

It is worth a try.

You can see that West does have two clubs so you will have taken your only realistic shot. Does it work? You will have to ask West.

[han]

I think that this hand is deeper than what Lawrence wrote (but I'm sure he knows!). Questions:

1) What's the best argument for the fact that East has 6 diamonds, not 5?

2) Is there any way to make it against best defense?

3) Given the lead of the heart ace, is there any double-dummy defense that sets the contract?

These questions are a little harder. Advanced players please hide your answers.

[cherdano]

Spoiler

No Hannie, don't think it's deeper than that! This swindle is too deep for me, simple positional squeeze against East (needing ♣Kx with West and ♦A with East. but the latter is almost certain given the former) seems much more straightforward to me

[luke warm]

i must be missing something... is this the bidding?

W..........N..........E..........S
2D.........X..........3D........4D
P...........4S...... all pass

if this is true,

Spoiler

west has shown up with 7 hcp in hearts... if he has the club king, that's 10... that means he preempted with 6 and out in diamonds... i'd play him for 2=4=6=1 and lead a low club, hoping to drop the stiff king...if i have the bidding wrong, i'll try again

[Free]

Jimmy, if you play another trump, West will probably show out, so he has a 1-4-6-2

I don't think any decent player won't cover ♣J if he has Kx, so it's really a no-chance contract unless ♣K is stiff. Imo it's more successfull (even if west has only 1♠) to cash the Ace (hoping for a 1-4-7-1 with no tophonour ♦), rather than to try the ♣J

[cherdano]

luke warm, on Jun 18 2005, 10:58 PM, said:

i must be missing something... is this the bidding?

W..........N..........E..........S
2D.........X..........3D........4D
P...........4S...... all pass

I don't think so, it says East was dealer, so he opened the weak two.

Arend

[JSilver]

cherdano, on Jun 18 2005, 10:19 PM, said:

luke warm, on Jun 18 2005, 10:58 PM, said:

i must be missing something... is this the bidding?

W..........N..........E..........S
2D.........X..........3D........4D
P...........4S...... all pass

I don't think so, it says East was dealer, so he opened the weak two.

Arend

Moreover, South declared (West was on lead), so that can't be the auction.

[han]

Yes, East was the dealer and opened 2D, weak. Somehow the spaces that I typed in the bidding diagram disappeared. I corrected it, but it still doesn't look very good.

I must admit that just like Arend, I saw his solution before I thought of the play recommended by Lawrence.

Question (1) and (3) are still open...

[Winstonm]

Spoiler

West is marked to be 2452, and even if he were 2461 it doesn't matter. To make he has to hold the club K doubleton or singleton. Either way, a simple squeeze against east after the lead of the club Q, K, A, x.

WinstonM

[luke warm]

i don't see the squeeze, can someone help with that? what's the squeeze card? if the ♦K is one of the menaces, how do we get to it? thx.. in meantime, i can't see anything better than lawrence's solution

[pclayton]

Jimmy - its sort of a neat hand. If West doesn't cover with Kx, you get 3 club tricks. If he does cover, then the Q♣ becomes the entry for the squeeze against East.

[Winstonm]

This hand would be even better if LHO opened 2D - then you would still have to play him for K or Kx of clubs, but you would also have transfer the threat and play east for Qxxxx of diamonds.

WinstonM

[luke warm]

pclayton, on Jun 19 2005, 06:22 PM, said:

Jimmy - its sort of a neat hand. If West doesn't cover with Kx, you get 3 club tricks. If he does cover, then the Q♣ becomes the entry for the squeeze against East.

oh hell.. thanks phil.. sometimes my mind is foggier than at other times

[PMetsch]

Question 3:

Spoiler

After heart Ace, you can break the communications for the squeeze as follows:
1. heart A
2. heart ruff
3. club back

when west wins the the next heart trick, play another ♣. ♣ communication has been destroyed, before hearts are high.

[han]

PMetsch, on Jun 20 2005, 02:19 AM, said:

Question 3:

Spoiler

After heart Ace, you can break the communications for the squeeze as follows:
1. heart A
2. heart ruff
3. club back

when west wins the the next heart trick, play another ♣. ♣ communication has been destroyed, before hearts are high.

Exactly, all together a very interesting hand I thought.

To answer question (1), I think that the best argument for the fact that East has 6 diamonds is not that (s)he opened 2D (would you never open 2D with AQ109x xxxxx in the minors?) but the fact that west only raised to 3D. Surely with 6-card support and a singleton club west would have bid more.