Monday 18 January 2010

IS THERE A NAME FOR THIS TYPE OF SQUEEZE, I MISSED ?........ ( Article by Bridgemeister Gibson )
A few years back I was declarer in 4S. Partner's hand was Axx....x.....AJx.......AQJ109x, opposite my shapely but modest collection of KQJxx.......xxxx......xxxx.....(void). The opening lead was the King of diamonds, which was certainly from a KQ holding. But after stumbling my way to making 11 tricks ( the clubs breaking 4-3 with my RHO holding four to the king , and the spades breaking 3-2 ) , my partner who was a class or two above me in ability immmediately rounded upon me in no uncertain terms. Firstly, he pointed out we should have bid 6S, and secondly on the actual layout of the cards 12 tricks were cold.
Here was his play analysis. Take the opening diamond King with the Ace in dummy. At trick two attempt the running club finesse by playing the queen, pitching a heart if it is not covered. Then play the jack and 10 of clubs, pitching hearts while the king fails to appear. Should it appear at trick 3 or 4, ruff with the jack of spades. Now is the time to play 3 rounds of spades ending in dummy, whereupon the remaining clubs can be played off allowing all the losing hearts to disappear, plus one losing diamond.
So the 3 card ending is as follows: ( still in dummy ) with Jx of diamonds and one small heart, declarer is now down to one small trump and two small diamonds. But his RHO is the one who is in real trouble? If he has kept two hearts and the now stiff queen of diamonds, then a low diamond from dummy throws him in, allowing the last two tricks to be made by a heart ruff and the established jack of diamonds. If however he elects to keep two diamonds and one heart, all declarer has to do is play a heart from dummy and ruff.........leaving him to play diamonds towards dummy with absolute confidence , knowing the jack with either make at trick 12 ,or trick 13.
But is there a name for this type of squeeeze, where one opponent is fixed by virtue of whatever he does declarer can counter it, providing he/she can read the situation correctly. Something I had clearly failed to do that day......

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