Problem:
The Auction:
West North East South
1♣ 1♠ dbl* 2♦
2♥ 3♦ pass 5♦
all pass
* - Negative double
West leads the ♣Q against your excellent 5♦ contract. You have the option of playing on spades, or trying to score heart ruffs in dummy. What would your line of play be?
Solution:
The opponents have a total of 17 high-card points, West should have 11-12 and East should have 5-6. East has shown up with the ♣K, and is likely to have the ♥Q, and maybe another jack. This means that West is a favorite to hold both the ♠K and the ♥A. Under this assumption, you can virtually guarantee your contract.
After winning the ♣A in dummy, the key play is to lead a heart from dummy, and duck it completely. If a trump is led at trick three, the plan is to ruff two hearts in dummy and then inflict a strip-squeeze on West, reaching the following three-card ending:
| ♠ A75 | |
| ♥ - | |
| ♦ - | |
| ♣ - | |
| ♠ Kx |
 |
♠ |
| ♥ A |
♥ |
| ♦ |
♦ |
| ♣ |
♣ |
| ♠ Q10 |
| ♥ K |
| ♦ - |
| ♣ - |
You will lead a heart to West's ace, who will have to play a spade. If West instead chooses to bare his ♠K in the three-card position, you will play a spade to West's king and dummy's ace, and play a spade back to your king.
It is important to avoid ambiguity in the end position, and the way to do this is by obtaining a count on the West hand by ruffing all of dummy's clubs. Hence, it becomes crucial to win the trump switch at trick three with dummy's jack, ruff a club in hand, ruff a heart in dummy, ruff a club in hand, ruff a heart in dummy, and ruff the last club in hand. You will now know if West started with four or five clubs, and can read the position accurately.
|
| ♠ A7542 | |
| ♥ 3 | |
| ♦ J73 | |
| ♣ A872 | |
| ♠ KJ6 |
|
♠ 983 |
| ♥ AJ76 |
♥ Q1098 |
| ♦ 8 |
♦ 1096 |
| ♣ QJ1063 |
♣ K94 |
| ♠ Q10 |
| ♥ K542 |
| ♦ AKQ542 |
| ♣ 5 |
|
If East decides to break the strip-squeeze by returning a spade at trick three instead of a trump, you will be able to ruff three hearts in dummy after all!
Analysis:
Bridge Baron's double dummy solver points out that an initial trump lead would leave declarer with no recourse. After a club lead, continuing with the ♥3 is the only successful play. On this deal, playing the ♥K is not fatal, as West can subsequently be squeezed in clubs and hearts, but if West had fewer than five clubs, it becomes necessary to withhold the ♥K. The rest of the double dummy analysis is in accordance with the discussion above.
Par Contract Analysis:
The par contract on this deal is 4♦ by North-South.
Bridge Baron deal No : N1247-18052-17172-99785-30705-46421
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