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Squeeze Technique

E/W groll-tgallery
N/S unknown-Gerard

None Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
S A K 6 5 2
H 10
D Q 6
C A K Q J 6
Lead: C10
S Q 10 3
H 8 6
D A 8 5 4 3
C 10 4 2
[W - E] S J 9 4
H K J 9 7 5 4
D 10
C 9 8 7
  S 8 7
H A Q 3 2
D K J 9 7 2
C 5 3

West
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
North
1 C
1 S
2 S
6NT
East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
South
1 D
2 H
2NT
Pass

Today we see Gee at the wheel of an interesting double squeeze. North/South reach a reasonable contract of 6NT after a rather ambitious auction. South's 2H is either fourth suit forcing or a reverse but seems an overbid in either case.

Gee, declaring 6NT, receives a club lead. At first blush it looks like he needs five tricks in the red suits. Gee leads a low diamond off the board at trick 2, blocking the suit but hoping against hope, I suppose, that East will fly with the ace if he has it. East doesn't play the A but he does play the 10. Gee covers with the J, which holds. West wins the second diamond, East discarding the H5, and returns a club. A spade would be better, and a heart with the diamonds blocked is interesting, although the hand can still be made (the squeeze still operates because West has only two hearts).

But now the hand is cold. Declarer can run the clubs, cross to the HA, and cash a diamond to come down to this four-card ending:

S A K 6 5
H
D --
C --
S ?
H ?
D 8 5
C --
[W - E] S ? ? ?
H ?
D --
C --
  S 8
H Q
D K 2
C --

West can have at most two spades remaining, and if East has the HK the last diamond winner will force him to unguard the spades, giving Gee his 12th trick. So the squeeze always works if the HK is with East, and it also works if the HK is with West either stiff or along with four or more spades.

So Gee runs the winners and makes six, right? Not exactly. He discards the HQ on the last club, keeping his two dead spades. Down 1. Musta misclicked.

Comments

Bidding on this hand provides opportunities for several bridge lessons. The conversation between North and South swayed back and forth but without much clarity other than North had black suits and South had red suits. Where were the parts of the conversation that accurately clued their partner into the value of their hand?

Leah 7.13.02 4:22 AM EST

© 2002-2003 by Aaron Haspel. All rights reserved.

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