Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Spoil the Squeeze but give up the same trick in the process

My hand of the tournament from the recent Roswell sectional this past weekend is this cute hand where I was all set to squeeze RHO in the black suits until Michael White made it easy for me by leading the J.
 
Dealer: N
Vul: NS
North
Qxxx
Q
AJx
KTxxx
South
A
KJx
KQxxxx
A9x
 
North
East
South
West
1
Pass
1
2
Pass
Pass
3NT
Pass
Pass
Pass
After winning the heart lead in dummy, I crossed to my hand with a diamond and played another heart, already planning to attempt to squeeze RHO in the blacks. With the 1 heart loser and 11 sure winners, I would be able to arrange to score up a 12th trick in a black suit if RHO started with K and 3 clubs. This is what the 4 card ending would be like with the last diamond to be played from my hand:
Dealer: E
Vul: EW
North
Qx
Kx
West
x
x
Jx
East
K
Qxx
South
x
A9x
West ditched a heart on the last diamond, dummy a small spade, and east could not protect both spades and clubs so my 9 would score the last trick.
 
In reality, Michael White shifted to the J after he took the A, thereby breaking up the squeeze because I needed both club entries for the squeeze because the 2 threat cards (Q and 9) are in different hands. However, in doing so, he allowed me to make the extra trick by simply taking the K and finessing for the Q. I wasn't happy because I didn't get to execute the squeeze, RHO wasn't happy because he thought Michael had made the only lead that let me make an extra trick, but Michael knew I was making 6 anyway and that 6 would make so he wasn't unhappy.

1 comment:

  1. Very nice; but you would have been less happy if he had ducked the second heart as well! Looks like 11 tricks to me.

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