One of My Favorite Things

Playing set at IMPs with a very good partner against two strong young players, I hold a hand on which I wasn't perfect, but my early error allowed me great enjoyment later.

	KQ72 J10 A43 AQ83

	A83 AK7652 K5 J9

North	East	South	West
1	Pass	1	Pass
1	Pass	2	Pass
2NT	Pass	3	Pass
4	Dbl	Pass	Pass
4	Pass	4	Pass
5	Pass	6	All Pass

The bidding takes some explanation. We were playing a mini-notrump, so the Northern 16-count had to open 1

. 2

was Fourth Suit Forcing; when I rebid 3

, it was forcing to game. 4

was Roman Key Card Blackwood; 5

showed two Aces and denied the

Q. 6

was an error; I should have bid either 6NT or 5NT and allowed partner to choose which slam to bid. If his

Q were the

Q, 6

would be much better than 6NT; as it is, I'd much rather be in 6NT from partner's side. Due to my error, I get to play this hand and on the

10 opening lead, 6

is not cold. Since the lead might be a singleton, I must win this with the Ace. I drop the

J as East encourages, just as a matter of habit. Two lines of play suggest themselves. If the

Q is onside doubleton or tripleton, I am playing for an overtrick. Alternatively, I can cash two high trumps and hope for 3-3 spades to pitch my club away. The two lines are pretty close, but I can also make on some 4-1 trump breaks by finessing, so I think running the

J is slightly better. I try it and it holds. One hurdle. I lead another trump from dummy East covers with West following suit. On the third round of trumps, West pitches a small spade. Phew. The slam is now cold; I can now consider the overtrick in more depth. That spade pitch is dire; West is a good player, so he has either a small doubleton or tripleton spade or five of them. That's good news! If he has four or more spades, I have all the remaining tricks on a double squeeze. East must guard clubs; West must guard spades; no one will be able to handle diamonds. This is an ordinary type R double squeeze. Double squeezes are my favorite plays, and I shall play for it. I cash two more rounds of trumps, pitching clubs from the table. West pitches diamonds and East clubs. I cross to the

K, cash the

Q and East shows out. The double squeeze will work and I just claim the balance, saying, ``spade to the Ace, heart, double squeeze.'' The defenders look at my cards for a second and concede. Making seven. I am elated. Not only do I love double squeezes, my favorite play of all is to claim grand slams on double squeezes. I am very pleased that my bidding error allowed me to be in this position. Partner comments, ``Well done. If I had known that my four of diamonds was to take a trick, I would have bid more!''