Just in Case
Playing in the national two-day open Swiss, entering
the last match, both we and our opponents have already
qualified. We are playing for carryover. The opponents
have had some rather enterprising auctions and the play
has been interesting, but we have had the better of it
going into the last hand of the match.
| Q8
A7532
105
KQ75 | |
|  |
10532
K94
K984
43 |
| | |
Dummy | Declarer |
Pass | 1 |
2 | 3 |
3NT | 6 |
6 | Pass |
More surprising bidding. Sounds like declarer is 6-6.
Partner leads the
J, and declarer wins the
A.
That's a pretty good dummy. I don't like my chances.
Declarer plays a spade to the dummy's queen and another back to
his ace. Partner follows with the
J9. That's pretty
surprising. I have a trump trick. Declarer can't pick up
my diamonds, so it looks as if he was overbidding again.
That's a big surprise. Declarer cashes the other high trump,
pitching a heart from dummy, and partner sheds the
6.
Declarer is obviously not happy at this development. I, on
the other hand, think quite highly of it.
Declarer goes into a tank for about two minutes and plays a
fourth spade to me. Dummy and partner discard small hearts.
I'm using that tank time, too. Partner's club discard clearly
shows at least five cards in the suit, and we play upside-down, so he
appers to have exactly five clubs and is encouraging in hearts.
It looks pretty clear that declarer has
AKxxx
?
AQJxx
Ax.
That gives him four spade tricks, one heart, three diamonds with
a finesse, and three clubs for eleven tricks. Is there any way
he can come to twelve? Yes! If I don't return a heart right
now, he has a double squeeze. Partner has to guard clubs, I
have to guard diamonds, and neither of us will be able to hold
onto hearts. I don't know if this declarer is up to finding
the double squeeze, but I don't want to know. Just in case
declarer's heart is the queen (I doubt it iswith J1086,
partner is likely to have pitched the
J, not the
6), I exit with the
K. My
9 will cover
the suit so that partner can't be squeezed in hearts and
clubs.
Declarer grimaces and produces the
10, so it looks as if
he knows that his goose
is cooked, but he tries the diamond finesse, hoping the suit
is 3-3 with the king onside. It is not to be, and he
eventually concedes down one.
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Goldsmith