rainbow@ihuxe.UUCP (05/11/84)
S:652 H:AJ8 D:AQJ C:AT63 S:94 S:AQJT7 H:96543 H:2 D:532 D:K987 C:985 C:KJ2 S:K83 H:KQT7 D:T64 C:Q74 CONTRACT:3NT dbl LEAD:9S east overtakes with the ten of spades. Whats your best line of play?
rh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Randy Haskins) (05/13/84)
S:652 H:AJ8 D:AQJ C:AT63 S:94 S:AQJT7 H:96543 H:2 D:532 D:K987 C:985 C:KJ2 S:K83 H:KQT7 D:T64 C:Q74 3NT, opening lead 9s, overtaken with the ten. Looks pretty hopeless to me, since east is always getting 4 spade tricks plus the minor-suit king he gets in with. Running the hearts only forces him to make 3 discards, so he ditches 2 D's and a C. Still has both kings protected. Or am I missing something? -- Randwulf (Randy Haskins); Path= genrad!mit-eddie!rh
faiman@eludom.DEC (Neil Faiman ZKO2-3/N30 381-2017) (05/14/84)
<>
S:652
H:AJ8
D:AQJ
C:AT63
S:94 S:AQJT7
H:96543 H:2
D:532 D:K987
C:985 C:KJ2
S:K83
H:KQT7
D:T64
C:Q74
CONTRACT:3NT dbl LEAD:9S
east overtakes with the ten of spades.
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
Note to Randy Haskins: I'm afraid you missed a throw in, two Vienna coups,
and a criss cross squeeze. Win the opening lead, cash the ace of hearts, and
throw East in with the eight of spades. Assume East cashes the rest of his
spades. Throw a club and a heart from the table, and a diamond and a club
from the closed hand. This will leave the following position:
S:
H:J
D:AQJ
C:AT6
S:Not S:
H:good H:
D:enough D:K987
C:to help C:KJ2
S:
H:KQT
D:T6
C:Q7
Here's the throw in. What does East now return?
a) The King of Diamonds. The hand is over. Win the three diamonds and
the Ace of Clubs in dummy, cross to the hearts in the closed hand.
b) A low diamond. Win in dummy. Cash the Ace of Clubs (Vienna coup number
one) and run the hearts, keeping AQ of diamonds in dummy and Q of clubs,
ten of diamonds in the closed hand. East will have to give up.
c) A low club (either the J or the 2). Win with the Queen of Clubs, cross
to the Ace of Diamonds (Vienna coup number two), and run the hearts,
keeping the Ace and ten of Clubs in dummy and the ten of diamonds and
the seven of clubs in the closed hand. Again, East has had it.
d) The King of Clubs. This one is the most interesting. Win the Ace of
Clubs and run the hearts immediately, discarding the J and Q of Diamonds
from dummy. This time, the last three cards in dummy are the Ace of
diamonds and the ten and six of clubs; in the closed hand it will be
the Q of clubs and the ten and six of diamonds. This is the criss cross
squeeze. East will have to give up his protection in one of the minors.
Whichever minor he bares, cash the high card in that suit and then cross
to the other hand to cash the remaining card in it.
Note that East cannot save himself by refusing to run all the spades. South
keeps an extra club in each hand. East will have to yield an immediate trick
in one of the minor suits. South can now run the hearts, throwing two clubs
(if East returned a diamond) or a diamond and a club (if East returned a club)
from dummy. If East has bared one of his kings, South can now eat it much as
in the main line. If, instead, East threw his last spade to protect his
minors, South can throw East in in either minor, forcing him to yield a trick
in the other one.
Note also that South must not hold up at trick one; otherwise, East will cash
the Ace of Spades and lead another spade, ruining the throw in.
A diamond opening lead also does not beat the hand. Dummy plays the Jack;
if East ducks, the position can be forced to the one above by playing the
Ace of hearts and then a low spade toward the King. If East wins, no matter
what he returns, South can win (a trick later, if he cashes the Ace of spades
first) and run the diamonds and hearts. If East gives up his club protection,
South will have his ninth trick; if he doesn't, then he will have had to
throw at least one spade away. South will throw East in in spades, and East
will ultimately have to yield the final trick in clubs.
A cute hand. I wonder if anyone actually found this play at the table?
--Q (Dick Wagman)
--------
Reply care of Neil Faiman:
UUCP: ...{decvax,allegra,ucbvax}!decwrl!rhea!eludom!faiman
ARPA: faiman%eludom.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
or
ENet: MRVAX::IO::WAGMANching@hp-pcd.UUCP (05/15/84)
Very interesting. Thanks for the answer.