halle1@houxz.UUCP (J.HALLE) (04/20/84)
The problem:
S:AJ54
H:K73
D:AQ3
C:KQ5
S:T8732 S:9
H:86 H:QJT42
D:T6 D:KJ72
C:J873 C:AT4
S:KQ6
H:A95
D:9854
C:962
Contract:3N Lead:8H
This is the solution given by Rob Buchner:
This problem can be solved in a series of 6 steps. First cash 4 spades and
2 hearts. Now watch east squirm as he finds 3 pitches. Play as follows:
1)East must keep three clubs or he will be forced to give me either two
diamond or two club tricks for the contract when thrown in with a heart.
2)East must keep three diamonds with the three clubs or I can force two
diamond winners by underleading my Queen after cashing my Ace.
3)East must keep a heart otherwise my third heart sets up.
4)By force as shown by the above analysis, East must pitch two hearts and
one diamond.
5)I throw east in with a heart. East must return a low club at this point
else I have my contract via 2 diamond or two club tricks.
6)I cash my AD and exit with my QD. Now I wait for a second club trick
to make my contract as east is endplayed.
Life is always difficult for the person holding all the winners if forced
to make pitches.
********************************************
This is a nice analysis, except it's wrong. His last statement is the key.
After cashing the spades, the setup is this:
S:
H:K7
D:AQ3
C:KQ5
S:T S:
H:86 H:QJ42
D:T6 D:KJ
C:J873 C:AT
S:
H:95
D:985
C:962
South's exact discard and the hand winning the opening lead do not matter.
Note that east has discarded no hearts and has thrown a club and two diamonds.
If declarer cashes the heart and exits, east takes his other hearts, squeezing
north. If north keeps two of each, A of clubs and a club; if north comes down
to one of either minor, east wins his fifth trick in that suit. Thus south
must not cash the heart.
If south exits with a club honor, east wins and leads a heart. Eventually he
will get his long hearts and a diamond or west will get the club and a spade
and east a diamond and heart. If south exits with a low club, west wins,
takes his spade (optional) and leads a heart. If south exits with a diamond,
east wins and leads a heart. South gets two diamonds but no club. So it looks
like the defense prevails. Right?
WRONG! Suppose south keeps four diamonds and exits with the Q, saving the
three. Now south takes 4 spades, two hearts, 3(!) diamonds and no(!) clubs.
East holding three diamonds doesn't help as south can still prevail. East will
be unable to squeeze north sufficiently, and north can still get four minor
tricks, although it might take two throw-ins to do it.
Now give west a small diamond and east a small club. The defense prevails!halle1@houxz.UUCP (J.HALLE) (04/20/84)
In my statement of the solution, I did not mean to imply that Rob's solution was wrong, merely incomplete. His analysis was correct as far as it went. My apologies to anyone who misunderstood.