Deep Games
A friend of mine was declaring 4♠ on an uneventful auction. He received the ♠J opening lead.
| ♠ x |
| ♥ AKxx |
| ♦ AKQT |
| ♣ KTxx |
|
|
| ♠ AKxxxxx |
| ♥ J9x |
| ♦ xx |
| ♣ x |
Declarer cashed a second spade (both opponents following, West with the ♠T), played 3 rounds of diamonds pitching a club (all follow, no ♦J). He then led a low club from the table, East playing the ♣J as he ruffed. He then exited a trump to East, to this ending:
| ♠ — |
| ♥ AKx |
| ♦ T |
| ♣ KT |
|
|
| ♠ xxxx |
| ♥ J9x |
| ♦ — |
| ♣ — |
A complex ending to be sure. If East gets out the JD, declarer is more or less compelled to play for a club/heart squeeze against West. If East doesn’t get out a diamond, then declarer has a number of options, ranging from playing East to be endplayed to a simple diamond/heart squeeze against West to many more complicated squeezes against either or both opponents. This can also lead to some interesting deceptive options for the defence.
Consider this East hand:
| ♠ Qxx | ♥ Txx | ♦ Jxxx | ♣ QJx |
If you exit the ♦J when you are on lead with the ♠Q, declarer has no real choices other than the (winning) heart/club squeeze. If, however, you exit with a low club, declarer may go wrong in a number of ways. (Discarding, playing for the wrong squeeze, etc.)
No guarantees that declarer will go wrong, of course, but it always pays to consider alternative defences, even when an ‘obvious’ play is available.
Post Mortem: East did not hold the diamond at the table, and my friend got the ending right to make the rest of the tricks.
POSTED IN: Declarer Play, Defense, Expert
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