May 09 2010
Mundane
| North Deals None Vul |
♠ A J 10 7 ♥ A J 10 5 ♦ Q ♣ K 7 6 4 |
||||||||||
|
♠ K 9 5
♥ 9 7 6 3 ♦ 10 7 5 4 3 ♣ 5 |
|
♠ 6 4 3
♥ 8 2 ♦ A 8 2 ♣ J 9 8 3 2 |
|||||||||
| ♠ Q 8 2 ♥ K Q 4 ♦ K J 9 6 ♣ A Q 10 |
|||||||||||
| West | North | East | South |
| 1 ♣ | Pass | 1 ♦ | |
| Pass | 1 ♠1 | Pass | 3 N2 |
| All pass |
|
| 3 N by South |
| Lead: ♠ 5 |
Playing in the local club game, we’re not doing anything special. I pick up a nice hand as South, and we bid quickly to 3NT. After partner showed something extra, perhaps i should investigate slam, but i don’t (and perhaps that’s also why our game is nothing special).
When the spade seven wins in dummy, it appears i have 12 easy tricks via four spades, four hearts, three clubs and a diamond. This looks to be a mundane hand, so i lead the diamond Queen and prepare to claim when the diamond loses. Except. The diamond wins.
Well. Now i have 13 tricks if the clubs break 3-3. Or, hang on, could there be a squeeze? Yes, the person with the Ace of diamonds might also have Jxxx in clubs. That’s actually fairly likely, since we’ve had a power auction and the owner of the diamond Ace might not be so quick to duck with three clubs. So i’ll try for a fun squeeze instead.
I’m assuming the spade King is on, so before i go claiming, i shall need to make sure i have the four spade tricks i think i do. I’m still in dummy, so i lead a heart to my King and advance the spade Queen. That holds. On the third spade, the King pops, spades proving to be 3-3. On the fourth spade, RHO throws a club and LHO and i throw diamonds. Now i run the hearts and watch as RHO squirms. On the third heart everyone pitches diamonds. On the last heart, he finally pitches a club and i flamboyantly pitch the King of diamonds (since i no longer need it). And sure enough, RHO was squeezed in the minors, and my little club in dummy takes the last trick.
“It’s normal to duck the first diamond,” chimes in RHO after the hand. Perhaps so, and he had no reason to think i had quite as much as i did, being as i was pretty wimpy in the bidding. Still, all’s well that ends well; two pairs bid slam, but i was the only one to make 13 tricks.