Silvio Sbarigia’s quiz # 13 “It may be that the master players…”

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Here is a new quiz by Silvio Sbarigia. As usual we will publish the solution into few days. In the meanwhile … Have fun! 

Silvio Sbarigia’s quiz 13th:

North (dummy): ♠765 J1094 AKJ5 ♣Q3

South (declarer): ♠Q1092 AKQ85 863 ♣A

 

E-W vulnerable. The contract is 4. In the auction, South has opened 1 and West has doubled.

West leads ♠A, then ♠K and spade. East ruffs the third spade and play hearts. (West has heart singleton.)

 

 

Solution.

The double by West marks him as ♣K holder. All we need, then, is do not consent that West get rid of it: this will allow us to count the hide hands.

Take the East’s return, ruff the spade queen (it’s winning but doesn’t gain trick), then clean opponents’ hearts and draw the diamond ace: no queens fall. Play club to ace: two deuces glide over the table. Run the other two hearts, throwing the ♣Q’s on the last one – not before! and you land in this final:

North (dummy): ♠— KJ ♣—

South (on lead): ♠— 86 ♣—

Simple, isn’t it? You should know which cards are still on, but not even needs the count: play a diamond and draw K whatever West discards. If West follows, he has only one diamond – the other card is the ♣K: that’s the reason you have compelled him to hold on it – then you haven’t any doubt: East has either Q and x, and the contract is made, or he has Qx and nobody can make.

The core in this quiz is: West, forced to hold a known card, couldn’t conceal his hand.

A note needs. An expert player could try a left side diamond-club squeeze with club unbloking (a Vienna coup); luckily for him, it wins even if West isn’t squeezed. We have to estimate the expert because he has studied; this notwithstanding, we shouldn’t overlook the simpler ways; if this happens, something of the studies has slipped by.

The American Clyde E. Love (? – 1960), author of “Bridge Squeeze complete” (1951), wrote there:

“It may be that the master players are superior to us common mortal, not so much because they know more bridge as because they use the bridge they know”.

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