In bridge, declarer play is the most important ingredient of success, especially when the contract is a tight one. For then, the real test of skill marks the difference between the average player and the above average one. Naturally, no two plays of the same hand can be exactly the same all the time.
Sometimes the opening lead differs; at other times the declarer's priority in play. The consistently successful declarer is the one who commits fewer errors and has both his timing in the sequence of play and his overall focus on the target spot on.
There are endless techniques of declarer play, ranging from the simple finesse to the most bizarre throw-in; from the simple avoidance play to the well planned endplay; from the well judged hold-up play to the most complex of squeeze play. All have one common goal: to have the maximum odds in favour of making of the contract.
Those who choose their technique of play in the best possible odds are the ones who find themselves invariably on the winning panel of expert play. Today's hand is a lesson in one of the least common bridge play techniques. Without naming it at first, let us place you in the declarer's seat as south to give you the north-south hands along with the bidding as under:
Opening lead is 2C to JC and QC with east returning 3H. The little slam could easily make if the diamonds split 2-1 for then declarer has no problem. He can ruff all his losers of hand, both hearts and a spade, in dummy giving him the contract easily. But when declarer cashed A of diamond, east's discard made that line of play suspect.
For if he ruffed thrice in dummy he would be unable to trap east's queen of diamonds. The declarer wished he had taken the risk of the heart finesse by playing low to the 3H return by east which definitely indicated that east held the heart queen. Things would have simplified greatly, for then declarer had only to ruff one spade and one heart in dummy an yet have enough trumps in dummy to trap west's obstinate QD tripleton.
Well, what does the play strategy suggest? Since you cannot ruff a spade as well as two hearts in dummy, do you bank on the spade finesse of the jack as a last resort? Then you can make 3 spade tricks, 2 heart tricks, 5 diamonds with the finesse of the QD and 2 heart ruffs making 12 ticks. Well, the spade finesse is a 50 percent odds on. Do you see any other alternative?
How about a dummy reversal with the spade loser discarded on the KH and the clubs ruffed in hand? Of course, this line would also fail for you would only be able to ruff 2 clubs and not all clubs, unless of course you take the chance of placing all club honours with east, AQ10 which on the 2C lead seemed unlikely.
Let me now give you the west east hands before giving you the winning line of play that looked not too obvious at trick 3 when the declarer found the diamonds adversely placed.
After the club queen taken by east and the heart return taken by declarer's ace when the American Venice Cup holder Quinn banged the AD and found the diamonds split 3-0 she had the vision and foresight to time her sequence of play in a manner which would give her not only a grip of the opponents' distribution but a total grip on the contract.
On trick 3, east had discarded 5H and when declarer took the diamond finesse of the jack, east pitched a club. Declarer now ruffed a club, ruffed a heart and another club to reach this position. Do you now see the winning line? For it lies in the rare triple squeeze ie choking east. When declarer played KD, east, protecting both spades and hearts along with the club ace, could in fact throw neither a spade, nor a heart, what to say of AC looking at the KC in dummy.
Reluctantly she pitched a spade. But more agony was in store for her on the last trump played from dummy. If she gave up on spades by pitching another spade, the spades would run for the declarer who would throw the 10H, on the last diamond. If she threw the AC, dummy's KC would take care of everything. So she pitched 9H and declarer threw 5S. Declarer crossed over to KS, cashed KH, throwing KC from dummy and when the QH fell, her hand became good for a well executed triple squeeze slam displaying the art of Good Play.
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West East
10842 Q97
862 Q9753
Q85 -
642 AQ1053
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North South
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AJ3 K85
J AK105
KJ1076 A9432
K587 9
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The Bidding:
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West North East South
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- - - 1D
P 2D (invrt) P 2H
P 3C P 3H
P 3S P 3NT
P 5D P 6D
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All Pass
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North West East South
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AJ3 10842 Q97 K65
- 8 Q9 K10
K10 Q - 9
K - A -
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