It's the teams event and vulnerable against not, you pick up this ragged 11 point hand:
AJxxx / Qxx / xx / Axx
Do you open? Most people would say no. But holding a five card major, vulnerable at IMPs I am opening all 11 point hands. I open 1S and Tota, holding 18 HCP and four card support, drives to slam. He confidently tables dummy and I put on my best poker face and say "Thank you partner."
You are in 6S. Look only at the North-South hands and tell me, what are your chances? The lead is a low diamond; jack, king, small. Back comes a trump.
It looks like we need the diamond honours to be split to have any kind of a chance. A club can be ruffed in dummy and a heart can be thrown on a diamond, leaving us still a trick short.I figure that the lead ought to be from diamond length. So if west has the king of hearts to go with Qxxx(x) of diamonds, he should be squeezed on the run of the trumps. I duly pull trumps, eliminate clubs, cash the ace of hearts (Vienna coup) and run the trumps.
I pitch hearts from dummy and the opponents throw away their clubs. On the last trump, west pitches the H10 without any apparent discomfort. So either east has the DQ (which I thought unlikely as he won with the DK on the first trick), or the HK, and my heart begins to sink.
But wait! East is squirming in his seat. After a long pause, he throws the HK. West had led from Qxx of diamonds, so east had to guard the fourth round of diamonds as well as the king of hearts. The squeeze I had planned had worked, but on the other side!
I cash the HQ and I have a choice of taking the twelfth trick in hearts or in diamonds. Tota comments, "When you opened 1S, looking at my hand I thought 6S would be easy." I shrugged and scored up +1430, expecting to find the opponents in game. But no, they too had bid the slam. Only, they went down! I asked if the lead had been a heart (which kills the contract) but no, the lead had been a trump, which does not change the chosen line of play. So that was a well earned 13 IMPs.
Cheers,
Prashanth.
2 comments:
5+3+11=19 (<20)+2 =21 <21.5. The opening is definitely o.k in 3rd seat and fine in 2nd seat I think. But not so cool in first seat.
I don't like the diamond lead but I don't think its easy to find the heart lead. Since we are in doubt, I might lead a trump :)
What happens if east returns a diamond back at trick two?
As far as I can see, the communications are cut for the automatic squeeze, and now we can only use a positional squeeze against west:
End up with H:Ax and D:7 with north and S:x and H:Qx with south. Now play a trump and if west holds the long diamonds and the HK he is squeezed.
Is there any line to make it in the actual layout?
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