[Fluffy]

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IMPs, LHO leads ♣8, RHO wins ♣A and returns the 4. Trumps are 3-2.

[EricK]

Duck the ♣. West ruffs and returns a ♦ which East ruffs. Another ♣ ducked and ruffed. Draw trumps and there's a ruffing squeeze against West in ♦ and ♠.

[mikeh]

This is a pretty hand if we are playing LHO for Axxxx xxx Qxxx x and rho for xxxx xx void AQJ9xx, where the spade 'x's can include the Q/J.

And the trump squeeze operates on this layout.

And LHO has to hold the spade A if RHO has AQJ9xx in clubs.

The question in real life is not merely that very few players would see the trap, but also that the layout is a priori unlikely and we may be throwing away an imp.

LHO might easily hold something boring like AJxx(x) xxx Qx Q98(x) and lead the club (Q98x only if playing 3rd best of course)

I don't know how unlikely this dangerous layout is, but sometimes a safety play is against the odds even when it guarantees a game contract....haven't we all won or lost a match by 1?

But it is a neat hand. I confess my immediate reaction was to wonder what the point was, but since Fluffy always has a point, I looked deeper...tho eric beat me to the punch.

I would definitely have gone down at the table unless playing in Heat 1, and even that may be kidding myself.

[phil_20686]

If RHO has AQJ964 and returned the 4 he is above heroic. Is the Q not "safe" and sensible and more likely to fetch a duck? I think it is more likely rho has a diamond void and is hoping that partner has the club K. If this is the case ducking is a super disaster. Moreover, if LHO ruffs this I am still cold unless there is an immediate diamond ruff, I just win the return and play trumps and later give up a diamond. If you duck you might get a diamond ruff then a trump promotion or something equally absurd. Ducking seems like thinking too hard.

This would be a tougher problem at MP.

[bluecalm]

I ask them how they lead. It's crucial info.
Could 8 be from J98/Q98+ ?

[whereagles]

I wouldn't make heavy weather out of the play. Just play the club king and later decide whether to finesse diamonds or not.

There are hands where it's easier and less tiresome to win 1 imp. If I go down on cross-ruffs, so be it.

[EricK]

whereagles, on 2011-December-13, 01:56, said:

I wouldn't make heavy weather out of the play. Just play the club king and later decide whether to finesse diamonds or not.

There are hands where it's easier and less tiresome to win 1 imp. If I go down on cross-ruffs, so be it.

We don't come to a bridge forum to win 1 IMP by cashing our top tricks.

[gnasher]

With ♣AQJxxx, a diamond void, and ♠Q, RHO might have opened the bidding. With ♠AQ, ♦Qxxx and a club void, LHO might have bid over 1NT. Hence I don't think it at all likely that the layout for the trump squeeze exists.

If we duck trick two, we go down when LHO has ♦Qxxx and ♣H98(x), with RHO having ♠A. That layout seems far more likely, so I'd play ♣K.

[Fluffy]

gnasher, on 2011-December-13, 05:17, said:

If we duck trick two, we go down when LHO has ♦Qxxx and ♣H98(x), with RHO having ♠A. That layout seems far more likely, so I'd play ♣K.

But why didn´t LHO lead a diamond then?

[gnasher]

Fluffy, on 2011-December-13, 06:16, said:

But why didn´t LHO lead a diamond then?

With a choice between ♣H986 and ♦Q975, presumably he'd lead the more solid suit. Do they play 3rd/5th, or 4th?

With ♣H98 and ♦Q97x, he might have chosen a club because his partner didn't double 4♦.

[Phil]

WD.

Some of you have figured out a way to go down on a hand with 5-0 trumps and 3-1 diamonds worrying about 6-1 clubs and 4-0 diamonds.

[ArtK78]

Phil, on 2011-December-13, 09:37, said:

WD.

Some of you have figured out a way to go down on a hand with 5-0 trumps and 3-1 diamonds worrying about 6-1 clubs and 4-0 diamonds.

You are correct, but OP did specify that trump were 3-2.

[mikeh]

Phil, on 2011-December-13, 09:37, said:

WD.

Some of you have figured out a way to go down on a hand with 5-0 trumps and 3-1 diamonds worrying about 6-1 clubs and 4-0 diamonds.

My first reaction on reading the OP was 'wtp'? We were in game at imps and the only issue appeared to be an overtrick. But Fluffy never posts hands without a point, so I looked deeper until I found a way on which we could fail even tho we're told that trump are 3-2. Once you do that, the minor cross-ruff is the only risk. Eric got there before me

Would we ever play for it? I don't think so, since no-one would be whispering to us that trump were 3-2. But it is a pretty play, with possibly a flawed setup.

[Fluffy]

I made a mistake with the original hand, dummy had ♥10 also.

{comments}

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http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?linurl=http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/vugraph_linfetch.php?id=21413

Board 8

Bidding at that table was also more revealing, in my match we won 5 IMPs for defending 6♥ -2 and 6♠ X -1

[Free]

ArtK78, on 2011-December-13, 09:49, said:

You are correct, but OP did specify that trump were 3-2.

Yeah, but that's info you won't have at the table at trick 2.

[Fluffy]

Another interesting thing of the set, I averaged 6.5 HCP as west on the 16 board set, clearly my lowest ever.