[inquiry]

It's been a while since i posted a new thread. So here is an interesting hand that I would like some feedback on. First, how would you play it (be as specific as you can, since you can not afford to lose a trick), and rate the skill level necessary to play this hand correctly. Choose from Novice, beginner, low-intermediate, intermediate, high intermediate, advanced, high-advanced, expert, high expert, world class.

You got a little ambitious, and are playing 7NT

OPENING LEAD ♦2

---

[quiddity]

I would win as cheaply as possible in hand, cash the DK, cross in spades, cash the high diamond discarding a club from dummy, run spades and then hearts hoping East has CK and the outstanding diamond.

If the line is correct, it's low-intermediate. It seems natural to play this way even without knowing anything about squeezes.

[jdonn]

Not to distract from the problem, but you could have just asked us to rate the difficulty from 1 to 10...

Anyway I win the king in dummy, and run the majors while playing off the ace of clubs early (vienna coup). This squeezes either player with four or more diamonds and the king of clubs just as long as the queen of diamonds is onside, which seems a certainty.

Among your options I would rate the difficulty as 'high advanced' (7 out of 10?), so only the best players short of expert would get it right. Although I think more than that would get it right in a book or problem when compared to at the table, since it's not so much that it's a difficult position to visualize as it is an unnatural play to make that requires you to plan the ending before playing any cards.

[quiddity]

oops! yes, that's much better.

[suokko]

♦K trick one then take ♣A and run majors discarding clubs from hand. THen take ♦ finesse in end hoping for 4+♦ K♣ in same hand. This works if ♦Q is in finesse (very likely from lead) and minors are positioned favorably.

Hand looks somewhere around advanced level to play for maximum chance.

[inquiry]

Josh nailed it of course. In fact, I think his skill level estimate is just about right as well (that is where I placed this hand in a ranking of hands I am collecting). I would put this at a skill level of 7 (out of ten).

The first hurdle, of course, is you have to reconginize a vienna coup, so you must know to cash the club ace, etc. The second hurdle is you have to do this at trick on and refuse the trojan horse gift of a diamond lead. The Diamond queen simply has to be on side an you have to hook it later, as the diamond entry will be needed to the diamond threat after the squeeze card is played.

The need to overlook the "free finesse" at trick one requires some thought at trick one before the knee jerk play of a grateful low diamond at trick one from dummy.

[Phil]

This is a counter-intuitive play. The biggest hurdle I have seen, even for good players, is being to fight the urge to take the free finesse in such a tenuous contract.

7/10 seems OK or 'advanced'.

[Wackojack]

My squeeze play is fairly rudimentary, so some trepidation here.

The play of ♦K + ♣A and then major winners would lead to a 5 card ending.
North: ♠ winner, ♦5, ♣Q95
South: ♦AJ9, ♣87
Assuming East has both then ♦Qxx♣Kx
On play of last ♠, East can safely discard a club and the ♦Q remains long after being finessed.

However if the initial diamond lead is run to hand and the ♣A not taken then a 4 card ending:
North: ♠ winner, ♣Q95
South: ♦A9, ♣A8
Assuming East has both then ♦Qx♣Kx
Then on the play of the last spade, if East lets go a diamond, South discards a club and the diamond becomes good. If East lets go a club South discards a diamond and the club queen becomes good.

This play would be much more natural to an intermediate. If this is correct perhaps Ben would enlighten me as to the name of this type of squeeze.

If West started with ♦Qxxx and ♣Kx, I can't see any squeeze position.

[jdonn]

Wackojack, on Mar 31 2009, 11:31 AM, said:

My squeeze play is fairly rudimentary, so some trepidation here.

The play of ♦K + ♣A and then major winners would lead to a 5 card ending.
North: ♠ winner, ♦5, ♣Q95
South: ♦AJ9, ♣87

King of diamonds, ace of clubs, three spades (before playing the last one) and four hearts. 13 - (1 + 1 + 3 + 4) = 4 card ending, not 5 card ending. Remove a club from each hand.

Wackojack, on Mar 31 2009, 11:31 AM, said:

If West started with ♦Qxxx and ♣Kx, I can't see any squeeze position.

When was the last time you led from Qxxx vs 7NT?

[mikeh]

Josh got it right in terms of play, but I would rank this a little tougher.. maybe 8/10. I think that very few real life players would be able to combine the Vienna coup with taking the time to figure out that one must reject the 'free' diamond hook at trick 2. So: to see it when presented as a problem: 7/10, to get it at the table, 8/10... definitely expert class at the table

[karlson]

Wackojack, on Mar 31 2009, 08:31 AM, said:

If West started with ♦Qxxx and ♣Kx, I can't see any squeeze position.

You could play for a crisscross. Come down to

edit: nonsense.

Sorry, the crisscross doesn't work. My bad.

[inquiry]

All the 7NT hand I will be showing (and some lower contracts perhap) are from BBO play.

Here is the actual hand as played on BBO. The correct play has been given already, but the keys are with the Diamond King and trick one, and cash the club ACE early.

Quote

MP-925                                  Dlr: South
Board 7          S AJT6              Vul: Both
                      H AKQ2     
                      D K5             
S 98              C Q95            S 7542     
H 63                                    H T9854   
D T87642                            D Q       
C KT4            S KQ3            C J62     
                    H J7       
                    D AJ93     
                    C A873 

Opening lead D2

[Mbodell]

Doesn't this depend a little on your opponents? 2 of the last 3 times my partnership was in 7nt opponents underlead an honor making a typical 4th best from longest and strongest lead. One time it was from Kxxx and partner declaring went wrong when AQJ of the suit was on the board and couldn't imagine the underlead and took some other line that failed instead of this line. I think the other time was from Qxxx but might have been from QTxx. Admittedly these were in club games against non-expert opponents, but still, I think if I were declaring this hand I would have let the lead ride around and then hope for diamond honor dropping and/or a minor suit squeeze on East (both because I wouldn't be so sure the finesse is on and also because I likely wouldn't have seen the desirability of refusing the obvious free finesse).

[eyhung]

Yes, this does depend on your opponents. If your opponent is capable of an atrocity like leading from an unsupported queen instead of a worthless major against 7NT, then you should probably take the more conservative line. But when your opponents are not Flight C, it pays to assume your opponents have a brain and are defending that way. After working out the squeeze position at trick 1, I would always fly ace [edit: king, sorry, i didn't remember which high honor was in dummy] here unless I had utterly no respect for my LHO.

BTW, congratulations on your Flight C NAP win -- now stop playing against these opponents if you want to improve your game.