DARE today, Bd 7

[kenberg]

I usually just look over the hands I played but the following seemed worth recording. We are to imagine matchpoint scoring.


Everyone is vul, the deal is on your left, the auction begins 1S-Pass-Pass. You hold

S: 53
H: AKQJ98
D: AK4
C: J2
You opt to "balance" if it can be called that, with 4H, passed out. The opening lead is the spade K



S: A9764
H: T2
D: 62
C: A743

S: 53
H: AKQJ98
D: AK4
C: J2

So: spade K led you, hop up with the Ace, Rho follows with the J, you thank the bridge gods  for the non-ruff, and now?
\What plausible layout will allow you to make 12 tricks? We assume Lho started with exactly five spades. He had the values to open. If Lho has 12 highs, he must have all missing kings and queens. Is that enough? Well we also need both opponents to hold at least two diamonds.

That's enough, and at matchpoints surely it is worth a try.

Play the D AK, ruff a D with the T, come back to hand in hearts and play all but one heart.

S: 97
H:
D:
C: A7

S: 5
H: 8
D:
C: J2

If Lho now holds only one spade you of course can lead a spade (and if he then plays a D you can ruff it). So assume Lho has kept two spades and the KQ of clubs. Lead the last heart. Lho plays what? You know the spade distribution so if Lho plays a spade you toss a club and the lead a spade. And if he tosses a club (which he probably will since he can plausibly hope his pard strated with J95 instead of T95) then you toss a spade from the board and take your two club tricks.

It's a "squeeze without the count". If the count were rectified, then this would be a simple (in the technical meaning of simple) spade club squeeze. But the count is not rectified and cannot be rectified early on, but everything is such that the squeeze works anyway.

There was another squeeze q.o the count last week, so I thought it worth noting the general idea.

Now I will return to monitoring my own errors.

[blubayou]

The mentor Cedar mentioned that simple delayed duck squeeze is pretty rare perhaps because they just get overlooked, more likely that many of them can be transformed to a 'routing' simple squeeze by ducking safely  trick one  or some other trick in the middle of the hand. The DARE hand 7 is the poster child  for why ducking trick one is not a good idea!
    But there are more conditions contributing to this rarity,  acronymed by my squeeze-MAN  Clyde Love  as                                                                                                                                                     "C L E":   
     C:>>  COMPANION--- After the squeeze has been reached and finally we correct the count, so to speak, the threat to be established by ducking must have a COMPANION   or else it goes pouff  when a duck in that suit happens!   this is rarely a problem  i have seen it only once in 400,000 deals over 58 years.


    L:>>    LEAD--- the hand that played the squeeze-card must actually HAVE a card in the suit to be ducked.  In they deal 7  imagine declarer had only 1 spade , then after 1 spade,  3 diamonds dummy-ruffed, and all six hearts  we would have....
                                                     x
                                                     ---
                                      Q             ---        ---
                                      ---            Ax        ---
                                       ---                      x
                                       KQ          ---        xx

                                                     Jxx

____________a bloody cluster  is it not   lol/


   E:>>     LEAD ---  As in all squeezies,  there must be a way to reach  the opposite hand to collect the reward.  if our declarer had the club AJ  in this specimen,  establishing dummy's spade  would be successful, but irrelevant as hell   right?

[kenberg]

The mentor Cedar mentioned that simple delayed duck squeeze is pretty rare perhaps because they just get overlooked, more likely that many of them can be transformed to a 'routing' simple squeeze by ducking safely  trick one  or some other trick in the middle of the hand.  Teh DARE hand 7 is the poster child  for why ducking trick one is not a good idea!
    >>>>>

It was the same situation (unrectifiable count) alst week, also on board 7.

S: 942
H: 3
D: A9876
C: 7654


S: AK5
H: AK2
D: KQJ
C: AKQ8

You are in 6NT, the opponents are silent, the opening lead is the spade Q. If Ds are 3-2 you have 12 tricks, 13 if clubs also split. But of course, cashing the KQ of Ds we find that Lho started with four.
We assume the QJT(x) of spades on our left. 

Oh my, maybe we should have led the heart 2 at T2. 

 If clubs split (they do) we still have only 2+2+3+4=11 winners (since we have no clear way of fetting to the board).
Ok, we have taken the ace of spades and the KQ of diamonds, we now take our clubs and the top hearts.
S: 94
H:
D: A9
C:


S: K5
H: 2
D: J
C:

We are all down to four cards and we know what Lho holds. He had to hold on to two Ds, and thus at most two spades. So we cash the D J and the spade A, give him a spade, he has a D left to play to the A on the board.

Today's was a delayed duck, last week's was a stepping stone, but the common feature is that there would have been a simple squeeze if the count could have been rectified.  The heart 2 at T2 would have accomplished that, but who would?

[blubayou]

That's really an awesome insight, Ken; hats off.
    Let's  keep  lookin for things to post in Sleight-of-hand--  and nag our friends to  join the forum , visit, and  chime in!    I think I will  lay down an ultimatum to ShawnT  to at least do that.    Have ried for a YEAR PLUS  to  get him into the MSC,  but  he doesn't fancy coming in last of 14,  I suppose.   

[kenberg]

Thanks, and yes, I also like to see discussions of hands where various thoughts, maybe conflicting, come in. I like the DARE hands but they do have a downside. You know right away that there has to be something. Ok, "something" is vague. But in the board I mentioned, you can look at it and say "It's a DARE hand so clearly the diamonds won't be splitting". Sure, we should always say "Hey, perhaps the Ds won't be splitting and how should I prepare for that?"

This leads to an interesting question. Here is the hand again:

S: 942
H: 3
D: A9876
C: 7654


S: AK5
H: AK2
D: KQJ
C: AKQ8

So the opening lead is the spade Q. We see the hand is trivial if Ds are 3-2 so we ask oouselves wht if they are 4-1? Can we do anything if Rho has four?

If the count were rectified we could. Vary the hands a little:

S: 942
H: 3
D: A9876
C: 7654


S: AK
H: AK2
D: KQJ
C: AKQ98

Imagine we are in 7NT and the lead is the spade Q. We have an obvious 12 trics, still no way to reach the board if the Ds don't split. No problem we cash the KQ of diamonds and see how they split. If Lho has four, the count is rectified, we lpay him for the QJT of spade s and we run the simple squeeze. If Rho holds four Ds, we realize we need only four diamonds not five so we cash all the clubs throwing a D, and cash the high spades. The p[osition now is

S: 9
H: 3
D: A9
C:


S: 5
H: AK2
D: J

Lho is holding on th the spade J and so has three hearts. Rho is holding on to two Ds so he has only two hearts. Ah ha!  We lead the D J. Sonce Rho had to come down to two hearts, Lho is forced to hold three. But he is also forced to hiold the spade J and he cannot. The hand makes on a preogressive double squeeze.

Well, that's when we are in 7 and there are 12 tricks so the count is rectified.

Back to the original. Now we are in 6NT and we have 11 tricks, the count is not rectified. We can cope with four Ds on the left but if we can cope four Ds on the right I am not seeing how. So when there  are four Ds on the right we can focus on asking pard just why we are not in at least 7C. Seems like 7C is making on a 3-2 club split. 2+2+5+4=12 and we ruff a heart.

 

[kenberg]

There is another hand illustrating the same point. It's in BBO news.

Stay Awake and Plan the Play
By BBOer roman99 (Roman L. Weil)

There is a spade heart squeeze, except that the count cannot be rectified. No problem.

[blubayou]

   Quote by Ken, above:'I like the DARE hands but they do have a downside. You know right away that there has to be something."

Yes Ken,  in the past month,  there was a deal where the fancy-work needed RAN US OUT OF TRUMP CONTROL,  but all was well since East had to win our exit-card and lead from his AQ of something  (clubs?)  up to dummy's Kxx (now K-x).  Our quibble--myself and two awake kibbers-- was the the LOOSING club situation was not at all marked in the bidding or early play and if the LEFT hand opponent had held the  onside club ace, his 13th trick card would have been a winning red card , while a simple lead up through the club ace earlier  would have sufficed for a make.
   Will try to dig up the actual deal  --shouldn't be  impossible..  

[kenberg]

The Dare hands often involve squeezes. Usually a squeeze needs, or is at least helped by, a rectified count Hand 1 from Monday illustrates both without the count and, [ehaps, with the count.


:

You hold:

S: J5
H_ A6
D: AKQ9876
C: K2

The auction begins with 1H on your ledt, then Pass-Pass and you bid 3NT. Partner now gets into the act, raising to 4NT, and you bid 6D, passed out.
The lead is the heart K

S: AT2
H: T54
D: JT543
C: AJ

S: J5
H: A6
D: AKQ9876
C: K2

You count 1+1+7+2=11 tricks and you need one more.
Lho opened the bidding, you and dummy have 27  highs between you so it is not asking too much to hope that Lho has all major suit honor cards.

Plan 1 (Not best). Duck the opening lead, and then maybe, we hope maybe, Lho continues with the H Q. Take it (of course)
Play off some winners coming down to

S: AT
H: T
D: 
C: 

S: J5
H:
D: 6
C: 

Lho must still be holding the spade KQ else spades run. And he is holding the heart J else the T is good. Recall we have planned this assuming Lho started with all the major honors. So now you play the D 6 and choose your discard after Lho chooses his. If he tosses the heart J you toss a spade and claim. If he tosses a spade you toss a heart and lead toward the spades.

What can go wrong? Lho might not cooperate. Squeezes require an entry, in this case a spade entry. If Lho shifts at T2 to the spade K, there goes your entry and there goes the contract. So, as much as you would like to rectify the count, you can't.
So don't. Run a squeeze without the count. T ake the first trick Again run some tops, coming to


S: AT
H: T5
D: 
C: 

S: J5
H: 6
D: 6
C: 

Now Lho has what? Again he needs the spade KQ else the spades are good. If he has come down to just one heart, the J, saving a good club, you lead the heart 6. That establishes the T and you still have a trump. Otoh, he might well come down to the spade KQ and the heart QJ. You know that he has done this, at least if the initial assumption that he started with all the major honors is correct.
So now lead the last D.
If he tosses a spade toss the heart and collect the good spades. If he tosses a heart, you toss a spade and lead a heart. He wins and has only spades left, the dummy has the top spade and a good heart.

This hand is interesting from several viewpoints. First given the assumptions on what is where, the hand makes on a squeeze without the count if you take the first trick If you duck the first trick and Lho continues hearts, the hand makes on a more standard squeeze with the count. And so, if you duck the first trick, the spotlight falls on Lho to shift to a spade.

Generally a squeeze without the count require more care, more careful card reading. But it's there so take the A at T1 and run it. What else?