[masonbarge]

From a club tournament Friday. NV/NV
Pairs, matchpoints.

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South is in 6NT. Opening lead ♣5, ♣3, ♣9.

[PhilKing]

Always include the auction. We need to know why they led a club and what they know about our hand.

Anyway, without looking at it too closely, if West has led away from the club king, it looks like a guard squeeze type thingy, morphing into a simultaneous double and a position may emerge if East has the club king as well.

[wanoff]

I'll go for the bog standard double with West holding the missing King.
5 rounds of diamonds pitching ♣8 and ♠9 and West will unguard a major. Cash ♣A, that major and the last diamond. Voilà.

[masonbarge]

wanoff, on 2015-March-29, 14:53, said:

I'll go for the bog standard double with West holding the missing King.
5 rounds of diamonds pitching ♣8 and ♠9 and West will unguard a major. Cash ♣A, that major and the last diamond. Voilà.

Very good, but there is a slightly better line. You don't care who guards what, because you have entries to both side suits in both hands, turning this into a beautiful self-executing compound squeeze that can always be made as long as W has the ♣K (a virtual certainty) and you correctly read which suit W continues to guard after the last diamond. You raise your chances by cashing the ♣A before you commit, because you get to see a second discard from E.

Look at the difference between these seven-card endings. W has discarded one ♥ and one ♠, E has not discarded a major.

South to lead. On the ♣A, W discards a small ♥, E discards a small ♠. What do you lead next?

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North to lead. On the ♦10, W discards a small ♥, E discards a small ♠. On the ♦9, E has to discard in front of you.

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If I'm not mistaken, you can cash one winner in one double-threat suit that does not accompany the threat, but check me on this. So if you said "cash the club A, lead to one of dummy's entries and run the last diamond" I think you'd have the best line in practice if not theory.

(East drops a spade on the ♦9.)

[dlks]

Forgive me if I have missed something, but.... Can't declarer play the J♣ on the first trick instead of the 3 and duck if East plays the King, thus assuring the contract? I know that wasn't the question, but it seems to beg being mentioned.

[masonbarge]

dlks, on 2015-March-30, 09:53, said:

Forgive me if I have missed something, but.... Can't declarer play the J♣ on the first trick instead of the 3 and duck if East plays the King, thus assuring the contract? I know that wasn't the question, but it seems to beg being mentioned.

Yes you've missed something But no "forgiveness" is necessary, in fact, it might be for me to apologize for putting it on the intermediate/advanced forum.

The declarer has 12 tricks off the top whatever he does with clubs. Check it and see. The challenge is to get that critical overtrick for matchpoints.

[dave_beer]

masonbarge, on 2015-March-29, 21:47, said:

You don't care who guards what, because you have entries to both side suits in both hands, turning this into a beautiful self-executing compound squeeze that can always be made as long as W has the ♣K (a virtual certainty) and you correctly read which suit W continues to guard after the last diamond.

Why is it a virtual certainty that W has the ♣K? I would consider it at least as likely that W led from a worthless holding and that E has ♣K109.

It would be better to say that since there is almost no chance of a squeeze if E holds the ♣K, then we assume that W has it.

[msjennifer]

Is the contract seven no trumps? As it is there are top twelve tricks in six NT.Or is there a misprint?

[gordontd]

msjennifer, on 2015-March-31, 01:02, said:

Is the contract seven no trumps? As it is there are top twelve tricks in six NT.Or is there a misprint?

It's matchpoints.

[WesleyC]

I'd go further than dave_beer and suggest that East rather than West is a "virtual certainty" to hold the ♣K because leading away from Kxxx(x) vs a 6NT contract, into a strong NT, at MPs is madness!

In any case though, cashing the ♣A before running diamonds is definitely the best line and has legitimate squeeze chances whoever holds the Kc.