[lamford]

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Quite a few top players failed to find the winning defence on this hand. Partner leads the KS, and dummy gives you some hope. How do you plan to defend?

[FelicityR]

Does declarer follow if you overtake the lead?

[lamford]

FelicityR, on 2018-May-07, 12:29, said:

Does declarer follow if you overtake the lead?

Yes, he does. And he also follows of course if you don't overtake the lead ...

[Winstonm]

I'm playing for stiff K and overtaking to play 3 rounds of spades for hopefully an uppercut with as little as 10xx in partner's hand.

[mikeh]

Pretty much a guess. However I think the odds slightly favour overtaking and switching to a club.

[Winstonm]

mikeh, on 2018-May-07, 18:32, said:

Pretty much a guess. However I think the odds slightly favour overtaking and switching to a club.

I agree it is a guess. A club switch is necessary to break up a strip squeeze. I doubt the club ace is a factor as there is at least a chance that thinking -300 is the max partner may have raised to 5S with Kx and outside ace.

I like the uppercut play as it is a little more esoteric.

[lamford]

Winstonm, on 2018-May-07, 18:48, said:

I agree it is a guess. A club switch is necessary to break up a strip squeeze. I doubt the club ace is a factor as there is at least a chance that thinking -300 is the max partner may have raised to 5S with Kx and outside ace.

I like the uppercut play as it is a little more esoteric.

Only one defender, a former World Champion, found the winning defence of overtaking the spade and switching to a heart, necessary to break up the stepping-stone trump squeeze on partner who had ♠Kx ♥AQJxx ♦Jx ♣Q9xx. I guess that is why he was a World Champion, and I am glad that he was not at my table, where a former World Senior Champion overtook and switched to a club. The heart switch would also have succeeded if partner had AQTxx or AQ9xx in hearts.

[FelicityR]

lamford, on 2018-May-08, 06:01, said:

Only one defender, a former World Champion, found the winning defence of overtaking the spade and switching to a heart, necessary to break up the stepping-stone trump squeeze on partner who had ♠Kx ♥AQJxx ♦Jx ♣Q9xx. I guess that is why he was a World Champion, and I am glad that he was not at my table, where a former World Senior Champion overtook and switched to a club. The heart switch would also have succeeded if partner had AQTxx or AQ9xx in hearts.

Strange thing is, please believe me, when I looked at the problem initially I thought that a ♥ switch looked the right play to break up a squeeze, but I would never had been able to figure out that it was a stepping stone trump squeeze (yikes!) - at this point Felicity opens a new window and Google's this.

I also like the other replies about playing three rounds of ♠s to initiate an uppercut. To be honest are you not guessing what the right defence will be at trick two? There seems far too many unknowns about your partner's hand and declarer's hand.

[mikeh]

lamford, on 2018-May-08, 06:01, said:

Only one defender, a former World Champion, found the winning defence of overtaking the spade and switching to a heart, necessary to break up the stepping-stone trump squeeze on partner who had ♠Kx ♥AQJxx ♦Jx ♣Q9xx. I guess that is why he was a World Champion, and I am glad that he was not at my table, where a former World Senior Champion overtook and switched to a club. The heart switch would also have succeeded if partner had AQTxx or AQ9xx in hearts.

I guess neither former world champion noted that both defenders held the trump J. Btw, the trump jack is not irrelevant since if East holds it, then it is possible that the winning defence is to play 3 rounds of spades, catering to West holding 10xx, and when West holds it, again 3 rounds of spades might be necessary.

I very much doubt that there is any good bridge reason to prefer a heart switch to a club switch. Certainly the switch works on many holdings: basically anytime South is 1=2=7=3 with AQx/AKx in clubs and no heart Ace or 1=2=8=2 with AQ/AK clubs and no heart Ace, but the club switch also works if declarer has AQ in clubs, and is necessary if declarer has, as an example, x Ax AKxxxxx KQx, where the heart switch costs the contract. Also note that it may be difficult for West to duck the heart, rather than assume that partner has switched to a stiff. While that is ok when West holds (edit) 6 hearts, it is not so good when he holds only (edit) 5, missing one of the honours...say AQ10xx...if declarer were x Jxx AKQxxxx AK, two rounds of hearts lets the contract through.

I may have missed something, but this problem still seems to me to be basically random...after all, declarer could also hold xx Axx AKQxxx AK and now we need 3 rounds of spades.

Note that I am not suggesting anything the least bit improper about the winning guess: merely observing that it is a guess

[Winstonm]

lamford, on 2018-May-08, 06:01, said:

Only one defender, a former World Champion, found the winning defence of overtaking the spade and switching to a heart, necessary to break up the stepping-stone trump squeeze on partner who had ♠Kx ♥AQJxx ♦Jx ♣Q9xx. I guess that is why he was a World Champion, and I am glad that he was not at my table, where a former World Senior Champion overtook and switched to a club. The heart switch would also have succeeded if partner had AQTxx or AQ9xx in hearts.

I have to admit I really had to work my brain to figure out the 5-card ending but I now see the stepping stone (I would call it a delayed duck stepping stone). I still think it is a guess, though, although this one is about as esoteric as one could get.

[ahydra]

just writing out the full hand so I can see the exotic squeeze... I'll assume that the duplicated ♦J was actually the ♦10 in the West hand.

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ahydra

[cherdano]

mikeh, on 2018-May-08, 10:50, said:

I very much doubt that there is any good bridge reason to prefer a heart switch to a club switch. Certainly the switch works on many holdings: basically anytime South is 1=2=7=3 with AQx/AKx in clubs and no heart Ace or 1=2=8=2 with AQ/AK clubs and no heart Ace, but the club switch also works if declarer has AQ in clubs, and is necessary if declarer has, as an example, x Ax AKxxxxx KQx, where the heart switch costs the contract. Also note that it may be difficult for West to duck the heart, rather than assume that partner has switched to a stiff. While that is ok when West holds (edit) 6 hearts, it is not so good when he holds only (edit) 5, missing one of the honours...say AQ10xx...if declarer were x Jxx AKQxxxx AK, two rounds of hearts lets the contract through.

I may have missed something, but this problem still seems to me to be basically random...after all, declarer could also hold xx Axx AKQxxx AK and now we need 3 rounds of spades.

I do think you have missed something.
For one thing, if partner has AQTxx of hearts, it is safe for her to play the T no matter whether we switched from a doubleton or a singleton. For another, many would double with xx Axx AKQxxx AK.

[Winstonm]

ahydra, on 2018-May-08, 16:50, said:

just writing out the full hand so I can see the exotic squeeze... I'll assume that the duplicated ♦J was actually the ♦10 in the West hand.

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ahydra

Actually, the more I look the less I see. After 1 spade and 7 diamonds, west has to hold AQ hearts and Qxx clubs. This, after a heart toward the K, will lead to scoring a trick with the heart 10. It's like of like a vice with winkle overtones and a steppingstone threat.

To see this and play a heart at trick 2 - not a game I'm likely to play in - especially for money.

[lamford]

ahydra, on 2018-May-08, 16:50, said:

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This was the layout. At my table, East returned a club and I played the squeeze successfully. Sadly, the declarer in the other room found the same line, so it was a flat board. We looked at it for some time in Warwick, and thought the heart switch to break it up, by Erik Sælensminde, was impressive!