None Vul
IMPs
Dealer: North
Lead: 
10
justinl A Q 3 2 A 5 2 10 5 3 J 8 4 |
||
| pjm13 10 9 8 7 K J 8 3 4 2 A 10 3 |
![[W - E]](http://gee.aaronhaspel.com/files/2012/10/t.gif) |
moshel K J 6 10 7 4 A K Q 9 8 6 7 |
| Maestro 5 4 Q 9 6 J 7 K Q 9 6 5 2 |
| West
Dbl |
North Pass 2NT Dbl Pass |
East 1 3 Pass Pass |
South 2 Pass 4 Pass |
Crises tend to blur distinctions in rank. Who is captain, who is crew? When the ship is sinking, who cares?
Captain Gee sits South today, and overcalls East’s 1D opener with 2C, a bid for which he is no more than an ace short. After West makes a negative double, North, Seaman First Class Justin Lall, begins to wonder whether they’re playing with a pinochle deck. He finally opts for 2NT. I would choose 2D, and reserve 2NT for a hand of the same strength but more in diamonds and less in clubs, say, AJxx Kxx Kxxx xx. But 2NT is certainly better than a different suggestion he gets later on.
East bids 3C, asking a club stopper, and West answers affirmatively with 3NT. Seaman Lall doubles; you can hardly blame him. 3NT succeeds, miraculously, on the normal line of ducking two clubs and playing North for both spade honors and the heart ace, but ironically the 2NT bid may beat it. An expert West would at least consider taking the double finesse in diamonds.
The Captain, however, as befits his rank, elects to pull to 4C and go down with the ship. West doubles and leads the S10.
Under ordinary circumstances the pull would save 50 points, 550 vs. 500, but here we specialize in the extraordinary. The spade finesse loses, and East cashes two top diamonds, on which West plays high-low. This makes the layout clear. West must have the HK and the CA for his bid and East must have six diamonds for his. But the Captain, still stung by his crew’s insubordination, ruffs the third diamond low instead of discarding his heart loser.
West overruffs and returns a spade, won by dummy’s ace. Gee plays a trump, and West wins the trump ace and errs by returning a spade. (A trump breaks up the squeeze.) Now 500 can still be salvaged: running trump squeezes West in the majors. Gee draws the last trump and plays a low heart from dummy. 800.
Court-martial ensues:
G: do you push the auction? just bid 3C will shut them off, I think
justinl: just bid 3C Gee?
G: no… I was captain in this auction
G: you show your hand, period
justinl: no there was no captain
G: huh?
justinl: bridge is not a conversation with the captain
G: ok… ty justin
justinl: it’s one guy lying to the other
justinl: and the other saying “what?”
justinl: that’s no conversation
G: I see we are not getting anywhere that way, and certainly not after you insult me
G: ty opps, justin and opps
G: bye all
justinl has left the table.
Spec #1: the captain fell overboard, the ship sank but so what
G: you are stupid
Spec #1: this is not fair….:-)
G: keep your remarks to yourself… that way we’ll still think you are intelligent
Spec #1: but what about the ship?
That’s mutiny, Seaman! Mutiny I tell you!
G asked me later how he could bid 3 clubs over the 3C bid. Let me clarify. I meant if he wanted to bid ANYTHING bid 3 clubs. Maybe I should pass, knowing that G favors overcalling at the 2 level like it’s a 1 level overcall, but I thought even if he has AQxxx and out, we often beat it, especially if he has the queen of diamonds (declarer will misguess the queen). So, I knew it was G who was lying, but I didn’t know how badly.
Also, please let me add that playing with gerard I’m confident you would choose 2nt (first time NT is bid) aaron :)
Seaman Lall does have a point here.
For the benefit of us lesser mortals, can you explain in detail how the major suit squeeze operates and why a trump return by west breaks up the squeeze?
Sure. In the three card ending dummy has a spade and Ax of hearts. West, in front of him, has the spade guard and KJ in hearts. Declarer has a trump and Qx of hearts. On the last trump West must either discard the spade or bare his HK. Dummy discards accordingly, and declarer takes the rest of the tricks.
The spade ruff is necessary to isolate the threat with West. I erred, however, in stating that a trump return breaks up the squeeze. Declarer can win in dummy, ruff a spade, and the squeeze still operates as before.
Sorry I still don’t get it. In the three card ending south has the Q96 of hearts, not two hearts and a club, and surely all West has to do is to retain the KJ of hearts and a winning spade.
Pseudo-Gee is completely correct. No squeeze. I was wrong about this hand twice now and will note that on the front page.
But there is a way to hold it to down 3 even after the overruff. You ruff in hand, draw the last trump with dummy’s CJ, and lead the fourth spade, discarding a heart and endplaying West, who has nothing left but hearts. Took me long enough to figure it out.
Another example of lying to your partner. And them punishing him for believing you.