Let us learn by example and know to what extent the declarer can go to make his contract that on the face of it looks doomed. Here is a hand played many years back by a French expert with the following NS hands:
The bidding was short and simple with south opening 2H; his partner bids 2S, where upon south rebid 3H on which his partner shut the bid at 4H, but south looking at his 9-10 trick hand with that magnificent solid trump suit could not resist bidding 6H. The opening lead was the JS. As south how would you have played the hand?
Looking at both hands, one can perceive that there are 11 top tricks-8 in trumps besides the 2 aces and the KS. From where on earth is the 12th trick coming from?
The spades can provide the extra trick but unfortunately there is a severe lack of communication between the dummy and the declarer making dummy's vital assets of KQ of diamonds quite redundant for the declarer who is void in diamonds. This waste of honours shrinks the dummy from a 9HCP to 4 only making south's task a lot more difficult-almost impossible with the odds heavily stacked against him, the clubs contain 2 sure losers and the over all scenario looks hopeless. West east held the following cards.
Although the contract looks hopeless even if you try to run the heart suit for on surface it seems there is no squeeze situation developing with KS taken and 8 trumps played. The last 4 cards in dummy would be KQ of diamonds and a club and spade while east will retain AD and QS and KJ of clubs.
Yet the French expert made the contract by throwing up a web of deception on the opponents, particularly west. There was however, a very little chance of success that the declarer foresaw at that stage and he took it.
He crossed to the AS after winning the opening lead with KS and played the third round of spades ruffing meekly with the 5S.
West pounced on it, over ruffing with 6S and suddenly the contract looked iron clad when both defenders followed to the next trump after south regained lead from west by a diamond ruff. Now suddenly the dummy sprang to life with a sure entry of the 4 of hearts to run the spades.
Yet more brilliant was the play at the other table where the US maestro Hammon brought the contract home on a squeeze after all. On the same opening lead he took with KS and ran his solid trumps to arrive at this end position with 2 trumps in hand.
On the penultimate trump, a diamond honour was discarded from the dummy and east founed himself at the end of the rope. If he throws a spade, dummy's spades turn gold; if the discards a club, which he eventually did, declarer ducks a club, establishing his remaining 2 club tricks to make the slam.
While the French declarer triumphed with deception, the American declarer, by a brilliant foresight to squeeze the opponent.The experts triumph one way or the other.
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North South
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A 9 7 6 5 2 K 3
4 2 A K Q J 9 8 5 3
K Q -
10 8 2 A 9 7
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North West East South
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A 9 10 Q 8 3
- J 9 8 - 5 3
KQ Q 5 A A 9 7
10 8 K 5 6 -
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WEST EAST
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J 10 Q 8 4
7 6 10
J 9 8 6 5 4 3 A 10 7 2
Q 5 K J 6 4 3
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