Bridge: Feb. 25, 2024

“It’s a no-win situation,” Cy the Cynic told me grimly. “If I don’t lead her suit, she’ll accuse me of not trusting her; if I do lead it — and it doesn’t work — she’ll tell me I should have known better.”

Wendy, my club’s feminist, and Cy, a chauvinist, are constant adversaries. They were today’s East-West in a penny game.

“I led the jack of diamonds, Wendy’s suit, against four hearts,” the Cynic said. “Declarer won and crossruffed. He ruffed all three low diamonds in dummy and lost only to the A-K of trumps. Wendy said I was dumber than a box of hair. She said the bidding screamed for a trump opening lead, and if I led the ace and a trump to her king, South would be a trick short.”

Cy should have led a trump. (He had both black suits stopped, and Wendy had diamonds. North’s bidding indicated that South would ruff diamonds in dummy.) But say the defense takes the A-K, and Wendy shifts to the king of diamonds.

South plays low, “rectifying the count” for a squeeze. He wins the next diamond, takes the ace of clubs, ruffs a club, ruffs a diamond, ruffs a club, cashes a trump and leads his last trump at Trick 10.

Dummy has the A-K-5 of spades and a club. West must keep a high club so only two spades. Dummy discards the club. Then East must save a high diamond since South still has a diamond, so only two spades. Dummy’s five of spades wins the 13th trick.

Could the defense stop the double squeeze? At Trick Three, East must lead a spade, killing a vital dummy entry prematurely.

North dealer

N-S vulnerable

NORTH

S A K 5 2

H Q 7 4

D 3

C A 9 6 5 3

WEST

S J 9 8 7

H A 6

D J 8

C K J 8 7 2

EAST

S Q 6 3

H K 2

D K Q 10 7 6 2

C 10 4

SOUTH

S 10 4

H J 10 9 8 5 3

D A 9 5 4

C Q

North East South West
1 C 1 D 1 H Pass
1 S Pass 2 H Pass
4 H All Pass
Opening lead — D J

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