A Blind Triple Squeeze Larry Klimko 805-964-0334 lklimko@ispwest.com There is no end to the twists and turns that the play of a bridge hand may take. Consider the following hand, played at the Bridge Center on Thursday evening 10-29-04 (and rotated for convenience). Dealer: East 4 Vul: EW A K 8 7 K J 10 9 8 6 7 4 8 7 6 Q 10 9 5 J 10 6 5 3 4 2 A 3 Q 5 2 K Q 3 J 10 9 2 A K J 3 2 Q 9 7 4 A 8 6 5 The bidding at my table: W N E S --- --- --- --- P 1S P 2D P 3C P 3H P 3NT The traveller: NS ------ 3NTN +5 460 7 3NTN +4 430 6 3NTN +3 400 4- 3NTS +3 400 4- 3SS +4 170 3 3SS +3 140 2 2NTN +2 120 1 3NTS -1 -50 0 At my table North-South made it into 3NTS. Partner led the heart jack ducked around to the queen. Then a low diamond, low from West and king from dummy. Another diamond from dummy, ducked around to the ace. West was in and led the club king, ducked as East signalled with the nine. Club queen, ducked again. Another club to declarer's ace as declarer pitched a diamond from dummy. Now, the heart nine, low from West, king from dummy. Next, heart ace from dummy. And consider poor East's plight. At this point the position was: 4 A 8 J 10 9 --- 8 7 6 Q 10 9 5 10 6 5 --- --- Q --- J A K J 3 2 --- --- 8 East couldn't pitch the diamond queen. And the bidding told him he had better hold on to the club. The bidding also warned him about the spades, but he had to pitch something. So he pitched a spade, hoping his partner held an honor in the suit. Declarer mistakenly pitched a small spade. Then she led the spade four, finessing the jack. The spade ace and king brought down East's ten and queen and declarer's lowly three became her ninth trick. She lost the club eight in the end. Declarer stumbled around in the early play taking a somewhat unorthodox approach (I would have expected declarer to finesse the diamond jack) and came up with a triple squeeze against East in the end.