Sondra and Love Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Clyde E. Love bridge squeezes complete is dedicated to the two suit strip squeeze.

Yes, it has its own chapter, Chapter 4.  It is one of the most important types of squeezes because it does come up so often. 

Yesterday we had the last scheduled match for a while with Sondra and Isabelle.  Colin missed the game last night when he found out that his firewall at work would not let him assess BBO.  He was working very late.  So thanks to David Woods who filled in.  Here Sondra showed that she had a good understanding of Love Chapter 4.

Ron Smith, Isabelle Smith & Sondra Blank in Reno (courtesy Jonathan Steinberg)

 

	J94 KJ1094 QJ7  108
	A103 A73 A64  KQ73

This was the auction

David	Isabelle	Linda	Sondra
			1
DBL		pass	2NT
pass	3*	pass	3
pass	3NT	all pass

 

3 was a transfer to hearts and with 4-3-3-3 Sondra chose to play 3NT rather than the 5-3 heart fits.  David lead a spade and Sondra won the 10.  Sondra then guessed the heart suit playing David the doubler for the queen.  She now ran five rounds of hearts.  David had three and I had two.  On the run of the hearts she threw two clubs.  On the run of the clubs David threw a club and a diamond while I threw a club and two diamonds.  She now gave up a club to the ace and David exited with the K.  This was the ending

	J – QJ7  8
Q85 -  K10  –		– – 98  965
	3 – A64  Q

 

Sondra cashed the Q and David threw a spade while Sondra.  Now Sondra exited a spade to endplay David.  Had David nonchalantly thrown a diamond (or perhaps even thrown one earlier) Sondra might have had a guess.  After all for his takeout double of clubs David was more likely to be 4-3-4-2 than 5-3-3-2 and Sondra might not have realized he had stiffed his K.  But somehow I think Sondra would have found the right play no matter what.

What distinguishes this deal from an ordinary endplay is that David must throw a spade winner along the way.  Therefore when he is finally thrown in on the  Q he has only one other spade to cash.  The play of the Q removes a winner.  Love calls this a surplus winner strip squeeze.

Here is the whole deal.  You may notice that the way that the spot cards work out in the club suit and with the spades breaking 5-2 it is possible to make another trick on the actual lie of the cards by playing clubs first  and then playing the strip squeeze but that would be a very strange approach indeed.

	J94 KJ1094 QJ7  108
KQ875 Q85 K102  A2		62 62 9853  J9654
	A103 A73 A64  KQ73