Puzzle Collection 7A59
Puzzle Collection 7A59
Bridge puzzles are not for everyone. If you are trying to improve your game, the time spent solving bridge puzzles is less productive than working on bridge problems — note the difference. The solution of a bridge “problem” gives you lasting practical benefit, while a bridge “puzzle” is more of a novelty or fantasy — the play is sometimes so bizarre that it would never occur in real life.
But if you do like puzzles, you should enjoy these deals. Try to solve them yourself, then stump your friends. The complete solution is included after each puzzle.
Unblock Buster
bid was right on the money, but you had to be a pig and bid 6 NT. You can be sure you’ll never hear the end of this deal if you go down. West leads the 
K. Make 6 NT against any defense, or incur partner’s wrath.
6 NT by South
 |  — A 10 9 4 A K 9 5 4 A J 10 9 | |
| 4 3 2 K Q 6 5 Q 10 2 5 4 3 | ![[W - E]](t.gif) | Q J 10 9 8 7 8 7 8 7 6 Q 2 |
| Lead: K | A K 6 5 J 3 2 J 3 K 8 7 6 |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 1 2 6 | East Pass Pass Pass | South 1 3 6 NT |
The lucky diamond position would allow you to win five diamond tricks if you could get to your hand to finesse twice… but that’s the problem.
You should definitely win the A, else a club shift would leave you in a hopeless situation. You need the opponents’ help to get to your hand twice, and this requires some subtle technique.
If you continue with the 10, West obviously will duck to prevent the J from becoming an entry. Then, if you next play clubs, East will unblock the queen on the first round to avoid being endplayed with that card on the second round. (The opponents can see all the hands too.)
A at trick two to force East to commit himself. If he unblocks the queen, cash with the J to reach the position in the diagram:
| — 10 9 4 A K 9 5 4 10 9 | |
| 4 3 2 Q 6 5 Q 10 2 5 | | Q J 10 9 8 7 8 8 7 6 — |
| A K 6 5 J 3 J 3 K 8 |
Next lead the 4 and duck it completely. Unblock that! If West overtakes, you will have two entries to your hand. If East wins the 8, he is forced to put you in your hand with a spade (else lead a diamond) and you can win the rest — North’s two remaining hearts go away on your top spades.
If East fails to unblock the Q, he can be endplayed in a similar fashion with the club suit. First lead the 10 to force West to duck, then sacrifice a club trick to stuff East on lead.
Trap: If East keeps the Q and you win a second club with your king, you will fail. If you finesse diamonds once then try the old heart-duck endplay, East will return a diamond to lock you in dummy.
I guess this proves that you knew how to bid all along… on your own planet.
Loser On a Loser, an ultra-sound contract on a normal day. Indeed, your first reaction on seeing dummy is that you may have missed a cold slam. Yea, right. Now let’s see you make four.
4 by South
| A K Q 3 2 — 7 6 9 8 7 6 5 4 | |
| J 10 9 K Q 5 3 2 K Q 5 3 2 — | | 8 A 10 9 8 7 9 8 Q J 10 3 2 |
| Lead: K | 7 6 5 4 J 6 4 A J 10 4 A K |
| West 1 All Pass | North 2 | East 4 | South 4 |
This could be a very frustrating puzzle if you get off on the wrong track. You are destined to fail if you try to establish the club suit. You won’t actually lose anything if West gets a club ruff or two (the tricks come back since you have fewer trumps to draw), but you won’t gain anything either. Accurate defense will hold you to nine tricks.
Instead you must focus on the diamond suit to bring about an endplay against West. This is more difficult than it might appear because the timing is so delicate. Not only must you eliminate West’s exit cards, but you must also retain enough trump control to be able to set up your long diamond if West discards two diamonds. Not an easy task. Got any ideas?
| 3 — 7 6 9 8 7 | |
| — Q 5 K Q 5 3 — | | — A 10 9 9 8 Q |
| 7 J A J 10 4 — |
Note that West was obliged to keep four diamonds. Ruff your last heart in dummy and lead a diamond to the 10, queen. Ruff the next heart in hand and lead the jack of diamonds to West’s king, smothering the nine. West is forced to lead from the 5-3 into your A-4 to give you the contract.
Variation: If West leads a trump at trick two, the play is essentially the same except you ruff a heart yourself between cashing the top clubs.
What if East tries to upset the apple cart by overtaking with the A at trick one to return a diamond? This actually simplifies your task because the J now comes into play. Finesse the diamond, win the trump return and draw trumps. Finesse the diamond again, and West has no safe exit. A similar endplay develops if East opts for a club ruff at trick two.
Best Game In Town contract, South berated his partner, “You are a cue-biddin’ fool. Why didn’t you just bid 3 NT? Or at least mention your five-card spade suit so I could pass and get a plus score.”
“My hand was too strong,” North retaliated. “There was nothing wrong with the final contract except for the horrendous trump break. On a good day, even 6 would roll on these cards.”
“Yea, sure; like I’m thinking about a slam here. All I wanted was to get to a makable game. Is that too much to ask?”
“If you were clairvoyant you would pass 3 doubled, which we could defeat four tricks. Once you bid we were doomed. It looks like there is no game to be made our way.”
Wrong! What is the only makable game contract for North-South?
5 by South
| A K 6 5 4 A K A 8 6 A 8 6 | |
| Q J 10 7 4 3 2 Q J 10 9 7 10 | | 9 8 3 J 10 9 8 — K Q J 9 4 2 |
| Lead: Q | 2 Q 7 6 5 K 5 4 3 2 7 5 3 |
| West Pass Pass Pass All Pass | North Dbl 4 5 | East 3 Pass Pass Pass | South Pass 3 4 5 |
K entry. Alas, West can then knock out the A and establish his diamonds first. Any squeeze attempt will also fail with the cramped communication. In short, 3 NT cannot be made.
What about 4 ? With the 4-3 break there are nine easy tricks after clearing trumps. Unfortunately, there is no 10th in sight. Scratch this one.
Aha! Did I hear someone mention 4 ? That’s a clever devious answer to a bridge puzzle. But sorry, not this puzzle.
The correct answer was staring you in the face. Despite the 5-0 trump break, 5 is makable after any lead. Assuming the actual Q lead, the key play is to win the ace. The basic plan is to remove all of West’s side-suit cards ending in the South hand (the exact order is not critical). Win the A-K and the A-K (throwing a club), ruff a spade, cross to the A, ruff another spade, and cash the Q (throwing a club) to reach the ending in the diagram:
| 6 — 8 6 8 | |
| — — J 10 9 7 — | | — J — K Q J |
| — 7 K 5 7 |
When South leads the 7, West must ruff high and a club is thrown from North. West returns a high diamond, taken by the king, then the 7 is led to promote the 8 en passant. West is completely helpless.
Remember this deal the next time you shun that five-of-a-minor contract. There is more to this game than we sometimes realize.
Historical note: I composed this deal over 25 years ago for the ACBL Bulletin, at which time I stated that 5 was to be played by North (to prevent a trump lead). The late, brilliant Oswald Jacoby pointed out that it was makable by South as well. And I have no doubt he would have done just that if he were at the table.
Tenuous Technique
3 NT by South
| A 6 5 4 3 2 A Q 10 9 4 3 2 | |
| J 10 A J 10 J 8 7 6 5 4 J 10 | | Q 9 8 7 K 9 8 7 3 Q 9 8 7 |
| Lead: 6 | K 3 2 Q 6 5 4 K 2 A K 6 5 |
| West Pass Pass | North 2 3 NT | East Pass All Pass | South 1 NT 2 |
At first glance it looks like East can be squeezed in spades and clubs, but this is far easier said than done. The problem is that the count is not rectified, and the enemy will attack your entries when given the opportunity.
After the diamond lead, 3 NT can be made against any defense. To get you started, assume the opponents lead spades (best) if given the lead.
K at trick one, and duck a heart. There are at least two reasons for heart leads: To restrict the enemy communication, and to rectify the count for a later squeeze. West wins the 10, and assume he shifts to a spade (best).The first crucial play is to duck the spade (else West can later kill your spade entry). West continues with his remaining spade, and now comes the remarkable play: You must win the ace in dummy — a sloppy, blocking play in most cases, but essential here. Another heart is ducked to West’s jack (if West wins the ace he puts an even greater burden on East) which leaves the position in the diagram:
| 6 5 — A Q 10 4 3 2 | |
| — A J 8 7 5 4 J 10 | | Q 9 K 9 — Q 9 8 7 |
| K Q 6 2 A K 6 5 |
West does best to return a diamond, won by the 10 as East throws a spade. On the A, East throws a club as does South. Hold it! Do not cash the Q yet. You must first cash the A-K then exit with a heart to West, leaving this position:
| 6 5 — Q — | |
| — — J 8 7 — | | Q K — Q |
| K Q — 6 |
West must lead a diamond to North’s queen, and East is caught in a jettison triple squeeze. If he throws a heart or a club, South throws the opposite and his hand is good. If East throws the Q, South jettisons the K and dummy is good.
The defense I followed seemed like the strongest, but there are many variations. Declarer can always succeed after the diamond lead. Curiously, the contract can be defeated with either black-suit lead, which emphasizes how fragile the timing is.
Valuable Discard to be forcing, but partner made a good decision to pass. It may come as a shock to your normal ways, but you came to rest in a makable contract — at least in theory.It is imperative for the defense to get a tap going. Assume West makes the effective lead of a low heart, a waste of trickiness perhaps on a bridge puzzle since it won’t fool anyone.
4 by South
| 6 5 4 K 4 3 2 5 4 3 2 3 2 | |
| J 10 A 9 8 7 9 8 7 K J 5 4 | | K 9 8 7 Q J 10 6 5 6 9 8 7 |
| Lead: 7 | A Q 3 2 — A K Q J 10 A Q 10 6 |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 2 4 | East Pass Pass | South 2 3 4 |
The rest is up to you. Can you find the way to make 4 against any defense?
K at trick one, but then what? To succeed you really have to violate two important principles of card-play technique. On the K you must throw a good diamond — I guess you could call this a “valuable discard.” Next you must use dummy’s precious entry to take a losing club finesse instead of a winning spade finesse.
Assume West takes your Q with the king (optionally, you could finesse the 10, or win the A and lead the queen or 10) and he returns a heart (best) which you ruff. Next cash a diamond (optional) and the A, then lead the 10 to blot out East’s nine and establish your 6. Assume West covers and you ruff in dummy.
Could this be the time to take the spade finesse? No! Not yet! You are dead meat if you lead a spade. Lead a diamond from dummy; assume East ruffs and returns another heart which you ruff to leave this position:
| 6 5 4 5 4 — | |
| J 10 A 9 5 | | K 9 8 Q J — — |
| A Q — K Q 6 |
Lead the good 6 and discard dummy’s last heart. If East ruffs he must give you the rest of the tricks, either with a spade return or a heart allowing you to reach dummy to finesse spades and claim. If East instead throws a heart, simply lead a diamond to reach the same conclusion.
The essence of the play was to get rid of one of dummy’s hearts so the defenders could not tap your hand three times. This could only be done by preserving all your clubs and building the slow trick.
Trap: If a diamond is cashed before you give West a club trick, the defenders can prevail. West returns a diamond and East discards a club, which effectively locks declarer out of dummy, and East eventually will win three trump tricks.
Slam Dunk bid and puts you in an unmakable slam. But you’ll show him!
6 by South
| K 10 K 10 9 8 A K 9 8 A K 6 | |
| Q 3 2 Q J 7 6 Q J 7 Q J 7 | | J A 5 4 3 2 10 6 5 5 4 3 2 |
| Lead: Q | A 9 8 7 6 5 4 — 4 3 2 10 9 8 |
| West Pass Pass | North 4 NT 6 | East Pass All Pass | South 3 5 |
You have a chance when West leads the Q. Do you see the light? (Clearly you don’t in the bidding, but maybe the play is your thing.) Make 6 against any defense.
Bonus question: What lead by West will defeat the slam?
Indeed, you have the elements for a double ruffout squeeze — an ending where each defender must keep two hearts to prevent you from establishing a heart trick, and neither is able to guard diamonds. Alas, it can’t be done under the entry conditions. (The defenders will lead a diamond when they win a trump trick, and West will cover any club lead by South.)
In the correct solution, dummy’s heart holding is irrelevant. The defense can be forced into an endplay which will cause West to lose his trump trick.
Ruff the first trick and lead the 10; jack, king. Ruff a second heart and lead the 9; queen, ace. Ruff a third heart and cash the 8; cross to dummy with a diamond (West plays the jack) and ruff the last heart to reach this ending:
| K 10 — K 9 8 — | |
| Q 3 2 — Q 7 — | | J 5 10 6 5 |
| A 9 8 — 4 3 — |
Lead a diamond to the king. Assuming West keeps the Q, simply cash the K to remove East’s jack, then exit with a diamond to West who is endplayed to lead from his Q.
But what if West unblocks in diamonds? Then you will cash the ace of trumps (not the king) and put East in with a diamond. This appears to do no good, but West’s trump queen is smothered on the return. So much for that “inevitable” trump loser — West’s queen gets dunked regardless.
Curiously, the contract can be defeated. You guessed it! West must lead a trump! This forces declarer to commit himself by winning the king or ace, after which West will know whether or not to unblock to foil the endplay. Remember this deal the next time you are on lead against a slam with queen-third in trumps.
Diamond Dilemma, you double for takeout, West raises to 4 , and partner bids 4 NT. This is not Blackwood but a request for you to choose a minor suit, and you oblige with 5 .
5 by South
| None Vul | A 5 4 10 A 9 7 6 2 6 5 4 3 | |
| Q J 10 9 8 A J 2 K J 10 9 8 | | 7 6 K 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 5 4 7 |
| Lead: Q | K 3 2 Q Q J 10 8 3 A K Q 2 |
| West 4 All Pass | North 4 NT | East 3 Pass | South Dbl 5 |
So there you are. West leads the Q and you have 10 easy tricks, but the mirror distribution leaves you no obvious way to develop another. With West protecting spades and clubs a squeeze might be in the offing. For this to work you must rectify the count (lose two tricks), which seems impossible without giving up one of your threats. It looks like you’ll have to be devious. Any ideas?
Make 5 against any defense.
A (unblocking the 10), the A and the remaining top spade to leave this position:
| 5 — 9 7 6 2 6 5 4 | |
| 10 9 8 J 2 — J 10 9 | | — K 8 7 6 5 4 3 5 — |
| 3 — Q J 8 3 K Q 2 |
Next play a low diamond from each hand, forcing East to win the trick with the five. Ruff the forced heart return with the J, throwing a club from dummy. Win the Q, overtake the 8 with the nine, then lead dummy’s last diamond, throwing your spade. West is squeezed in the black suits.
Phantom Sacrifice, as even if it failed, it would surely be a great sacrifice at favorable vulnerability.
| A 6 5 4 3 J 9 5 4 3 3 2 2 |
![[W - E]](v.gif) | |
| Q 10 7 2 K 8 7 2 5 4 5 4 3 |
| West 1 Dbl | North 2 All Pass | East 2 | South 4 |
Alas. The postmortem revealed that East-West could not make any game and there were no void suits. What are the exact East-West hands?
is defeated with a trump lead; 5 is defeated with the K lead; and 3 NT is defeated with the A lead (South must unblock the 7).
| A 6 5 4 3 J 9 5 4 3 3 2 2 | |
| K A 10 6 A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 | | J 9 8 Q K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 A |
| Q 10 7 2 K 8 7 2 5 4 5 4 3 |
As evidence that this is the only layout, consider that that East-West must hold at least 11 top tricks (five in each minor plus the A) so some kind of blocked position is required to defeat five of a minor. If West, instead, had K A-10-6 A-K Q-J-10-9-8-7-6, it would be easy to make 5 (ruff a heart).
The spades must be divided exactly as shown to allow N-S to run that suit in notrump. Any other layout would give E-W a stopper.
If the hearts were divided in any other way, 5 could be made — either by a simple heart finesse; or if East has the A, a side entry to the East hand would give the defenders an impossible task.
[Corrected 9-30-99. In the original puzzle I did not specify “no void suits” and Scott Cardell noted there were alternate solutions based on East having all nine diamonds. Thanks, Scott, for the eagle eye.]
Lucky Sevens
5 by South
| J 3 2 Q J A K 7 2 Q 7 3 2 |
| |
| A K 7 7 3 2 J 8 A J 9 8 6 |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 1 3 4 | East Pass Pass Pass | South 2 3 5 |
Against 5 West leads the 10 and South can make his contract. Curiously, if any seven were switched with the six (of the same suit), South could be defeated. What are the exact East-West hands?
Oh, yes, I have to tell you that East has the ace of hearts.
7. For it to be significant, a probable layout is that East holds the protected queen and the six-spot, which allows declarer to transfer the sole spade guard to West by covering the 10 with the jack (or by leading the jack later). If the 7 and 6 were switched, this transfer would not be possible.
Now consider the diamond suit: North’s 7 would be a natural trick if East held 10-9 doubleton (South runs the jack) so this may be the diamond layout.
For the relationship of the 7 and 6 to be significant, the former must be a key entry to dummy. This seems unlikely with the Q in dummy, so it must be necessary to spend the queen early in finessing — which suggests West may have the singleton 10.
But what about the heart seven? This is the most difficult to imagine, but it might come into significance in a bizarre squeeze scenario if one player held 10-9-8.
Consider this construction:
| J 3 2 Q J A K 7 2 Q 7 3 2 | |
| 10 9 8 K 10 9 8 Q 6 5 4 3 10 | | Q 6 5 4 A 6 5 4 10 9 K 5 4 |
| A K 7 7 3 2 J 8 A J 9 8 6 |
The 10 lead is won by the king (optionally, declarer could cover in dummy). South leads the J, ducked (best defense to limit declarer’s entries to dummy) then a diamond is led to the king. The Q is led (East ducks and South unblocks the eight), then trumps are drawn with another finesse. South leads a heart, which West must win to continue spades; jack, queen, ace. This leaves the following ending:
| 3 Q A 7 7 | |
| 8 10 9 Q 6 — | | 5 4 A 6 5 — — |
| 7 7 3 — 9 6 |
South leads the 6 and West is squeezed in three suits! Notice the power of the seven of hearts! If West lets go another heart, the 7 can be established by force after South discards his spade loser on the A.
Observe that this squeeze would not work if East held the 7 (and South the 6), nor if East held the 7 (and South the 6). If the 7 were switched with the 6, West could defeat the contract simply by cover the J. And don’t forget that 7 entry to dummy.
Optimum Contract
| 9 J 10 9 A Q 4 3 2 A K Q 2 | |
| — — J 10 9 8 7 6 5 8 7 6 5 4 3 | | A K Q 8 A K Q 8 7 K J 10 9 |
| J 10 7 6 5 4 3 2 6 5 4 3 2 — — |
A. What is the optimum contract for North-South?
B. What is the optimum contract for East-West?
Q is led and if East ruffs low, South can either discard his last heart or overruff and win nine tricks. (East must not ruff high, else South wins 10 tricks.)B. The optimum contract for East-West is less obvious. It is easy to see that East (or West for that matter) can make two notrump — East has eight winners and North has five, so the play is straightforward. But can they do better? Can East make three hearts? No, only the same eight tricks are available.
What about in diamonds? Only eight tricks are available by West, although East can make three diamonds — four of West’s clubs go away because South must lead a major suit. Alas, making three diamonds is still an inferior score to two notrump, so we’re back to square one.
Enter the bizarre. The optimum contract for East-West is also three spades, played by East. Regardless of the lead, East wins one top trump and five hearts. Note that South must now ruff all plain-suit leads and repeatedly lead trumps, allowing East to score the eight spot as his ninth trick.
As Victor Mollo’s Hideous Hog would describe it, “Curious hand; makes three spades both ways.”
Copyright © 2000 Richard Pavlicek. All rights reserved.