Quiz 8D65   Main

Chamber of Horrors

by Richard Pavlicek

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! You are about to witness the most lifelike figures ever created in wax. Please note that food and drink, cameras, or recording devices of any kind are prohibited, and conversation must be held to a whisper. This way, please.

Problem 1

2

3

4

5

6

Honor Roll

As my first exhibit I present Joan of Arc, who was mercilessly burned at the stake for heresy at the age of 19. After her horrific death, her charred remains were burned over and over into powdery ashes to remove any trace of her existence from souvenir seekers.

Lady! Move away from that figure! Waxworks are extremely delicate and must never be touched. The facial features may appear real, but that is the artistry of my hands, aided by my assistant Igor. I assure you they’re entirely wax, except for clothing and hair strands.

At the right you will see my creation of Marie Antoinette, that is, before her head was severed by guillotine at the age of 37 — which I consider a triumph, reaching almost double the age of Joan. Perhaps she could have added a few more years if she had changed her catchphrase to: Let them eat wax.

Warning! My next six exhibits are dangerously close to a towering guillotine, which is not made of wax. Its razor-sharp, tempered-steel blade could sever six heads as easily as one, so keep this in mind as you test your declarer play on these problems at IMP scoring. Opponents use standard leads and signals.

Decide how you would play each contract — without peeking at the solution, which follows.

This way, please. Keep to the left for your safety, and try not to make any horrific plays.

Problem 1

IMPs None Vul	A J 7 5 2 A K Q 3 Q 3 2 2		West Pass Pass	NORTH 1 2 3 NT	East Pass Pass All Pass	South 1 NT 2 NT
Lead: 6		East plays J
3 NT South	8 6 7 4 2 A K 6 5 K Q 4 3

If you duck the first club, East will return the 9 and West will play the 5 regardless of your play.

Solution below

3 NT South	A J 7 5 2		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
	A K Q 3		1 W	6	2	J	3!
	Q 3 2		2 E	9	K!	5	2
	2		3 S	4!	8	2	7
9 4		K Q 10 3	4 W	A	5	3	Q
J 10 8 5		9 6	5 W	10	7	10	2
J 8		10 9 7 4	6 W	4	A	Q	6
A 10 8 6 5		J 9 7	7 N	K	6	4	5
	8 6		8 N	Q	4	5	8
	7 4 2		9 N	A	9	7	8
	A K 6 5		10 N	Q	?
Lead: 6	K Q 4 3		East is squeezed

To increase your chances if neither red suit breaks 3-3, duck the first club, win the K (West ducks) then lead a third club to let West run his suit. You lose four tricks early, but East is later squeezed in the pointed suits.

Problem 2

IMPs N-S Vul	7 5 4 7 6 5 4 3 J 8 3 A J		West Pass All Pass	North 3 1	East Pass	SOUTH 2 NT 4
Lead: 9		East plays 6
4 South	A Q 3 2 A K Q A K 6 5 4 3		1. Jacoby transfer

You win the Q and cash the A. Bad news! East shows out, pitching the 10.

Solution below

4 South	7 5 4		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
	7 6 5 4 3		1 W	9	4	6	Q
	J 8 3		2 S	A	2	3	10
	A J		3 S	3!	2	J!	Q
9 8		K J 10 6	4 E	K	A	8	5
J 10 9 8 2		—	5 S	4	8	A	7
Q 10 6 2		9 7 5 4	6 N	4	4	K	8
8 2		K Q 10 9 7	7 S	5	2	5	9
	A Q 3 2		8 N	3	5	K	6
	A K Q		9 S	6	9	7	K
	A K		10 W	J	6	7	Q
Lead: 9	6 5 4 3		11 S	2
			Win 2 more tricks

To effect a successful trump elopement, you must give up a club without letting East cash a spade or lead a third club.

Problem 3

IMPs E-W Vul	Q J 10 A 7 4 2 4 2 K Q 5 3		West Pass All Pass	NORTH 1 2	East Pass Pass	South 1 4
Lead: Q		East plays 7
4 South	K 9 8 7 6 K 10 3 A 8 5 10 4

Decide whether you will win the first trick and what you will lead next.

Solution below

4 South	Q J 10		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
	A 7 4 2		1 W	Q	2	7	A!
	4 2		2 S	4	6	K	2
	K Q 5 3		3 N	2!	5	K	6
A 5 3		4 2	4 S	10	A	3	8
J 9 6		Q 8 5	5 W	3	10	2	6
Q J 10 6		K 9 7 3	6 N	Q	9	3	7
A 7 6		J 9 8 2	7 N	5	J	7	6
	K 9 8 7 6		8 S	10	J	A	8
	K 10 3		9 N	4	Q	K	9
	A 8 5		10 S	5	10	4	3
Lead: Q	10 4		Win 2 more tricks

Club leads are urgent so do not hold up. If West wins the A to lead trumps, preventing a diamond ruff, the long heart sets up.

Problem 4

IMPs Both Vul	K J 10 9 8 A K 7 5 2 8 Q 4		West Pass Pass	NORTH 1 2 Pass	East Pass Pass Dbl	South 2 6 All Pass
Lead: 5		East ruffs with 3
6 × South	A 4 4 A K Q J 10 9 A 8 6 3

As expected from the Lightner double, East ruffs the opening lead and returns the Q to dummy’s ace as West plays the 10.

Solution below

6 × South	K J 10 9 8		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
	A K 7 5 2		1 W	5	J	3	A!
	8		2 E	Q	4	10	A
	Q 4		3 N	K!	3	3	9
Q 7 6 5 3 2		—	4 N	2	6	9	2
10 9		Q J 8 6 3	5 S	A	2	8	5
4 2		7 6 5 3	6 S	K	4	8	6
10 9 5		K J 7 2	7 S	Q	3	5	7
	A 4		8 S	J	5	4	2
	4		9 S	10	9	9	8
	A K Q J 10 9		10 S	4	6	10	7
Lead: 5	A 8 6 3		11 N	K	?
			East is squeezed

Hopefully you unblocked the A at Trick 1. Both top hearts must be won immediately to have any hope for a squeeze, after which a double squeeze ensues.

Problem 5

IMPs None Vul	K 5 7 6 4 3 7 6 2 A 6 4 2		West Pass Pass	North 3 5	EAST 3 Pass Pass	South Dbl 4 6
Lead: Q		East plays 2
6 South	A Q J 9 7 3 A K A K 3 K 5

West is obviously void in diamonds, and your first trump lead will bring bad news there, as East discards the Q.

Solution below

6 South	K 5		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
	7 6 4 3		1 W	Q	3	2	A
	7 6 2		2 S	Q!	2	5	Q
	A 6 4 2		3 S	K	8	4	5
10 8 6 4 2		—	4 S	A!	4	2	4
Q J 10 8		9 5 2	5 W	6	K	5	3
—		Q J 10 9 8 5 4	6 N	6!	9	7	J
J 9 7 3		Q 10 8	7 S	A	8	6	8
	A Q J 9 7 3		8 S	J	10	2	9
	A K		9 S	K	3	7	10
	A K 3		10 S	9	?
Lead: Q	K 5		West then East squeezed

The crux is to make West win his trump trick early, then one heart ruff will isolate that threat for a double squeeze.

Problem 6

IMPs N-S Vul	7 6 5 9 3 A K J 7 3 A 10 6		West Pass All Pass	NORTH 1 5	East 2 Pass	South 4 NT 7 NT
Lead: K		East pitches 2
7 NT South	A J 10 2 A K J 10 4 Q K Q 2

With the heart finesse a certainty (West must be void) this looks easy if diamonds split. Not!

Solution below

7 NT South	7 6 5		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
	9 3		1 W	K	5	2	A
	A K J 7 3		2 S	Q	4	3	2
	A 10 6		3 S	K	4	6	3
K Q 9 8 4 3		—	4 S	Q	7	A!	5
—		Q 8 7 6 5 2	5 N	K	5	2	6
10 8 6 4		9 5 2	6 N	A	9	10	8
8 7 4		J 9 5 3	7 N	J	9	J	10
	A J 10 2		8 N	7	?
	A K J 10 4		East is squeezed
	Q
Lead: K	K Q 2

With diamonds 4-3 it looks like 13 easy tricks with the Q onside, but South will be one-suit squeezed as diamonds are run. The only legitimate chance is the J with East, which produces an entry squeeze.

Perry Groot Wins!

These six problems were published in 2018 as a long-running contest, which is now closed. Congratulations to Perry Groot (Netherlands) who topped all participants with the only perfect score. Scoring was based on how many of the first eight plays on each problem matched my recommended plays, so the best possible score was 48 (8×6). Equivalent plays or transpositions were accepted as correct.

There were 86 participants, and only one attempt was allowed for each. Only those scoring 32 or higher are listed below. Ties are broken by the date and time of entry (earliest wins).

Honor Roll

Rank	Name	Location	Score
1	Perry Groot	Netherlands	48
2	Ding-Hwa Hsieh	Missouri	47
3	Joel Wooldridge	New York	46
4	Gareth Birdsall	England	45
5	Jonathan Mestel	England	45
6	Ben Norton	England	43
7	Charles Blair	Illinois	41
8	Leif-Erik Stabell	Zimbabwe	41
9	Sjaak Smetsers	Netherlands	41
10	Richard Stein	Washington	39
11	Franco Masoero	Italy	39
12	Dan Gheorghiu	British Columbia	38
13	Alex Fjodorow	Russia	38
14	Wojciech Papuga	Poland	37
15	John Reardon	England	37
16	Reint Ostendorf	Netherlands	37
17	Franco Baseggio	New York	37
18	Yiran Liu	Virginia	37
19	Ryou Niji	Michigan	36
20	Carsten Kofoed	Sweden	36
21	John Lusky	Oregon	35
22	Tom Slater	England	34
23	Nipodemus Nautilus	Germany	34
24	Jean-Baptiste Courtois	France	34
25	Sas Vd Boorn Netherlands	32

Quiz 8D65   Main

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Photo credits to Warner Bros. House of Wax (1953)
© 2018 Richard Pavlicek