What a fool you were to take an Antarctic cruise! Yet here you are at Zucchelli Station with howling winds and a temperature of minus 30 degrees. Any outside excursion would be treacherous, so your crew captain, Iceman, invites you to play some bridge. Whoa! Your immediate reaction is that you’ll be fleeced by Italian foot-soldiers, but then you realize the station’s name is just a coincidence. There’s no Facchini in sight! Warily, you agree to be Iceman’s partner against Frosty and Frigid.
On the first deal you open 1 NT in third seat and routinely reach game:
Frosty leads the J, which you win with the ace and return the 8 to the 10 and queen. With spades splitting, you finish the suit ending in hand, Frigid pitching a heart and a diamond; Frosty a club.* You next lead a diamond to the jack and ace, win the diamond return, and exit with another. Frosty leads the 8, which you cover and allow the 10 to win. Frigid is now endplayed, obliged either to lose his club trick or break the heart suit. Alternately, you could just win the A and exit with a club to force the heart lead.
*Different discards might make the play more challenging, but declarer can always succeed.
Fittingly for the venue, the deal contains three suits with frozen characteristics. The heart suit is frozen to all four players; no one can lead it safely. The diamond suit is frozen to West, North and South; only East can lead it safely, e.g., 5-8-9-J does not give declarer an additional diamond trick. The club suit is frozen to North, East and South; only West has a safe lead, which must be the J or 8. If this topic is fuzzy to you, more than you’d ever want to know can be found in my study of Frozen Suits.
Oh no! Frosty has taken ill from frostbite — or seeing you make a contract? — and won’t be able to continue. A search for another bridge player is futile, so it’s game over. Oh, well. Now you can freeze your butt off with this puzzle:
For each layout give West 2-4 of the missing cards to freeze the suit to as many hands as possible.
Before reading further, see if you can choose the winning West and East holdings for each layout.Each choice (ABC) is scored 0 to 4, according to the number of hands that are frozen.
*Contestants had to construct their own solutions. Multiple choice was only added for this writeup.
For each suit layout, the North and South holdings are fixed. The object is to distribute the remaining cards to West and East so the layout is frozen to as many hands as possible, hence the maximum score is 24 (six layouts each frozen to four hands). Ranked below, showing the West holding for each layout, are those who scored 19 or better. Ties are broken by the higher sum of West’s card ranks, then date-time of entry (earliest wins).
Five West holdings freeze the suit to all four hands, strongest of which is J-10-8. Click here for a complete tabular analysis.
If only N-S lead, they are entitled to 2 tricks (counting the long card), but if West or East starts the suit, N-S get 3 tricks. If only E-W lead, they are entitled to 1 trick, but if North or South starts the suit, E-W get 2 tricks. Hence the suit is frozen to all four hands.
Six West holdings freeze the suit to all four hands, strongest of which is Q-10-7-2. Click here for a complete tabular analysis.
If only N-S lead, they are entitled to 3 tricks, but if West or East starts the suit, N-S get 4 tricks. If only E-W lead, they cannot win a trick, but if North or South starts the suit, E-W get 1 trick.
Frozen status can be very delicate: If West’s holding is changed slightly to Q-10-7-4, the suit is no longer frozen to four hands but only to East.
Eight West holdings freeze the suit to all four hands, strongest of which is A-J-4. Click here for a complete tabular analysis.
If only N-S lead, they are entitled to 2 tricks (counting the long card), but if West or East starts the suit, N-S get 3 tricks. If only E-W lead, they can win only 1 trick, but if North or South starts the suit, E-W get 2 tricks.
Only one West holding freezes the suit to all four hands, specifically A-8. Click here for a complete tabular analysis.
If only N-S lead, they can win only 1 trick, but if West or East starts the suit, N-S get 2 tricks. If only E-W lead, they can win 2 tricks, but if North or South starts the suit, E-W get 3 tricks.
The location of the eight-spot is crucial; if West’s holding is changed slightly to A-6, the suit is no longer frozen to four hands but only to South.
Two West holdings freeze the suit to all four hands, stronger of which is 10-5. Click here for a complete tabular analysis.
If only N-S lead, they are entitled to 2 tricks, but if West or East starts the suit, N-S get 3 tricks. If only E-W lead, they can win only 1 trick, but if North or South starts the suit, E-W get 2 tricks.
Curiously, if you swap the E-W cards (giving East 10-5) the suit is frozen to no one.
Nine West holdings freeze the suit to all four hands, strongest of which is A-K-8-7. Click here for a complete tabular analysis.
If only N-S lead, they can win only 1 trick, but if West or East starts the suit, N-S get 2 tricks. If only E-W lead, they can win only 2 tricks (A-K), but if North or South starts the suit, E-W get 3 tricks.
If you move the seven-spot to East, leaving A-K-8 opposite J-7-2, the suit is frozen to only three hands: South, West and East. North could lead the 10 (or 9) which does not give E-W an extra trick, as long as North or South doesn’t lead the suit again.
The low participation in my puzzle contests is discouraging, especially with my efforts to create quality works that might be entertaining as well. I thought many more players would welcome the challenges, as the extra mental activity is good for one’s health — I think, but then my nearest semblance to any kind of a doctor could be summed up by this old contest. Therefore, it’s time for a break. Thanks to everyone who participated, especially the regulars who consistently provided clever solutions and useful comments.
Check out my Puzzle Hall of Fame! How many times does your name appear? My cat appears twice, so if you can’t top that, I recommend a more healthy diet of Meow Mix.
Auf Wiedersehen! A few words from the peanut gallery will finish it up:
Cyrus Hettle: I feel uneasy that my results show that all six positions are frozen to all four seats.
Filip Czaplicki: I hope I got the tiebreaker right.
That he did, but Cyrus nipped him at the wire.
Jacco Hop: Getting extra tricks provides warmth during an ice age. Brrr!
The Donald: Freezing is my game, Mr. RP Loser! Monday I signed an executive order to freeze all federal funding, and I aim to shut down your web site just like I did the federal government.
© 2025 Richard Pavlicek
by Richard Pavlicek by Richard Pavlicek