Double three-suiter endplay

by Krzysztof Jassem (Poland)

The theory of bridge contains various of types of squeezes: squeezes in two suits or three suits, single squeezes or double squeezes, etcetera. Much less is said about the variety of endplays. We tend to see an endplay as a two-suited affair: one suit is needed to throw a poor guy in and the other is the one that he is forced to exit with, giving a trick away.

Andrzej Wilkosz of the Polish Seniors executed a double three-suiter endplay. This means that three suits were involved in the endplay and that the endplay was executed twice rather than once! Here is the board from the Senior Final (Round 18 of the Round Robin).

Board 4. Dealer West. Game All ª A 5 3 © A K 8 ¨ 10 9 6 § A 10 9 2 ª J 9 7 6 ª 8 4 © Q 9 7 4 © 10 5 ¨ A Q J 3 ¨ 8 4 2 § 6 § K Q J 8 4 3 ª K Q 10 2 © J 6 3 2 ¨ K 7 5 § 7 5

West North East South Roudinescu Wilkosz Delmouly Szenberg Pass 1NT Pass 2§ Pass 2¨ Pass 3NT All Pass

After this simple auction Delmouly started with the king of clubs. Wilkosz ducked the first trick and East, not surprisingly, continued with a club honour. This meant the end of the defence for the French pair. Wilkosz played back a club discarding a heart from dummy (meanwhile West had got rid of a heart and a diamond). Delmouly tried to help partner at the fourth trick by playing a diamond. Wilkosz played low from dummy and when West won with the jack he already was endplayed in three suits for the first time. He chose to underlead the queen of hearts. Wilkosz ducked in hand, winning with dummy's jack. Next he cashed his top hearts, coming to the following ending:

ª A 5 3 © — ¨ 10 9 § 9 ª J 9 7 6 ª 8 4 © — © — ¨ A Q ¨ 8 4 § — § 8 4 ª K Q 10 2 © — ¨ K 7 § —

On the last club Wilkosz discarded the seven of diamonds from the dummy, baring the king. Roudinescu threw away the queen of diamonds. Wilkosz could at that point establish the ninth trick in diamonds on the assumption that the ace is held by West (East possessed some clubs winners). However, declarer decided to increase his chances by just a small percentage, by trying for a doubleton jack of spades. He thus cashed the king and ace of spades and only when the jack did not show, did he decide to play the diamond. In that way West was endplayed for the second time to give the ninth trick in the spade suit.

Thanks to the double endplay in three suits Wilkosz managed to come to nine tricks, having started with only seven. Let us notice that playing a spade instead of a heart after being thrown in with the jack of diamonds would not have helped the defence. In the four-card ending West would have been thrown in with the ace of diamonds and forced to concede three heart tricks. At the other table the same contract went one down for a swing of 12 imps.