Answer: Bridge Problem 3

 

North
♠ 8763
♥A743
♦72
♣AQ3

 

West
♠5
♥ QJ953
♦ Q1054
♣1087

 

East
♠KQJ1092
♥10
♦J96
♣ J96

 

South
♠A4
♥K86
♦AK83
♣K542

 

Dealer: East
Vul: Neither
E S W N
2♠ DBL P 3♥
P 4♣ P 5♣
P P P  
         
Opening lead: 5♠

South must win the ♠A, take two top trumps in dummy, cash the ♦AK and ruff a diamond, return to hand with the heart king, and draw the last round of trump (they break). Now a spade play puts East on lead with nothing but spades left (if East ducks the spade, declarer has 11 tricks). When East plays another spade, South discards a heart from hand. Now the next spade from East can be ruffed by South and West is squeezed, having to give declarer the game-going trick in one of the red suits.

No other way of rectifying the count for the squeeze will work. Ducking a heart to West before trumps are drawn allows East to get a heart ruff. Ducking a heart to West after trumps are drawn — which means after the diamond ruff — allows West to cash the fourth diamond or play a heart, eliminating the last entry to dummy.

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