Good Morning Mr. Wolff

Yesterday I watched a deal that enchanted me, I hope your readers will like it too.

Brilliance by Lauria June 25, 2016

This was England versus Italy on European Bridge Championship in Hungary. When I left the kibitz table, Italy was winning 60-1, with 6 more boards to play in this round. I do not know the finals.

(It was a bad day for England, but some people would say it was a great day!)

This was the most incredible play I ever saw, as I recall, and I have dug deep in my memory to make sure I wrote honestly. I read about other great plays, but this one I saw trick by trick on BBO.

Lauria was East. West was Versace.

…………………………………Q432
…………………………………KQ5
…………………………………Q754
…………………………………54

A107………………………………………………………8
A76………………………………………………………..J1043
AK83……………………………………………………..J2
1062………………………………………………………AKQJ83

………………………………..KJ965
……………………………….982
……………………………….1096
………………………………..97

North dealt and passed. The bidding continued

N E S W
P 1C 1S 2S
3S Dbl P 4S
P 5C P 5NT
P 6C all pass

South lead a small spade. How do you play to make 6C.

I swear – I saw Lauria make it. If your reader cannot find it, he/she will have great company.

Yours truly never saw it until the end.

The commentator, David Bird, a.k.a. Brother Lucius, for The Abbott, said repeatedly, and I say repeatedly it could not make.

So, have fun playing with it. When you give up, write on the comments, I will send the solution on this same page!

Best always,

Hi Peter,

How about Lauria winning the first spade and ruffing a spade then ace and a club to the ten, ruffing the last spade. Then passing the jack of hearts to North and with the diamond combination North could not lead back the queen so had to lead back a small diamond whereupon Lauria won with the jack in hand, led a heart to the ace and then led his last club in dummy to hand and played off all his clubs squeezing at trick 10 North who could not hold his other three diamonds (dummy threat with AK8) and his other major honor in hearts since Lauria held the ten of hearts in hand and a diamond to get to dummy.

I agree with you that this hand is breathtaking and what the highest level of bridge is about.

Those distributed diamond spots around the table keeps North from getting out with the queen of diamonds which ordinarily would quash the squeeze, but South rather than North would have had to hold four good enough diamonds rather than just three.

Another point Peter, is that you, rather than Lauria (who has been a great player for years) could experience the same thrill as obviously did Lauria if you and others would have had the opportunity to learn high-level bridge in school.

Thanks for your report and creating the game of “guessing his play”.

This is way, way beyond me, but for what it’s worth Deep Finesse says that when in with the Heart, North should return a Spade.

Hi Clarksburg,

Shouldn’t declarer ruff the spade in hand discarding a heart and then lead a heart to the ace, ruff a diamond back to hand, ruff his third heart with the remaining trump in dummy, ruff the diamond with his last trump and his 13th heart is then good or am I seeing illusions?

I don’t have Deep Finesse available, so does it then say that spade return sets the hand, or rather that it is just the best defensive play available hoping the declarer somehow goes wrong, which chance IMO would be nil?

Hi Bobby, I think declarer is an entry short to cash his thirteen heart..regards~Patrick.

Mr Wolff
I went through it again picking up at North’s Spade return and your ruff in hand.
Followed your line from there. At the end seems you are stuck in Dummy having to lead a Diamond losing to North’s Queen, leaving the winning Heart stranded in Declarer hand. (essentially what Patrick saw).
As to what Deep Finesse indicates right at the outset: Six Clubs can not be made, and South’s choice of opening lead is of no consequence; any of the 13 cards will do.

Hi Peter & Patrick,

How about an earlier entry to dummy to ruff the last spade became a low diamond to the ace. and then a low heart from the table. The diamond spots lend themselves perfect for the declarer so might as well play it that way.

However, to be told that Lauria played it that way is hard enough to believe, causing high suspicions that between both of you, my leg is getting a long pull.

Furthermore if this is a father’s day present my vote is to do away with that occasion.

Your move.

Hi Clarksburg,

Since I posted above, not seeing your explanation, my frustration is sallying forth.

Thanks for your help against the onslaught of P & P.

Hi Bobby,It’s not just bridge here,your humour is what makes this column special for us all,long may it continue..:)

Hi Patrick and you too, Peter, wherever you are hiding, as well as Clarksburg,

Humor be damned, this hand is driving me to a not so premature old folks home.

The example hand has far out card combinations, witness the diamonds, which, if guessed correctly usually finds a solution, unless as Clarksburg (via Deep Finesse) so straightforwardly expressed, “The hand cannot be made”.

Who am I to compete against computer driven devices? Just another loser, but, after checking the date, not April 1st, my normal determination has subsided, hell, vanished without a trace, and thanks to your latest post, know that it is time to surrender.

No sane person should ever want to play this game. It is just too tedious. And Clarksburg, thanks for relaying what DF had to say.

Hi Bobby,The hand in question was reported in the final bulletin of the European Championship website as well.Bulletin 11.

Well, I can get close.

– Win AS
– ruff spade
– 10C
– ruff spade
– pass the JH to AH

If a red suit is returned, I believe declarer is home. However, I think a simple spade return giving declarer a ruff-sluff still beats it.

I cannot find a way with a spade return and it seems pretty obvious defense.

By “home” I mean:

1) Heart return and declarer has 1S, 3H, 2D, 6C

2) Diamond return, and declarer has 1S, 1H, 3D, and 6C for 11 tricks but the “North” hand gets squeezed by a simple Vienna coup with declarer’s 2D the lethal Board entry.

How does declarer make it with a ruff-sluff??

Thanks to all who contributed in this voyage.

Although with it in actuality, a “ship of fools”, it served a worthwhile purpose in, when all seems lost in defense with what remains, consider giving, what often is a serious no- no, a ruff and a sluff, which once in a blue moon, becomes the only play which works (this time defeating a contract) not making.

Yes, I have seen this before, but this time I was on the other side, trying to work out what would, but, of course, sadly, for me, failing.

Sometimes, in adversity, we live and learn. Without the disease epidemics which so impacted life in the early twentieth century (and oft times before), life on earth was much more perilous until various genius’ plied their smarts inventing antidotes, inoculations and therefore cures for all of mankind to benefit.

Believe it or not, bridge, comparatively, is still a very young game with the best overall constructive bidding system no doubt, still to be invented. It will probably result in quantum artificiality, making it unfit for the masses to learn, but only suited to those who have the time to experiment and then test it under fire.

However that prospect, at least to me, is subject to a real danger of nothing short of horrible miscreants, cheating it out of existence. Unless the present world wide bridge administrators tend to overcome this tragedy, and in an absolute certain way, we may be lost at sea, never to be rescued.

Time will tell, but in the meantime, all of us should appreciate what our beloved game gives us, a sense of honorable competition for so many of us to enjoy on a daily basis and to, better yet, a ripe old age.

But, but … what is the answer???

Hi Jim2,

An answer to Peter, an answer to you, or an answer to just bridge and its lovers.

To Peter, I will say, nice presentation, nice bait, and you succeeded in getting your victim. but if I was a lion, I would roar, a mouse, squeal, and a snake, coil. But, as a bridge lover I reminisced about some of my long trances while faced with a difficult test, some of which I messed up, but with a couple, I succeeded.

However since the fate of this one was ordained to failure, making it only a learning experience, not necessarily fulfilling, but perhaps still worth it.

My answer to you, and in deference to your calling card illness, yes I now have a better idea of how you have reacted through all these years. not to mention the pain you have felt, by not ever having a happy ending.

However, in your isolation you can be sure that since in reality, your disease is not contagious and so much against the odds, that uniqueness should be cherished since almost all of us would love to be able to stand on the top row while the medals were being presented following the Olympic competition.

And while that is not in the cards for you, absolutely no one on this site will deny knowing who has the worst luck ever and that includes all competitive games, not just bridge.

And, although I have already referred to bridge lovers, I will only add that, to my knowledge, a bridge lover, being especially attracted to bridge puzzles of every form, will not mind never having a ghost of a chance to figure out a winning answer, since that eventuality goes with the territory.

I see two possibilities, both assume (reasonably) that Peter Peng reported accurately:

1) The declarer made the hand because the North defender did not return a spade for a ruff-sluff, or

2) Declarer made it DESPITE a spade return and I have not found the winning line.

So, which was it? If there is a spade return winning line, what was it?

Hi Jim2,

If it is me that you are asking I assume that it cannot be made because of the response from Deep Finesse.

No doubt DF spotted the sluff ruff answer to making the hand since computer related answers are basically error proof, or at least so it seems.

Well, I hope Peter Peng shows up again to tell what happened at the table.

Hi Jim2,

And why do you think Peter’s intent was nothing but a leg pull, and guess who owned that subject extremity?

As I recall

May not be 100% precise

Trick 1, South lead

KS – AS – xS – 8S – W wins

Trick 2

7S – QS – JC – xS – E wins

Trick 3

8C – 7C – 10C – 4C – W wins

Trick 4

10S – JS – QC – xS – E wins, spades eliminated

Trick 5

KC – xS – xC – xS – E wins, opps clubs eliminated

Trick 6

JH – xH, xH – QH – N wins

This situation remains, with N to lead

…………………………………4
…………………………………K5
…………………………………Q754
…………………………………-

-……………………………………………………………..-
A7………………………………………………………..1043
AK83……………………………………………………..J2
6…………………………………………………………..AQ3

………………………………..J5
……………………………….98
……………………………….1096
………………………………..-

A S lead gives Lauria ruff-sluff.
A H lead gives Lauria the 10H, can ruff last heart, it gets established, hearts are 3-3

Those two gives the hand right away. D remains to lead.

Trick 7

A D lead gives Lauria the JD, and a squeeze follows.

………………………………….4
…………………………………K5
…………………………………Q75
…………………………………-

-……………………………………………………………..-
A7………………………………………………………..1043
AK8……………………………………………………..2
6…………………………………………………………..AQ3

………………………………..J5
……………………………….98
……………………………….109
………………………………..-

Trick 8

Lauria leads trump.

S discards are immaterial.

N can discard a Spade on first trump.

Trick 9

Lauria keeps leading trump.

Lauria discards 7H from dummy, N has no discard.

If N discards a D, diamonds from dummy run, winning AK8 of D and allowing 2 heart discards from Lauria’s hand.

If N discards a H, A of H from dummy eats the K H and Lauria can discard the 3H on the high diamond, and Lauria’ 10H becomes high, making 6.

So the hand is made on a combination end-play plus squeeze. Brilliance or what!!!!

Show how the ruff-sluff leads to 12 tricks.

Note that East has one too many cards in your reconstruction. I believe only 2 trump and not 3.

Thanks Peter, thanks Jim2, thanks, everyone else,

And to all a good night.

Peter Peng –

If declarer ruffs on board, he now has 1S, 1H, 2D, 6 trump, and 1 bonus ruff = 11 tricks. He cannot get back to hand (to run trumps for a squeeze) without ruffing a diamond. That kills the Vienna Coup since the AH must be the late Board entry for the diamond threat.

If declarer ruffs in hand, pitching a heart from Board, he cannot play his last trump to try to squeeze North because he would no longer have a hand entry. (That is why the 3rd trump that is NOT in declarer’s hand is so important.) Say, declarer instead plays to the AH, takes the top diamonds and ruffs a diamond, and ruffs a heart. This sets up declarer’s hearts for 12 tricks, but there is no longer a hand entry to them. (Again, because of that 3rd trump NOT being there)

So, Peter Peng, did the commentators note that North could have returned a spade for a ruff-sluff and defeated Lauria?