A Nice Defence

On the hand below, from the first semifinal session, NS found a nice defence to extract the maximum penalty:

Board 19, Dealer South, East-West Vul.   ª Q J 4 © 10 ¨ A K J 3 § Q 10 9 6 3 ª K 9 8 5 3 © A 4 ¨ 8 7 2 § J 7 5 ª 10 2 © K J 8 7 6 ¨ 10 6 § A K 4 2   ª A 7 6 © Q 9 5 3 2 ¨ Q 9 5 4 § 8

West	North	East	South
			Pass
Pass	1¨	1©	Pass
1ª	Pass	2§	Pass
2©	Pass	Pass	Double
Pass	Pass	2ª	Pass
Pass	Double	All Pass

When South finally came to life, showing his penalty pass over 1© by doubling the opponents in 2©, East decided to run. This was not a great success either, as North doubled this and led the ©10. West won the ace and led a diamond. North rose with the jack, South playing the four. North took this as sort of a club preference, so he continued the §3. Dummy put up the ace and led the ¨10. South now won the queen and gave partner a heart ruff. North returned a club for South to ruff, and another heart came next. As it would not help West to ruff with the king now, he threw the §J as North ruffed the trick with the ªJ. Now North returned yet another club, hoping partner would ruff this with an honour if he held one. Yes: South could ruff the trick with the ace and play another heart, so North's ªQ became the second undertrick for a very good 500.

Things That Should Happen in the Final

The field reaches 6NT:

You are pleased to remember the safety play for five spade tricks. So you win the lead in hand and run the spade ten. To your delight East actually holds the bare nine. In a way you are pleased when you discover that every other declarer played the same way.

After all it is the Belladonna Memorial tournament and it was this great player who first showed the world how that combination should be played.

Then you reach the last deal of the event:

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

You reach 6NT and at first are considering how best to play for an overtrick after West has led his club. You cash a second club however and he discards a diamond. Oh dear our twelve tricks have become eleven.

Double-dummy it is easy to see that West can be pulverised by a choice of criss-cross squeezes (EG play a low club now, win the return, choose a criss-cross and go. However you are not playing double-dummy and have no wish to go down when a major suit queen is falling.
So you cash one top diamond then you cash the major suit winners. No queens. Oh dear. Time to resign?

Don't be absurd, this is the Belladonna Memorial Trophy you are playing for and you are poised to effect one of his greatest coups - the jetison squeeze and endplay!

Keep playing clubs to reach this position:

ª J © J ¨ A § - ª Q ¨ Q § - ª - Q © - ¨ 9 6 § 9   ª - © - ¨ 10 8 § 2

Now play the club.

If West pitches a major suit queen dummy throws the jack of the other major and claims the last two tricks.

If West piches the diamond queen dummy parts with the diamond ace - declarer takes the last two tricks on the marked diamond finesse.

This play - the Jetison squeeze and endplay has an intreaging history. Truscott produced one such deal in the early seventies, with the comment that one rarely saw something new in a three card ending. It was played by a visiting diplomat, we were told. Sadly the deal was identical to a Robin (Robert?) Gray composition for the double dummy section of Bridge World in 1945. If you wish to see the deal it was reproduced in the fiftieth anniversary edition of Bridge World in 1975.
Giorgio Belladonna, the best card-player since Deschapelles, actually played the coup. It appears in a slim volume by Rixi Markus called "Bridge Table Tales".

I'm not saying all that will happen, but I'm very sure it should.