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Competition Problem 129a composed
by Paolo
Treossi
South
is in six no-trumps. Successful solvers: Steve Bloom, Ian Budden, Wing-Kai Hon, Leigh Matheson, Radu Mihai, Sebastian Nowacki, A.V. Ramana Rao Tables
Solution (a) North wins with the ♦7 and plays a cub to South’s ♣Q. The ♠J is allowed to hold (best) and is followed by a diamond finesse, the ♠A and ♠K, on which South discards the ♥2 and ♥Q. Then North plays another club. East might as well rise with the ♣A and play a heart, but the run of the remaining clubs then subjects West to a jettison squeeze. Although the ♥K can now be safely discarded, on the last club West must discard either a spade, allowing North to score the ♦A and ♠10, or a diamond, allowing North to discard the ♦A so that South makes the ♦K and ♦J. (b) West must lead a low spade. Declarer’s best try is to run it to the ♠J and lead a low diamond, but West inserts the ♦9 to deny North three entries in the suit. A club to the ♣K is followed by the ♦J (or ♦8), which holds, and a third diamond to the ♦A, on which East must discard a spade. It now looks as if West’s diamond sacrifice is in vain, as North can cash the spade winners, South discarding hearts, and put East in with a club. But no!—East throws the ♣A on the second spade! East’s play in b) would have pleased the prolific composer Ernest Pawle, many of whose problems feature his favourite tactic, the delayed jettison, where a discard from one suit creates the opportunity later to throw a high card from another, should the need arise. See the solution to Competition Problem #4 for the recommended tabular format if you prefer not to write in English prose.
©
Hugh Darwen, 2015 |