February 2022 - 32

Take the driver's seat. You play
7NT on a diamond lead. You win in
hand, cash the kA K pitching clubs,
and run the diamonds to reach this
ending:
 A K 10 8
k -
l -
' 9
 Q 9
k 7
l -
' A Q
When you play three top spades,
East shows out on the third. So you
know that West is down to one club
to preserve the J. Equally, the last
spade winner has forced East (who
must keep a heart) down to one club.
You lead dummy's club to your ace
knowing the king will fall. Have you
managed to execute a nonsimultaneous
double squeeze to bring home a
grand slam? No: The club finesse was
right all along, and anyone can take a
finesse.
The full deal:
 A K 10 8
k -
l A K Q J 9 3
' 9 6 5
 J 7 6 2
k 10 5
l 8 7 2
' 10 7 4 3
 5 3
k Q J 9 8 6 4
l 6 5
' K J 8
 Q 9 4
k A K 7 3 2
l 10 4
' A Q 2
Lowball endplay
By Larry Sealy
Playing in the second final session
of the Mitchell BAM Teams with
Wafik Abdou, we had the following
auction:
Dlr: East  J 8 5 3
Vul: E-W k A 7
l K J 9 8 5
' A 4
the Keohane North American Swiss
Teams. Krekorian was playing with
fellow Hall of Fame candidate Drew
Casen:
 K 9 6 4 2
k 4 3 2
l Q 6 3
' Q 6
 Q 10
k K 10 6
l A 10 7 4
' K J 10 3
 A 7
k Q J 9 8 5
l 2
' 9 8 7 5 2
West North East
Abdou
1 Pass
South
Sealy
1l Pass
1NT
Pass
Pass Pass*
The final pass was accompanied by
a long hesitation.
South led the kJ. I asked about
their carding methods and was told
they play standard honor leads. I figured
he was trying to hit his partner
and had led from J-x.
North was fooled and ducked. I also
ducked. A low heart then went to the
ace and my 10. When North returned
the 3 to the 10, ace and 2, it looked as
if North had started with the kA 7 on
my right because he didn't clear hearts.
And when South led his other spade
back (he didn't clear hearts either), he
was marked with no outside entry.
So I won the Q and led a club to the
queen and ace. North returned his last
club. I led the 'J, pitching a spade,
and North pitched a spade. Based on
the tempo break in the auction and
previous plays, I was sure North was
4=2=5=2. So I then led the l4 to the 2,
3 and 5! North had to lead to the dummy,
and I took the rest for plus 120. If
South had a diamond higher than the
6, I would have covered with the queen
and lost one more trick. Plus 90 would
still have won the board, as our teammates,
Gene Saxe and Jeff Rothstein,
were also plus on the board.
Inferences
By Staff
Jim Krekorian took advantage of
all the clues on this deal (spots approximate)
from the opening round of
32 | Bridge Bulletin | February 2022
 J 9 6 5 4
k A J 3
l 10 3
' 8 3 2
 Q 8 3 2
k 8 6 4
l 9 4
' A J 7 4
 K 7
k 7 5
l K Q J 8 7 6 5
' Q 9
 A 10
k K Q 10 9 2
l A 2
' K 10 6 5
West North East South
Casen
1l 1k
Dbl
2l(1) 2NT(2) 4k
All Pass
(1) Constructive raise
(2) Good-bad 2NT
East's 2NT rebid is the so-called
" good-bad 2NT, " which allows opener
to differentiate between strong
openers and hands that merely want
to compete to the three level. Here,
East wanted to bid 3l, but a direct
3l would have shown a better hand.
Ultimately, none of this mattered, as
Krekorian jumped to 4k, ending the
auction.
West led the l10 to declarer's
ace, and the diamond exit was won
by East. When East got out with a
trump, Krekorian went up with the
king, and West pondered before winning
the ace. This strongly suggested
that the K was on declarer's right,
as East needed that card to have an
opening hand.
West exited with a club to the 4, 9
and 10. When Krekorian cashed the
kQ, the kJ didn't appear, so declarer
ran three rounds of clubs, West pitching
a spade, and then got out with a
trump, endplaying West, who had
nothing but spades left.
Krekorian lost two trumps and
a diamond to make 4k. This was a
9-IMP pickup for his team.
Krekorian
February 2022

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