closed band regained with the Better Bridge ace of clubs to score the queen of diamonds. By ROBERT D. dummy with the jack and Declarer had executed a ROSENBLUM drew trumps. When East crisscross squeeze after forc­ Copley News Service turned up with three hearts ing West to commit himself. South gave up the idea of try­ West could have destroyed Jan Wohlin of Stockholm ing to his queeri of dia­ this at trick four by shifting to provides International monds in dummy. Certainly a club rather than a diamond, Bridge Press Association East, in the bidding, could not knocking out declarer's members with bridge hands hold three diamonds. , but it would have for unrestricted use. After a Declarer ran all his availed him naught. lapse of several months four trumps. Now, many players South would still run puzzlers appeared in the Jan­ treat trumps as a security trumps and reach this five uary IBPA Bulletin. Here is blanket. They fear releasing card ending: one: control in the form of their last . Yet it is this card North s - S 6 32 that often exerts the pressure H D AJ H 532 that cracks the defense. South had no such fear. Here C Q86 D AJ C Q8643 is the positionat the moment he cashed the eight of hearts, s - S 5 West East H H S 98 S AK754 s - D Kl09 D 4 H 6 H 974 H C K 10 C 952 D K 10 9 8 7 6 2 D 4 D A J C Q86 s C K 107 C 9 5 2 H 108 s - D Q53 South s - C S QJ 10 H H H AKQJ108 D KlO D D Q53 C KlO C J952 Now West is caught a trick C A earlier when South leads the s ten of hearts. If he parts with Dealer - West. North-South H 8 a diamond declarer wlnerable. D Q5 the jack of diamonds, cashes C A the ace and ruffs a club to West North East South reach the good queen of dia­ 3 D Pass Pass 4 H West bad no safe discard. If monds. All Pass be let go a club declarer Letting go a club instead would cash the ace, enter enables South to set up Having preempted in dia­ dummy with the ace of dia­ dummy's queen by ruffing · monds West chose a spade monds and claim the queen of after a successful diamond lead againstfour hearts. East clubs as his tenth trick. . took the first two tricks and Throwing a diamond would Either way - crisscross gave him a ruff. Declarer not help. Now the ace of dia­ squeeze or trump squeeze - won a diamond return in monds is cashed first and the West is helpless.

Mar. 2, 1978 Better Bridge