Senior Strip Squeeze

At Monday’s club game, I played 3NT from the East seat on Board 2 Section B, after North had shown diamond length.  South led the ♣5 (presumptively fourth best).

I ducked the ♣J from North and won the ♣4 return with the ♣A, as South followed suit with the ♣3.

Needing spade tricks to make my contract, I advanced a spade toward dummy.  South followed small and I was off to a good start when the ♠9 drew the ♠A from North.  North returned the ♥T, won by my queen, South following suit.  I won the next four tricks with three more good hearts and the ♠K from dummy.  I pitched two diamonds from my hand.  North pitched a diamond on the fourth round of hearts, while South followed suit to all the leads.

Having played two rounds of spades (losing one and winning one), four rounds of winning hearts and two rounds of clubs (losing one and winning one), I had reached a five card end position.

At Trick 9 I played a diamond to my ace.  As expected, South showed out, pitching the ♣T.

So … South is down to two intermediate clubs and ♠QT.  I cashed the ♣K, and threw South in with a club.  She cashed the ♠Q.  And then one more club!  Huh, what is going on?  How can I be down?  Somewhat sympathetically, my partner remarks, “Jeff, she pitched a spade”.  Yes, that is why this post is entitled Senior Strip Squeeze.  What I had seen as a discard of the ♣T at Trick 9 was actually a discard of the ♠T.  All I had to do was lead a small spade at Trick 10 and South’s ♠Q would draw air and, when supplemented by my ♣K, the ♠J would be my game going trick.