IMPsite\articles\The GIB Zone (4)

This article first appeared in

vol. 8, nr. 5/6, August/September, 1997.

The GIB Zone (4)

by Onno Eskes

Read these four problems first !

1. E/NS
A 7 6
A 8 6 4 2
J 10 4
J 2

K Q J
K Q J 9 3
A 7 2
A K

East, to your right, opens a weak 2. You double, LHO then bids 3, natural and weak. Eventually, you end up in 6NT, and West leads 10.
How do you play?

2. W/both
K J 3
A K 3
A K J 10 7
K 4

A 6 4
8 5 4
9 4 2
Q J 10 9

WEST_ _NORTH_ _EAST___SOUTH
_2__.__Double____Pass___-__3
_Pass___.__3_____Pass___-_3NT
_Pass_____4NT_____Pass____-_5
_Pass_____6NT__((All Pass)

West opened the bidding with a Dutch Two (5-card major plus 4+card minor, 6-10 hcp), and South landed in a small slam. We track GIB's declarer play: 10 to J; GIB cashes a top diamond, as East shows out. Next comes K, ducked all around, obviously. GIB now cashes the top hearts, West discarding a spade on the second one. A second round of clubs is for West's ace. There now appear to be twelve tricks (3+2+4+3). How does GIB round up?

For more information on GIB, click

A J 4

9 4

K 6 4 3 2

K Q 2

K Q 8 5 3

K 8 7 2

A 9 8 3

West led the 4 against the 4-contract. Declarer won K, played a heart to the king, which held, and played another heart. West won J and shifted to 4, ruffed by East! East obediently returned 5, ruffed in hand. Now, a heart was ruffed in dummy. This remains:

A J
-
K 6 4 3
Q

K Q 8 5
8
-
A 9

Dummy is now on lead, and you may lose one more trick. Can you claim the rest?

4.______-___ A J 10 4 3 2
________-__ A 10 9
_________-_ Q 10 8 2
_________-_ -

9 6 5
Q 8 5 3
7 5
K J 9 7

WEST_ _NORTH_ _EAST___SOUTH
____________________________1
_Pass______1____-_2_ .___Pass
_Pass__ __Double__ __Pass____-_2
_Pass__ ___3___ __Pass........_ 4
_Pass___ __4___(All Pass)

West leads 7, and East cashes A-H. Declarer looks surprised as you follow suit to the second round of diamonds, which is quite understandable when south himself still has a diamond to play to the third round.
How do you defend?

Las Vegas, May 1997. At the cocktail party prior to the Cavendish auction, I meet Matthew Ginsberg, spiritual father of the clever computer program GIB. Of course, Zia Mahmood is prominently in attendance, too. As he walks by, we grab him by the sleeve of his cream-colored jacket, and he welcomes Ginsberg like an old friend, even when the latter almost immediately starts talking about 'The Bet'. A pathetic story follows.

When Onno Eskes jokingly alludes to the bet, the not-amused Zia seems to want to pour his Tequila Sunrise all over the young reporter. Meanwhile, Matt Ginsberg (centre) reticently munches his catfish, knowing full well by now that he can kiss his one million pounds goodby.

Pretty nurse
Zia paints a picture of his future, being pushed around in a wheelchair by a pretty blonde nurse, of course, in the park of some Californian Parkview Home; playing a little tiddly-winks with Omar and Gabriel; and where there's no room for a mad professor with a bridge program who waited too long, until the Pakistani senility had definitely set in.

Ginsberg retorts by saying that GIB will be ready for a match within a couple of years, and that he won't have any problem scraping together a million pounds. The discussion continues about the format of the match, and Zia finally concludes: "The bet's only on, if I'm sure to win." Being prematurely shipped off to Parkview Home is, of course, the alternative.

Deauville, 1996. The local bridge tournament is invaded by a large group of Italian 'gangsters'. The loot is huge: open pairs, the mixed pairs, the men's pairs, the teams, the Tournoi des Champions - everything is claimed by the Azzuri. Only Herve Mouiel manages to save French honor by winning the prize for the best-played hand.

1. W/both	A 7 6 A 8 6 4 2 J 10 4 J 2
10 7 9 8 5 Q 10 9 8 7 6 4 3		9 8 5 4 3 2 10 5 K Q 6 3 5
e	K Q J K Q J 9 3 A 7 2 A K

WEST
Duboin
-
3

Pass
Pass
Pass

Lead: 10

NORTH --
Multon
-
4

Pass

EAST ----
Bocchi
2

1)
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

1) weak

SOUTH
Mouiel
Double
4NT
5NT
6NT

How to make two diamond tricks? Stiff honor somewhere? Doubleton honor, and guess which side? The chances of a 5-2 break don't seem very good, with both opponents showing a long suit. Mouiel played East for

KQ in view of his weak two. He cashed two spades, all five hearts and both clubs. Thus, dummy was left with

J 10 4; East with

KQ6; and South with

A72. Now declarer played

K, stripping East of all but his three diamonds, and next a diamond to the ten endplayed him. Bien joue. At the other table, the French defender found the lead of

9, leaving the leader without any chance whatsoever.
GIB takes Mouiel's line, cashing the final top spade last*, before throwing East in: contract made.
*[this is essential, for otherwise East can sluff down to a winning spade and K-Q-doubleton - Ed.]

Like his human counterparts, GIB doesn't paticularly feel at home in partscore deals with many chances which may or may not be combined. He much prefers clear problems that require ingenious solutions, such as Mouiel's hand, or problem 2.

The true bridge problem fan will have recognized the trap right away: the single-suit squeeze. The twelve tricks required are clearly present, but they cannot conveniently be cashed. See what happens when you concede a trick to West, who next exits in spades. You win the king, cross to the ace, and run the clubs:

2. E/NS	- - K J 10 7 -
- - Q 8 6 5 -		- Q 10--------- - 8 7
e	- 8 9 4 9

----

On the last club you have to pich a diamond off dummy, but which one? It can't be

7, because after finessing the 10, you're stuck in dummy. The 10 (or jack) doesn't work either, because West will cover the nine, and the eight will score. What then? GIB provides the answer.

Let's go back to the situation after trick seven. West has just scored A, and returns a spade. GIB plays dummy's king and overtakes with the ace! He then runs the clubs, resulting in West getting into trouble first:

2. E/NS	3 - K J 10 7 -
9 - Q 8 6 5 -		- Q 10 9----- - 8 7
e	6 8 9 4 9

----

South plays

9, and West cannot spare a diamond, lest the leader leads

9, making four diamond tricks. So, the spade's got to go, and the miracle has come to pass:

7 is pitched off dummy, the diamond finesse is taken, and back to hand in spades for a second diamond finesse!

Entry squeeze (stepping stone). A fairly rare bird amongst squeeze species - certainly in its pure form. Consider for example this deal, played by Jaap Hazewinkel from Delft.

3.	A J 4 9 4 K 6 4 3 2 K Q 2
6 J 10 5 A Q 10 8 J 7 6 5 4		10 9 7 2 A Q 7 3----- J 9 7 2 10
e	K Q 8 5 3 K 8 7 2 - A 9 8 3

----

West led the

7 against 4

. Declarer won the king, played a heart to the king, and exited a heart. West won this trick and gave East his club ruff. East now led a diamond, and declarer, rightly assuming the ace to be with West, ruffed. He now pursued the most elegant line for his contract by ruffing a heart, and pulling trumps. This led to West getting squeezed in the following position:

3.	- - K 6 4 Q
- - A Q J 6		- Q----- J 9 7 -
e	8 8 - A 9

----

South, on lead, requires three of the last four tricks. He could, of course, simply unblock the clubs, ruff a diamond back to hand, and cash

A, while conceding the last trick. But instead, declarer preferred the elegance of the stepping stone: he played his last trump, and West had to keep his clubs, and so, he discarded

Q (

A does not help). Next came a club to the queen, followed by a diamond on which the losing heart was pitched. West was on lead, and had to give declarer the last club trick.

GIB bungles the hand pretty badly. He seems to be aiming for a dummy reversal by trumping diamonds in hand, but then he is beaten by a club ruff and trump return.

Fortunately, Hazewinkel submitted another deal on which GIB did not disappoint.

4.	A J 10 4 3 2 A 10 9 Q 10 8 2 -
9 6 5 Q 8 5 3 7 5 K J 9 7		K Q 7 6 4 A K 6 4 8 6 3 2
e	8 K J 7 2 J 9 3 A Q 10 5 4

---

At the table, the defence against 4

began with two top diamonds, a diamond ruff, and a spade exit. The question was whether GIB would spot the winning line:

A, spade ruffed with

J, heart finesse, spade ruffed with

K, and another heart finesse. And indeed, GIB duplicates this line. The next question is how West should defend. There are two ways to set the contract - the first is by returning a trump after the diamond ruff; the second is to refuse the diamond ruff.
GIB proves that he can see through the hand: he refuses to ruff the third round of diamonds, pitching a spade instead. When next declarer ruffs the fourth round, GIB overruffs and exits a trump, leaving declarer powerless.

Do you have an interesting problem in declarer play that you would like to submit to GIB? Send the deal, complete with all particulars, to Bridge Magazine IMP, or e-mail it directly to: eskeso@levendaal.nl

To IMP Bridge Index