RUIA final, Session 2, Deal 17: Brilliant Defence: RUIA 2001, Session II

Deal No.17, North Dealer, None Vul

This deal will easily qualify as the best defended hand of the tournament. And the player under the spotlight was Ashok Ruia, the captain of the INDIA BLUES Team. Winning the opening lead with DA, Prabhakaran played a small Club. Ashok Ruia won with the ♣Queen JM discarding a small Spade. Ashok Ruia now found the devastating Heart switch.

It is not easy to spot and implement the squeeze that would have netted the eleventh trick for the Declarer after a black suit lead by South at trick three, however, considering that Prabhakaran was sitting West, there was a distinct chance that he would have found the correct line. Click here for the details of the squeeze. The ♥Jack nipped the squeeze in the bud because the link suit was destroyed. If the Declarer won it with the ♥Ace in the hand, he would have no entry back to his hand for removing trumps and keeping squeeze possibilities open. If the Declarer won the ♥King in Dummy, Dummy would virtually have been dead after a few more tricks!

In the other room, the contract was 6♣, so the declarer had no hope; nor did defence have to do much to defeat. In spite of the good defence, INDIA BLUES lost 5 IMPs.

Deal 17: 5 IMPs to FORMIDABLES

Total : INDIA BLUES:32; FORMIDABLES:31;

Comment by Rajeshwar Tewari, Tue, 04/23/2002 - 21:27

"I feel that it is the most automatic defense on the hand - it is just coincidental that the heart switch disturbs the communication for a squeeze thus giving the impression that the defense has been brilliant. Let me explain:

North has opened the bidding and the diamond lead to Queen and Ace. Seeing the dummy and given that North has opened the bidding and so far shown up with only KQ of Diamonds and max QJ of spades, is most likely to hold at least one H honour and if it is ace (more likely when north has opened), it gives a quick entry to Cash Daimond King and also give a ruff. I guess, a switch to Heart should be routine."