The Schnapsen Log

Thoughtful Actions (conclusion)

Martin Tompa

Tibor: (33 points)
♠ AQ
♥ —
♣ TQ
♦ J

You: (34 points)
♠ K
♥ J
♣ K
♦ TK

You have three winners in your hand, the two trumps and ♥J. Can you reach 66 trick points by cashing them? No, a quick count shows that you will only get to 34+10+4+2+2+3+3 = 58. You also cannot allow Tibor to trump your ♥J, because that plus his two black winners gives him 33+2+2+11+10+4+4 = 66 trick points exactly.

If you don’t allow him to trump your ♥J, the outcome is going to come down to who wins the last trick. You cannot begin by cashing your two trumps, because then Tibor is sure to win the last trick.

You also cannot begin by leading a black king in order to knock out one of Tibor’s entries. If you do this, he will continue that suit in order to force you to trump. You will then be on lead in this position:

Tibor: (48 points)
♠ —
♥ —
♣ TQ
♦ J

You: (47 points)
♠ —
♥ J
♣ K
♦ K

When you now lead ♣K in order to knock out Tibor’s other entry, he will force you again by leading ♣Q and will win the last trick with the last trump.

We have eliminated almost all of your possible plays. To recap, you cannot start by cashing two trumps, you cannot start with ♥J, and you cannot start with a black king. That leaves only one possibility: you must start by pulling just one trump, leaving you on lead from this position:

Tibor: (33 points)
♠ AQ
♥ —
♣ TQ
♦ —

You: (46 points)
♠ K
♥ J
♣ K
♦ K

Do you recognize this configuration? This is the hallmark of the tempo squeeze: you have one card in each suit, and your opponent has two winners in each of two nontrump suits. You begin by playing your squeeze card, ♥J. This forces Tibor to choose a black queen to discard, and you continue with whichever suit he discarded. Let’s suppose he discards ♠Q and you continue with ♠K. That puts Tibor on lead from this position:

Tibor: (48 points)
♠ —
♥ —
♣ TQ
♦ —

You: (51 points)
♠ —
♥ —
♣ K
♦ K

Tibor can cash ♣T for 62 trick points, but then must yield the last trick to your trump.

Your Uncle Hans has been watching the whole proceedings from the sidelines. “A masterfully executed tempo squeeze, my dear,” he beams.

© 2017 Martin Tompa. All rights reserved.

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