Quiz 8D65 Main

Chamber of Horrors

by Richard Pavlicek

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! You are about to witness the most lifelike figures ever created in wax. Please note that food and drink, cameras, or recording devices of any kind are prohibited, and conversation must be held to a whisper. This way, please.

As my first exhibit I present Joan of Arc, who was mercilessly burned at the stake for heresy at the age of 19. After her horrific death, her charred remains were burned over and over into powdery ashes to remove any trace of her existence from souvenir seekers.

Lady! Move away from that figure! Waxworks are extremely delicate and must never be touched. The facial features may appear real, but that is the artistry of my hands, aided by my assistant Igor. I assure you they’re entirely wax, except for clothing and hair strands.

At the right you will see my creation of Marie Antoinette, that is, before her head was severed by guillotine at the age of 37 — which I consider a triumph, reaching almost double the age of Joan. Perhaps she could have added a few more years if she had changed her catchphrase to: Let them eat wax.

Warning! My next six exhibits are dangerously close to a towering guillotine, which is not made of wax. Its razor-sharp, tempered-steel blade could sever six heads as easily as one, so keep this in mind as you test your declarer play on these problems at IMP scoring. Opponents use standard leads and signals.

Choose your play on each problem then click “Score Me” to see how you did. Explanations follow the quiz.

This way, please. Keep to the left for your safety, and try not to make any horrific plays.

Problem 1

IMPs	A J 7 5 2		`West`	`North`	`East`	`South`
None vul	A K Q 3			1	Pass	1 NT
	Q 3 2		Pass	2	Pass	2 NT
	2		Pass	3 NT	Pass	Pass
			Pass
Lead: 6		East plays J
Lead: 6		East plays J

	8 6
	7 4 2
	A K 6 5
3 NT South	K Q 4 3		If you duck, East returns 9 (West will duck whatever you play)

Your play? A. Win first club, finesse J
B. Win first club, cash A-K-Q
C. Win first club, lead 4
D. Win second club, finesse J
E. Win second club, cash A-K-Q
F. Win second club, lead 4

Problem 2

IMPs	7 5 4		`West`	North	`East`	South
N-S vul	7 6 5 4 3					2 NT
	J 8 3		Pass	3 ¹	Pass	4
	A J		Pass	Pass	Pass

Lead: 9		East plays 6	1. Jacoby transfer
Lead: 9		East plays 6

	A Q 3 2
	A K Q
	A K
4 South	6 5 4 3		You win Q and cash A (East shows out pitching 10)

What next? A. Win A, lead a spade
B. Duck a spade
C. Win A-K, A, lead J
D. Win A-K, finesse J
E. Win A, lead J
F. Finesse the J

Quit
Top Chamber of Horrors

Problem 3

IMPs	Q J 10		West	`North`	East	`South`
E-W vul	A 7 4 2			1	Pass	1
	4 2		Pass	2	Pass	4
	K Q 5 3		Pass	Pass	Pass

Lead: Q		East plays 7
Lead: Q		East plays 7

	K 9 8 7 6
	K 10 3
	A 8 5
4 South	10 4

Your play? A. Win first diamond, lead 4
B. Win first diamond, lead 5
C. Win first diamond, lead 6
D. Win second diamond, lead 4
E. Win second diamond, ruff diamond
F. Win second diamond, lead 6

Problem 4

IMPs	K J 10 9 8		West	North	East	South
Both vul	A K 7 5 2			1	Pass	2
	8		Pass	2	Pass	6
	Q 4		Pass	Pass	Dbl¹	Pass
			Pass	Pass
Lead: 5		East ruffs with 3
Lead: 5		East ruffs with 3	1. Lightner (asks for spade lead)

	A 4
	4
	A K Q J 10 9
6 × South	A 8 6 3		East returns Q to dummy’s ace

What next? A. Cash K, run diamonds
B. Cash K, ruff heart, run diamonds
C. Ruff heart, run diamonds
D. Draw trumps, lead 3
E. Run diamonds
F. Lead Q

Quit
Top Chamber of Horrors

Problem 5

IMPs	K 5		`West`	`North`	`East`	`South`
None vul	7 6 4 3				3	Dbl
	7 6 2		Pass	3	Pass	4
	A 6 4 2		Pass	5	Pass	6

Lead: Q		East plays 2
Lead: Q		East plays 2

	A Q J 9 7 3
	A K
	A K 3
6 South	K 5		You win A and cash Q (East pitches Q)

What next? A. Win K, K, Q-J
B. Win K, lead 2
C. Win K, K, ruff heart
D. Win K, K, lead 2
E. Win K, lead A
F. Win K, A, ruff club

Problem 6

IMPs	7 6 5		`West`	North	`East`	South
N-S vul	9 3			1	2	4 NT
	A K J 7 3		Pass	5	Pass	7 NT
	A 10 6		Pass	Pass	Pass

Lead: K		East pitches 2
Lead: K		East pitches 2

	A J 10 2
	A K J 10 4
	Q
7 NT South	K Q 2		You win A and unblock Q (both follow)

What next? A. Win K-Q, A, run diamonds
B. Win K, lead Q to ace, run diamonds
C. Win K, lead 3 to ace, run diamonds
D. Win K, lead 3 and finesse 10
E. Lead 3 to ace, run diamonds
F. Lead 3 and finesse 10

Quit
Explanations
Top Chamber of Horrors

Problem 1

IMPs A J 7 5 2 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
None vul A K Q 3 1. W 6 2 J 3!
Q 3 2 2. E 9 K! 5 2
2 3. S 4! 8 2 7
9 4 Table K Q 10 3 4. W A 5 3 Q
J 10 8 5 9 6 5. W 10 7 10 2
J 8 10 9 7 4 6. W 4 A Q 6
A 10 8 6 5 J 9 7 7. N K 6 4 5
8 6 8. N Q 4 5 8
7 4 2 9. N A 9 7 8
A K 6 5 10. N Q ?
3 NT South K Q 4 3 East is squeezed

To increase your chances if neither red suit breaks 3-3, duck the first club, win the K (West ducks) then lead a third club to let West run his suit. You lose four tricks early, but East is later squeezed in the pointed suits.

Problem 2

IMPs 7 5 4 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
N-S vul 7 6 5 4 3 1. W 9 4 6 Q
J 8 3 2. S A 2 3 10
A J 3. S 3! 2 J! Q
9 8 Table K J 10 6 4. E K A 8 5
J 10 9 8 2 — 5. S 4 8 A 7
Q 10 6 2 9 7 5 4 6. N 4 4 K 8
8 2 K Q 10 9 7 7. S 5 2 5 9
A Q 3 2 8. N 3 5 K 6
A K Q 9. S 6 9 7 K
A K 10. W J 6 7 Q
4 South 6 5 4 3 11. S 2
Win 2 more tricks

To effect a successful trump elopement, you must give up a club without letting East cash a spade or lead a third club.

Quiz 8D65 Main Top Chamber of Horrors

Problem 3

IMPs Q J 10 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
E-W vul A 7 4 2 1. W Q 2 7 A!
4 2 2. S 4 6 K 2
K Q 5 3 3. N 2! 5 K 6
A 5 3 Table 4 2 4. S 10 A 3 8
J 9 6 Q 8 5 5. W 3 10 2 6
Q J 10 6 K 9 7 3 6. N Q 9 3 7
A 7 6 J 9 8 2 7. N 5 J 7 6
K 9 8 7 6 8. S 10 J A 8
K 10 3 9. N 4 Q K 9
A 8 5 10. S 5 10 4 3
4 South 10 4 Win 2 more tricks

Club leads are urgent so do not hold up. If West wins the A to lead trumps, preventing a diamond ruff, the long heart sets up.

Problem 4

IMPs K J 10 9 8 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
Both vul A K 7 5 2 1. W 5 J 3 A!
8 2. E Q 4 10 A
Q 4 3. N K! 3 3 9
Q 7 6 5 3 2 Table — 4. N 2 6 9 2
10 9 Q J 8 6 3 5. S A 2 8 5
4 2 7 6 5 3 6. S K 4 8 6
10 9 5 K J 7 2 7. S Q 3 5 7
A 4 8. S J 5 4 2
4 9. S 10 9 9 8
A K Q J 10 9 10. S 4 6 10 7
6 × South A 8 6 3 11. N K ?
East is squeezed

Hopefully you unblocked the A at Trick 1. Both top hearts must be won immediately to have any hope for a squeeze, after which a double squeeze ensues.

Quiz 8D65 Main Top Chamber of Horrors

Problem 5

IMPs K 5 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
None vul 7 6 4 3 1. W Q 3 2 A
7 6 2 2. S Q! 2 5 Q
A 6 4 2 3. S K 8 4 5
10 8 6 4 2 Table — 4. S A! 4 2 4
Q J 10 8 9 5 2 5. W 6 K 5 3
— Q J 10 9 8 5 4 6. N 6! 9 7 J
J 9 7 3 Q 10 8 7. S A 8 6 8
A Q J 9 7 3 8. S J 10 2 9
A K 9. S K 3 7 10
A K 3 10. S 9 ?
6 South K 5 West then East squeezed

The crux is to make West win his trump trick early, then one heart ruff will isolate that threat for a double squeeze.

Problem 6

IMPs 7 6 5 Trick Lead 2nd 3rd 4th
N-S vul 9 3 1. W K 5 2 A
A K J 7 3 2. S Q 4 3 2
A 10 6 3. S K 4 6 3
K Q 9 8 4 3 Table — 4. S Q 7 A! 5
— Q 8 7 6 5 2 5. N K 5 2 6
10 8 6 4 9 5 2 6. N A 9 10 8
8 7 4 J 9 5 3 7. N J 9 J 10
A J 10 2 8. N 7 ?
A K J 10 4 East is squeezed
Q
7 NT South K Q 2

With diamonds 4-3 it looks like 13 easy tricks with the Q onside, but South will be one-suit squeezed as diamonds are run. The only legitimate chance is the J with East, which produces an entry squeeze.

Perry Groot Wins!

These six problems were published in 2018 as a long-running contest, which is now closed. Congratulations to Perry Groot (Netherlands) who topped all participants with the only perfect score. Scoring was based on how many of the first eight plays on each problem matched my recommended plays, so the best possible score was 48 (8×6). Equivalent plays or transpositions were accepted as correct.

There were 86 participants, and only one attempt was allowed for each. Only those scoring 32 or higher are listed below. Ties are broken by the date and time of entry (earliest wins).

Honor Roll
Rank Name Location Score
1 Perry Groot Netherlands 48
2 Ding-Hwa Hsieh Missouri 47
3 Joel Wooldridge New York 46
4 Gareth Birdsall England 45
5 Jonathan Mestel England 45
6 Ben Norton England 43
7 Charles Blair Illinois 41
8 Leif-Erik Stabell Zimbabwe 41
9 Sjaak Smetsers Netherlands 41
10 Richard Stein Washington 39
11 Franco Masoero Italy 39
12 Dan Gheorghiu British Columbia 38
13 Alex Fjodorow Russia 38
14 Wojciech Papuga Poland 37
15 John Reardon England 37
16 Reint Ostendorf Netherlands 37
17 Franco Baseggio New York 37
18 Yiran Liu Virginia 37
19 Ryou Niji Michigan 36
20 Carsten Kofoed Sweden 36
21 John Lusky Oregon 35
22 Tom Slater England 34
23 Nipodemus Nautilus Germany 34
24 Jean-Baptiste Courtois France 34
25 Sas Vd Boorn Netherlands 32

Honor Roll
Rank	Name	Location	Score
1	Perry Groot	Netherlands	48
2	Ding-Hwa Hsieh	Missouri	47
3	Joel Wooldridge	New York	46
4	Gareth Birdsall	England	45
5	Jonathan Mestel	England	45
6	Ben Norton	England	43
7	Charles Blair	Illinois	41
8	Leif-Erik Stabell	Zimbabwe	41
9	Sjaak Smetsers	Netherlands	41
10	Richard Stein	Washington	39
11	Franco Masoero	Italy	39
12	Dan Gheorghiu	British Columbia	38
13	Alex Fjodorow	Russia	38
14	Wojciech Papuga	Poland	37
15	John Reardon	England	37
16	Reint Ostendorf	Netherlands	37
17	Franco Baseggio	New York	37
18	Yiran Liu	Virginia	37
19	Ryou Niji	Michigan	36
20	Carsten Kofoed	Sweden	36
21	John Lusky	Oregon	35
22	Tom Slater	England	34
23	Nipodemus Nautilus	Germany	34
24	Jean-Baptiste Courtois	France	34
25	Sas Vd Boorn	Netherlands	32

Quiz 8D65 Main Top Chamber of Horrors

IMPs	A J 7 5 2		Trick	Lead	2nd	3rd	4th
None vul	A K Q 3		1. W	6	2	J	3!
	Q 3 2		2. E	9	K!	5	2
	2		3. S	4!	8	2	7
9 4		K Q 10 3	4. W	A	5	3	Q
J 10 8 5		9 6	5. W	10	7	10	2
J 8		10 9 7 4	6. W	4	A	Q	6
A 10 8 6 5		J 9 7	7. N	K	6	4	5
	8 6		8. N	Q	4	5	8
	7 4 2		9. N	A	9	7	8
	A K 6 5		10. N	Q	?
3 NT South	K Q 4 3			East is squeezed