<< Who Gets Stripped? Par Zero Deals Untitled I >>

A Complexity Four Example

A 7 5 4
J 9 7 2
3
Q 6 4 2
Q 9
K 4
K 10 4
J 10 9 8 7 5
J 8 6 3 2
10 8 6 5
A Q 2
A
K 10
A Q 3
J 9 8 7 6 5
K 3
This deal has complexity four, as described in the Introduction.

Notrump

North/South can set up two clubs, three hearts, and two spades. East/West can set up three spades, one heart, three diamonds, and a club. The key, then, is timing.

North/South

If North/South declare notrump, the defense starts with a diamond to East, followed by a spade lead (spades cannot be effectively established by leading from West.)

East/West

If East/West declare notrump, the defense starts with a club. The best declarer can do is lead a spade to try to break up the communication between the North/South hands. South takes the K, and cashes the K.
A 7 5
J 9 7 2
3
Q 6 4
Q
K 4
K 10 4
J 10 9 8 7
J 8 6 3
10 8 6 5
A Q 2
10
A Q 3
J 9 8 7 6 5
K
What does East pitch? If East pitches a heart, then South can play the A and then the Q, setting up two hearts in dummy, along with the three tricks taken and the Q and A in dummy.
If east pitches a low diamond, south plays the A and the Q. West wins, but what does West play?
A 7 5
J 9
3
Q 6
Q
K 10 4
J 10 9 8
J 8 6 3
10 8
A Q
10
3
J 9 8 7 6 5

Spades

North/South

????

East/West

????

Hearts

North/South

????

East/West

????

Diamonds

North/South

If North/South declare diamonds, the defense starts with the A, then a heart shift. Whatever declarer does, he cannot avoid a heart loser, a club loser, and five seperate trump losers in a cross-ruff.

East/West

If East/West declare diamonds, North/South start with diamonds, keeping East/West from cross-ruffing diamonds.

Clubs

East/West

If East/West declare clubs, North/South start with diamonds. The goal is to score four trump tricks via ruffs, in addition to a heart and two spades. Say declarer wins in the East hand, and cashes the A. Unfortunately for East/West, there is no entry to the West hand to continue clubs:
A 7 5 4
J 9 7 2
Q 6 4
Q 9
K 4
10 4
J 10 9 8 7
J 8 6 3 2
10 8 6 5
A Q
K 10
A Q 3
J 9 8 7 6
K
If a spade is led from dummy, South wins the king, gives North a diamond ruff, a heart is returned to South's ace, and North ruffs another diamond. North cashes the spade ace and then leads a spade at this position:
7 5
J 9 7
Q
K
J 10 9 8 7
J 8 6
10 8 6
Q 3
J 9 8
K
South ruffs high, and West can either pitch his heart king or underruff. In any event, the defense scores two spades, a heart, two low diamond ruffs, a spade ruff high, and North's Q.

North/South

If North/South declare clubs, the defense starts with the A, then a heart. Say South wins and leads a diamond, won by West. South loses a trump to the king in South, and North can get one diamond ruff, but declarer is held to two top trumps, a diamond ruff, two spades, and a heart.

Comments

What does complexity four mean? Essentially this means that none of the individual suits are parzero. For example, if we take the spade suit:
A 7 5 4
Q 9
J 8 6 3 2
K 10
and construct a symmetric deal from this distribution:
A 7 5 4
J 8 6 4 3
K 10
Q 9
Q 9
A 7 5 4
J 8 6 4 3
K 10
J 8 6 3 2
K 10
Q 9
A 7 5 4
K 10
Q 9
A 7 5 4
J 8 6 4 3
this resulting deal is not par-zero.
<< Who Gets Stripped?
Thomas Andrews (bridge@thomasoandrews.com), © 1999-2009.
Untitled I >>
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