The rare trump endgames Larry Hammick larry@hammick.com 2000.06.10 Contents ;Notation ;Devil's coup ;Uppercut-throwin and crossfire ;An unclear endgame phenomenon ;Smother play ;Notation For simplicity, we use no suit symbols. In each diagram, the highest suit is spades, the next hearts, and so on. Spades are trumps in each case. ;Devil's coup AT Ax AT x x x -- -- -- Jx Qxx Jx Qxx Jx Qxx x -- x -- x -- -- -- -- -- -- -- K9x KT9 K9 -- -- -- -- -- x Above are three variants of what is called the Devil's Coup. Qxx opposite Jx is normally a trump stopper, but the trick evaporates when North leads a heart, to which fourth hand must follow. A third small trump in dummy would not have had the same value as the small heart. Declarer can steer for a Devil's coup with a trump suit such as ATx K9xxx This requires friendly distribution of the side suits. But the alternatives, of trying to drop a singleton quack or QJ doubleton, may be no better. If, in the above diagrams, we give East the trump ace and demote all the other trumps by one rank, we get these variations: K9 Kx K9 x x x -- -- -- Tx AJx Tx AJx Tx AJx x -- x -- x -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Q8x Q8x Q8 -- -- -- -- -- x ;Uppercut-throwin and crossfire In the endgame, an uppercut by declarer may not only promote a trump in the opposite hand, but throw in a defender at the same time. 1) Qxx 2) Qx -- x AJ9 AJ9 -- -- KTx KTx -- -- (1) is just a one-suit throwin: declarer leads the trump K, or leads to the K, and loses only one trick. In (2), if the lead is with North, declarer leads the heart and ruffs with the K, achieving the same position. (2) is an "uppercut-throwin". 3) Ax 4) KJ x x -- -- KTx Jx Qxx -- -- -- -- x -- Q9x A -- -- -- xx North leads Hx. North leads Hx. In (3) the defence makes only one trick. By contrast with a Devil's coup, declarer could have used a third trump in the North hand in place of the heart. In (4) there is no throw-in possibility, but the principle is similar: ruffing with the ace promotes the J. 5) T9 6) T9xx xx -- -- -- QJ87 QJ87 -- -- -- -- AKx AKx -- -- x x North leads Hx. North leads Sx. In (5), declarer ruffs a heart with the K and leads a diamond, losing only one trick. In (6), declarer just crosses to the trump K. If South is already in, he may lead a diamond right away. If West is in, the result is the same. If East is in, he must lead a trump to produce a second trick. An uppercut-throwin participates in a more complex type of endgame which we call a "crossfire", after Terence Reese's description of one such hand. The principle is that, in the endgame, high trumps in both hands exert more power than if they were massed in one hand. Q8x Q8xx x -- -- -- KJT7 KJT7 -- -- -- -- A9x A9xx -- -- x -- South leads a diamond. South leads Sx. In these two positions, which play alike, West makes only one trick. The variant at left is a crossfire. If West ruffs with the 7, dummy overruffs with the 8 and returns a heart to the trump ace or 9. If West ruffs with the T or J, dummy plays the Q, and a heart is ruffed with the 9. Lastly, if West ruffs with the K, dummy discards a heart. Q9x Q9xx x -- -- -- AJ87 AJ87 -- -- -- -- KTx KTxx -- -- x -- South leads a diamond. South leads Sx. West makes only the trump ace in either of these two. ;An unclear endgame phenomenon Q9 -- xx KJ8 -- K AQ -- AK ATx x -- If West in on lead, he must lead the _king_ of trumps to hold declarer to two tricks. If he leads the J or 8, dummy wins with the Q or 9, a diamond is ruffed with the ace, and a heart is led toward dummy. J9 -- Ax KQ8 -- K AQ -- KQ ATx x -- Again West must lead the K or Q of trumps. If he leads S8, dummy's 9 wins and declarer calls for DA, on which he discards his heart. ;Smother play The smother play is famous for being one of the rarest and most distinctive of all specialized endgames. The Swiss star Jean Besse is the only player I know of who has achieved it at the table. 1) Ax 2) A -- x -- -- Kx -- Kx -- -- -- -- -- -- xx -- xx QJ QJ -- -- -- -- In (1) declarer has the balance unless North is on lead. In (2), the "smother play", the result is the same provided that East is on lead. 3) AK 4) AKQ 5) AQ x x x -- -- -- Qxx -- Jxxx -- Kxx -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- xxx -- xxxx -- xxx JTx T9xx JTx -- -- -- -- -- -- These three are essentially the same as (2). In (3) or (4), it would not have hurt for declarer to play off the K or KQ of trumps earlier. In (5), he could have finessed the Q. (6) and (7), below, are slightly different. 6) A 7) A xx xxx -- -- Qxx -- Jxxx -- -- -- -- -- -- xxx -- xxxx KJT KQT9 -- -- -- -- In all the smother play diagrams, East may have cards in two suits instead of one, provided that the other three hands are void of both. Or North may have cards in two side suits, so long as East is void of both.