Q32
Q
A108764
J92

A10876
K92
2
KQ43

Playing IMPs, Lefty opens 3, your partner doubles, Righty passes, and you bid 4. Righty doubles.

The opening lead is the A. Lefty continues with the J. You win with the K, pitching a diamond from dummy, righty signalling a doubleton.

Hoffman led a spade towards the queen. Lefty popped the K and led another heart. Hoffman ruffed with the Q, not being able to afford to lose this trick. He then led to the 10 finessed Righty's Jxx, and drew the last trump with the ace. Now what? He had:

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A1087
J92

87
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2
KQ43

The straightforward play is to hope for a 3-3 club break or doubleton 10 of clubs. It does not hurt to play another round of trump, though opponents will probably just throw diamonds. If they both throw diamonds, then you might be able to set up your long diamonds, but you will be out of trump. If Righty has the ace of clubs, he will run his hearts; if Lefty has the ace of clubs, you can't get to dummy.

Hoffman decided that Righty probably did not have a singleton, or else he might have led it. So his distribution must be 7-2-2-2 and clubs were not breaking 3-3. Lefty probably had the A for his double. That makes it 60% for Lefty having a protected 10 of clubs.

Fortunately, the lead of the next-to-last trump completes the squeeze portion of the squeeze-trim endplay. Lefty has to save 4 clubs, so his last six cards are 4 clubs and two diamonds. To complete the trim portion, Hoffman led a diamond to the ace and ruffed a diamond, coming to this

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--
10
J92

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--
--
KQ43

Unfortunately, the club position is not quite good enough for an endplay. Lefty presumably has A10xx remaining. If you lead to the jack of clubs and Lefty wins the ace, he is endplayed. If he plays small, you let it ride to the 9 and then win the last two tricks with the KQ. However, if lets the jack win and you continue with a club to the king, you are now endplayed for the last two tricks.

Leading small towards the KQxx would not have solved this problem, because then you would have J9 in the dummy and the 9 could be smothered by the 10.

Fortunately, the diamond in the dummy is good. So Lefty cannot afford to duck the jack of clubs. So there is nothing Lefty can do to stop you from winning the last four tricks.

So, the winning diamond in dummy made up for the deficiencies in the club suit.

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Squeeze-Trim-Endplay Hands

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