Calling Geza Ottlik Again by Jean Besse

VII WORLD BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Bal Harbour FL ~ Sept. 13-27, 1986

Source:

With great sportsmanship, Edgar Kaplan and Norman Kay reported in Saturday’s bulletin on a hand where I happened to guess the winning line. ([ilink url=”http://csbnews.org/new/?p=62290″]Click Here[/ilink] to read the article)

I now feel compelled to report on my failure on the following hand. Over optimistic bidding propelled me into 4 against Gothe and Gullberg from Sweden in the Swiss Teams.

	A 9 4 3 K 5 10 9 3 2 A J 6
8 Q 10 8 7 2 A K J 8 5 K 2		10 7 6 A 4 Q 4 10 9 7 5 4 3
	K Q J 5 2 J 9 6 3 7 6 Q 8

On the opening lead of a low heart ducked in dummy and won by East’s ace, I had same chances if the K was onside. Back came the Q, overtaken by West’s king, who won a second high
diamond before exiting with a heart.

Late in the night I did what I did before in 1979 when Benito Garozzo missed a difficult hand. I phoned to ask advice from the famous author of “Adventures in Card Play”, Geza Ottlik in Budapest.

Jean Besse: Hello Geza! I went down.

Ottlik: Never disturb my morning sleep, please.

Besse: After the K, I cashed the KQ. If they broke 2-2 a winning finesse would give me the game.

Ottlik: Then?

Besse: The spades were 1-3, and following your advice I tried to “elope”, crossruffing. Unfortunately, East overuffed the 9 and that was the end.

Ottlik: Elopement, elopement. Why? Is that all you read in my book after so many years.

Besse: What?

Ottlik: First you had to try the club finesse. If the king was offside, then you would avoid going down two, getting a discard for one of your losing hearts.

Besse: But the finesse was on.

Ottlik: OK. Then win your clubs and ruff the third in hand. You then would have seen that West shows out on that third round ruff, discarding a heart. It is now absolutely clear that West had originally no more (and no less) than five diamonds, and therefore no less (and no more) than five hearts.

Besse: And that East would be able to overruff any attempt to get rid of my losing hearts by dummy’s ruffs,. . . .

Ottlik: And this is where you should have made profit of my book, namely on the chapter of dealing with entry-shifting squeezes:

	A 9 10 9
Q 10 J 8		10 10 9 7
	J 5 J 9

Besse: Ah mais oui! All I had to do was to play my J! If West threw a diamond, I would overtake in dummy and establish a diamond. If he threw a heart, dummy would play low and I could establish a heart, Ca’ alors!

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