[Trumpace]

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Rubber bridge. Contract 4S.

Plan the play in the following two cases:

1) ♣K lead.
2) ♠ lead.

[Winstonm]

K lead:

Ace of clubs, ruff a club. Cross in diamonds, ruff a club. Cross in diamonds, ruff last club. Lead a diamond toward the J.

Spade lead:

Win in dummy. A of clubs, ruff a club, cross in diamonds, ruff a club, cross in diamonds, ruff a club. Lead a diamond toward the J.

Best I can come up with.

Winston

[Trumpace]

For the first part you are right.

We can make ten tricks by ruffing in hand 4 times. (3 clubs and a diamond).

I am not sure about the second part.

I am pretty sure there will be some way we can combine all our chances (well place heart A or Diamond Q or 3-3 diamonds or...). I was hoping someone will do an analysis but seems like this thread is dead.

[FrancesHinden]

Trumpace, on Dec 12 2005, 12:05 PM, said:

I was hoping someone will do an analysis but seems like this thread is dead.

That's the problem with the internet generation. No patience any more.
You post a thread on Friday evening, and when you have no replies by Monday lunchtime assume the thread is dead.

[inquiry]

FrancesHinden, on Dec 12 2005, 12:57 PM, said:

Trumpace, on Dec 12 2005, 12:05 PM, said:

I was hoping someone will do an analysis but seems like this thread is dead.

That's the problem with the internet generation. No patience any more.
You post a thread on Friday evening, and when you have no replies by Monday lunchtime assume the thread is dead.

Right you are. There is another reason as well. Play problems (unlike bidding problems) posted in the Beginner/Intermediate thread get very few responses as a rule. There seems to be a number of reason for this.

1) Beginners, while reading the post, often don't want ot stick their necks out and venture a line.

2) Good players, assume you want beginners/intermediates to answer or you wuld have posted elsewhere

3) Other "goodish plyaers" who have a line they would play, might not suggest an answer because it is one thing to boggle a line in the interesting hand thread or in teh "advanced/expert thread" but they wouldn't want to be seen boggling on in this thread.

Want lots of replies to your play problems? Post in the expert thread... :-)

[FrancesHinden]

The club lead is easy, as already pointed out.
On a trump lead, that line doesn't work and we have to find a 10th trick somewhere else.

If we start with the dummy reversal line it goes

CA, C ruff
DA, C ruff
DK, C ruff
Diamond

Whoever wins that has to play another trump, or we have 10 tricks the same way (we may make if the hand that wins has a singleton trump and the HA, or the HA is onside).

Ignoring diamonds 5-1 which probably beats us anyway, this line makes with

Diamonds playing for 3 tricks AND trumps 3-2, or
Someone being endplayed with the 4th round of diamonds (and trumps 3-2)

This endplay adds a lot to the chances of this line. Given that you need trumps 3-2, you will get a 10th trick if any of the following are true:

- clubs 4-4 and the HA onside
- the long diamond and the HA together with <= 4 clubs
- LHO looking at e.g. xxx AJx xx QJxxx 5 clubs doesn't realise they need to hang on to the 5th club and discards it on the 3rd or 4th round of diamonds.


The alternative is to give up on gaining even one trick on a dummy reversal and take lots of red suit finesses. Win the trump lead in hand and take a diamond finesse. If that wins, draw trumps ending in hand; if they are 3-2 take ace of clubs, club ruff before leading towards the HK. This makes if the two red suit honours are onside, or one is onside plus diamonds are 3-3 or there is a minor suit squeeze. They may be able to break up the squeeze by winning the DQ from Qx and returning a diamond.

This line feels worse, not least because a trump lead often indicates trumps aren't 4-1 (depends on the auction) and this is a line that gains with them not breaking.

[FrancesHinden]

Oh, I hadn't noticed this was in the BI thread. While it's a text-book hand on a club lead I don't think it's at all easy on a trump lead.

[Trumpace]

FrancesHinden, on Dec 12 2005, 12:57 PM, said:

Trumpace, on Dec 12 2005, 12:05 PM, said:

I was hoping someone will do an analysis but seems like this thread is dead.

That's the problem with the internet generation. No patience any more.
You post a thread on Friday evening, and when you have no replies by Monday lunchtime assume the thread is dead.

Yes! I find the microwave too slow! LOL

Thanks for responding.