[nickf]

Scoring: Swiss Teams

---

North opens a strong NT, East butts in with 2D (spades and minor) and you wind up in 3NT on a diamond lead.

Plan the play.

nickf
sydney

[Free]

I think the safest way is to start on the ♥ immediatly, to get a possible entry when ♣ don't split.

[mikeh]

It would be helpful to know how the play went to the 1st ♦ trick: I assume the card led was the J or else West played the J or the 10: the hand looks too easy if I won the 9

This is a complex hand, including what to pitch at trick 1.

If I pitch a ♠, then I cannot later force a reentry to my hand in that suit.

If I pitch a ♥, they may be able to set me in that suit: I can hardly afford to cash my top ♦ before tackling ♣, so even if ♣ run, I have not got 9 tops without playing on a major (♠).

So maybe I should pitch a ♣. Then test the ♣ suit. This throws away a trick, so is counter-intuitive.

If ♣ behave, then the ♣ pitch does not cost: they cannot stop me from 5♣, 2♠ and at least 2♦: I run the ♣, pitching small reds, and then play the ♠K. If they win that, they cannot take more than 3♥ tricks. If they duck, I continue a ♠ to the Q. They either let me win that and I cash 2 more ♦ or they win and cannot score more than 3♥.

If I throw a ♠, as I said, they can prevent a reentry in that suit, but if ♣ run, I pitch low reds and then lead the ♠ K. If they win, they cannot shut out my ♦'s so they duck. I continue a ♠ and they must win. Now I in theory shut off from my hand, but in reality they are endplayed. I already have 6♣, 1♠ and 1♦, and they must give me a trick in one of the remaining suits, no matter how they are distributed (thank you for the ♥8, in case I threw two ♥ from my hand)

So the black pitches are immaterial if ♣ break. If they break 5-0 offside, I play east for the ♥J.

If they are 4-1 offside (no stiff Jack) then I am better off having pitched a ♣ at trick one, by a very small margin. I knock out the ♣ stopper, pitching small reds.

If west returns a ♦, I win and ptich a ♥, which may kill me in the same manner as an original ♥ pitch. I lead a ♠ to the K and cash my last ♣, throwing a small red card and then lead a ♠.

In theory, I think that the two black pitch options at trick one are almost equal, but there is a very tiny chance that west will not return a ♦ after winning the ♣, if only because it is remotely possible that ♦ are 7-1 or that east signals a dislike of ♦.

[nickf]

mikeh, on Jan 26 2006, 11:18 AM, said:

It would be helpful to know how the play went to the 1st ♦

Ok. a small diamond was lead to either the J or T in the west hand.

nickf
sydney

[JSilver]

Assuming the ♣ don't split (otherwise why would you post this deal?), the opponents are going to get in twice, so I have to assume that the ♥ are distributed such that they cannot take 3 ♥ tricks. East must have something besides the ♠A, maybe stiff or doubleton honors in ♥. I plan to take 5♣, 2♦, and 2♠. So I'll throw a ♥ from dummy, cash the ♣A, and duck a ♣, assuming East shows out. On the presumed ♦ continuation, I'll throw another ♥ from dummy and lead the ♠Q.

[nickf]

My international team mate found a surprisingly simple line.

Win the diamond and play a heart, planning to set them up for a long trick.

Then you'll make 3D, 1H, 2S and 3 clubs. If they threaten you in spades, then you can fall back on the club position.

nickf
sydney

[Free]

nickf, on Jan 27 2006, 07:12 AM, said:

My international team mate found a surprisingly simple line.

Win the diamond and play a heart, planning to set them up for a long trick.

Then you'll make 3D, 1H, 2S and 3 clubs. If they threaten you in spades, then you can fall back on the club position.

nickf
sydney

exactly my thought

[kenberg]

I think the heart play has even more going for it than so far noted. It's unlikely you can make the contract if the A,K,J of hearts are all placed badly (a club duck will then lead to instant defeat by spade to ace and heart through, unless RHO is void in Hs) , so assume on of the heart honors is with the long spades, probably singleton or doubleton given his minimum of ten cards in spades and, I suppose, diamonds. Suppose you toss a club trick one and run the heart, losing to the jack. A diamond comes back. Toss another club and lead a small spade from the board. Probably the ace is ducked, but if the ace is played, throw the king, preserving entries. RHO cannnot continue Ds, and if he returns a spade you can win on the board, lead a heart to RHO's high honor. LHO cannot overtake, else you have 2Ss, 2Hs, 3Cs, 3Ds so RHO is on lead, He can establish spades but is out of entries. But say the spade is ducked so the king wins. Lead a heart. If LHO rises the honors will crash (assuming that RHO held honor doub orignally). This gives you two heart tricks to go with your 1 spade, 3 diamonds and three clubs. If LHO plays low. RHO wins the trick but he cannot lead diamonds without giving you a trick. He has only the ace of spades remaining as an entry so he cannot develop and cash spades. You will be free to play a third round of hearts to develop the needed heart trick.


If after RHO wins the first heart he shifts to a spade, that's fine. Whether LHO takes his ace or not play the king. A second heart lead will work, again assuming that RHO has only one of the missing heart honors. You could cash the ace of clubs here first. If RHO follows to the club you can assume he has at most one heart left.


Even if worse comes to worse, and LHO holds all the heart honors, you will succeed if RHO started with six diamonds since RHO cannot lead a third D. This seems a reasonable chance given that LHO's suits seem to be headed by not much. But I think the honor stiff or honor x position it hearts is the one most likely to come through.


In short, this line pretty much gives up on clubs except as a very last ditch effort. It seems to work with most of the likely holdings. It would be nice to cash a club early on just in case RHO's second suit is clubs, but I think that gets us into entry problems in the more likely case that his suit is diamonds.

Ken

[nickf]

kenberg, on Jan 29 2006, 01:28 AM, said:

I think the heart play has even more going for it than so far noted. It's unlikely you can make the contract if the A,K,J of hearts are all placed badly

No, I was making the point that you can afford to lose three heart tricks, thereby setting one up per-force.

nickf
sydney

[kenberg]

nickf, on Jan 29 2006, 04:50 AM, said:

kenberg, on Jan 29 2006, 01:28 AM, said:

I think the heart play has even more going for it than so far noted. It's unlikely you can make the contract if the A,K,J of hearts are all placed badly

No, I was making the point that you can afford to lose three heart tricks, thereby setting one up per-force.

nickf
sydney

I understand. You can lose three hearts and then have nine tricks. However, if all three honors are on the wrong side and they keep leading diamond, they will set up a diamomd trick to go with their three hearts and the ace of spades. If diamonds are 6-2, this cannot happpen of course.

We are in ageement that the play should begin with a heart. In brief, I am claiming that this will work anytime there is any heart honor to the right of declarer, as long as it is stiff or doubleton, or all the hearts can be wrong with the diamonds 6-2. With three hearts wrong and diamonds 5-3 (and the ace of spades where we think it is), this line will not work. But most likely nothing else will either. I think I am right about when this will fail, but it seems to be easily the best shot.

Ken