[sceptic]

Scoring: IMP

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West North East South

 1♦    Pass  1♥    Pass
 2♥    Pass  2NT   Pass
 4♥    Pass  Pass  Pass
 

Hi

I decided to go for the easy option A!C in the right hand, it failed, with a bit more thought, I think there is an endplay here I should have used, how do you play for it

Jack of Diamond lead

TY

[Walddk]

Please don't present a play problem without giving us the lead.

Roland

[Walddk]

I assume that North continued diamonds. There is no endplay unless he switches to a low spade.

1. ♦J to the king.
2. Diamond return (or trump switch).

You win, draw trumps and at some point you take the spade finesse. It loses and North exits with a spade. The defence must now come to two club tricks.

It doesn't matter if you cash the last diamond or not before the spade finesse. And even if you knew the layout, it wouldn't help to cash ♠A and play another. North wins his king and gets out with his last spade.

Roland

[FrancesHinden]

As Roland says there is no genuine line. The best chance you have on the layout is to win the diamond continuation (say) at trick 2, draw trumps in three rounds, cash the other top diamond and lead a spade towards the Queen. North has to rise on the first round of spades to avoid being endplayed.

However, this gives up on the nice easy line of playing for either Kx of spades onside or the ace of clubs onside, which looks a lot better single dummy.

[pclayton]

Lots of ways to beat this hand, including North ducking at T1 - never easy to find.

[Walddk]

pclayton, on Jul 5 2006, 04:16 PM, said:

Lots of ways to beat this hand, including North ducking at T1 - never easy to find.

Must be the heat Phil (it's 30C where I am, don't know about your place). We will all make it if you duck at trick 1.

Roland