[twcho]

Scoring: IMP

West North East South
1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass
1NT Pass 2NT Pass
3NT All pass

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North lead ♣7, plan your play.

[whereagles]

This is the kind of 3NT I can't play properly. In fact, I'm so clueless I'll probably end up playing 3 rounds of clubs and let them make the next move

[mikeh]

This is a very common situation: there is no clear path to 9 tricks... and many, many lies of the cards where the contract is flat out hopeless.

However, at imps, you start by assuming that the onctract can be made. Clearly that requires some luck in the red suits.

I am not playing 3 rounds of ♣ Not only could that beat me right now, but I would have some difficult discarding to do.

I am going to start by assuming that the ♥ finesse wins. However, if it does, I still don't see 9 tricks without some ♦ winners as well.

I duck the ♣, win the return in dummy, perforce, and duck a ♦. I then win the presumed 3rd round of ♣, cash the ♥K, low to the J and hook the ♦Q.

I then cash the ♦A

By now, I will know a great deal about the shape: I will certainly know about the minors and may have clues about the majors... I may also, of course, have gone down some time ago

It is impossible to be precise at this juncture... unless I were to spend the next half hour typing: there are several permutations even if all has gone well.

My main plan is to read the red suits.

Whether I try to run the ♦ or the ♥ now depends on what I think is going on in the hand.

If both red suits behave, I have 9 winners already: 4♥, 3♦ and 2♣.

If only one runs, then I want to run that suit and then cash the remaining top in the other red suit and exit that suit, hopefully to RHO who will be out of ♣ and hold the ♠A and thus will be endplayed.

I would definitely need to be at the table, or to be told card by card who did what early in the play in order to guess which red suit I would play first in the end game.

BTW, on the 3rd ♣, I pitch a ♠ from dummy, to preserve my red suit options.

[bid_em_up]

This is probably one of those hands where you have to do something silly, like win the 2nd club and play the heart J off the board (playing for Qx(x) offside), and either run it or win and finesse the 89 twice on the way back.

Now I have 4 heart tricks, two clubs, two diamonds (finesse winning) and spade K (Ace onside) before opps can k/o the club A.

[Free]

First of all, start by ducking a ♣. Next play a small ♠ to your J. You have tempo, you can finesse ♥ through the right person, and if all is lost in ♠ and ♥, we still have a ♦ finesse.

[twcho]

Since there are too many lines to consider, let's give some hints for continuation.

OK, u duck the ♣, south win with ♣J. He then return a small ♦. How do u continue from then on?

[Free]

small to my 8

[twcho]

South switch to ♦3. U follow with ♦2. North win with ♦9 and return ♣2 to dummy's K. Continue your play.

[Free]

still a small ♠...

[Free]

Can you post the full hand plz, I'm curious how well or poor I did

[Codo]

After this start I need a miracle. I have one diamond and 2 CLub tricks, so I need six tricks in the majors, not quite easy, or a second diamond trick- and finesses never work in problems:-)
I start now with a heart to the King and a Heart finesse to the jack, hoping for Qxx in Norths hand. After cashing four hearts, I may have a better count of the hand.
If nothing special happens, I will finesse in diamond and play north for the long clubs and south for some spades and diamonds.
So my basic plan is to catch the ace of diamond and loose the 4. Diamond to south, who hopefulyl has to lead away from his ace.

[twcho]

Scoring: IMP

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Versace won with dummy's K. Played ♦8! from table and covered south J with Q. Upon winning with ♦K, north continued his good defense by returning ♥Q. Versace won with ♥A, return to his hand with ♥K, CASHED ♣A. Then played a small ♠ towards dummy. North played small and Versace won with dummy K. Cashed the ♥s and discarded a ♠ from his hand. North tried desperately by discarding both ♠Q and A under the ♥s. So at the end, Versace still scored the 9 tricks that the contract required.

Full marks to both declarer and the defenders (David Birman of Israel sitting north and David Fohrer sitting south). A real gem for us.