[kgr]

After bidding 1NT-6NT your LHO (not an expert!) leads a small ♣, small promising an honour.
xxx
Kxxx
AKx
AKx
 
AKJ
AQJ
Txxx
Jxx
You let the ♣ run and your J makes the trick.
Question: What is the best play to develop an extra trick (and only loosing one) with:
♦AKx-♠xxx vs ♦Txxx -♠AKJ
(or with♦AKx-♠xxx vs ♦Txxx -♠AQx)
 
Play ♦A and let a ♦ run and later test ♦'s for 3-3 before taking the ♠ finesse? How does this change if a ♦ honour falls on the 1st (or 2nd) ♦?
 
Thanks,
Koen

[ArtK78]

Your object here is to score 5 tricks in the pointed suits.

The best play for 3 diamond tricks is A, K and another, winning 3 tricks whenever diamonds are 3-3 or either opp has QJ doubleton or LHO has Qx, Jx or a singleton honor.

However, your best play on the hand is to lead a diamond towards dummy, planning to duck a diamond if nothing special happens on the first round of the suit. Ducking a diamond will win 3 diamond tricks whenever diamonds are 3-3 or either opponent has QJ doubleton. If an honor appears from LHO on the first round of diamonds, you should play a second high diamond from dummy. If either LHO shows out or the other honor falls, you are home. If both follow, you need to determine how tricky LHO is - would he play an honor on the first round of diamonds from QJ98?

If nothing special happens in diamonds, you fall back on the spade finesse.

[BillHiggin]

I will cash a top diamond at trick 2, and then cash all the heart honors in my hand. Now I lead another diamond and duck if LHO has not played an honor yet (but cover if he produces one).

Assuming LHO has not produced a diamond honor (if he has, I win in dummy and lead towards my ♦10 - paying off to the brilliant false card from QJ9x), I win the return (whatever it is). I will cash one high spade and play a club to dummy. Cash the diamond honor. If diamonds are 3-3 then claim. If RHO has the long diamonds, then he is subject to a show up squeeze when I cash out my round suit winners. If LHO has the long diamonds, I must fall back on the spade hook.

I gain a little on the show up squeeze when I drop the doubleton offside ♠Q.

[kgr]

I wonder about a ♦ honour card from LHO...Suppose that LHO is an expert now.
You play small ♦ to the King and LHO plays the Q.
If you play the ♦A now and both opps with a small card, do you believe that LHO played Q from Qxx or Qx?
Is it not better to play small to the T in the 2nd ♦ trick in this case, loosing if LHO has ♦QJ and ♠K, but better if LHO has ♦QJ9x and not ♠K?

[BillHiggin]

kgr, on Jul 28 2007, 11:05 AM, said:

I wonder about a ♦ honour card from LHO...Suppose that LHO is an expert now.

So, after the rookie made the very non-expert lead from ♣Qx... we have an expert sub step in. Fuget about it.

[ArtK78]

Bill added a little to my line. Actually, they are the same - you would never take the spade finesse until you had to, and you would always cash a top spade honor first.