[Trumpace]

Playing IMPS:

Scoring: IMP

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East is dealer, you are south.

Bidding goes (opps passing)

3D - 4NT
5C (vanilla) - 6D

LHO leads ♥J.

What is the best play? (trumps turn out to be 2-1, if you need to know that info)

[gwnn]

i think with both opps being non-preemptors (ie neither have 8 hearts or so) your only realistic chance is 4th spade next to KQ♣ doubleton on the left. but i suspect i am wrong.

[ArtK78]

That would certainly be easy, but there are other chances - a compound squeeze with threats in all three suits seems possible.

Knock out the diamond ace, win the return, start running the diamonds. Watch for the club cards. If the 8 and 10 get pitched, the 7 in your hand becomes the club threat so you can throw away the J from dummy.

The play may be different depending on the suit returned by the opps on winning the ♦A. All sorts of possibilities exist when you have two suits with entries in the dummy, including some trump squeezes.

Only one opp can guard the spades. Both opps are guarding hearts and clubs. That will not be true after the fifth round of diamonds.

I am not an expert in presenting the analysis of the play on this type of hand. But there is a near certainly that you can make this hand with all of the threats that are available.

[jdonn]

I would win the lead (duh), force out the diamond ace, presumably ruff the heart continuation, draw a second trump if both followed to the first round, then unblock the club ace before running diamonds. I will make if 4 spades + KQ of clubs on left, 4 spades + KQT8 of clubs on right, certain misdefenses (say LHO throws his clubs from 8x(x) or Tx(x)), and the heart 8 also offers some slight extra chances although I don't think it's likely that card is a factor. I will hang onto it till the last possible moment just in case though, you never know. Regarding the heart threat guarded by both players, this hand is not the normal matrix for a compound squeeze, but I won't pretend that there couldn't be something fancier than what I stated which fails to occur to me.

[mikeh]

I would expect to fail. The chances are extremely high that LHO does not have KQ♣ (let alone KQ♣ and the 4th or longer spade). He led the ♥J: not a lead that would occur to many when holding the club KQ.

However, the mere fact that this most useful of layouts almost certainly doesn't exist, doesn't change the basic idea: knock out the trump A and then start running diamonds. Even when you cannot legitimately make, most non-expert defenders will not communicate well with partner.

However, if they play a heart when in with the ♦A, they will both know that the one with 4 spades has to hold that suit.. unless you are 1=1=7=4, the player with 4 spades knows that his partner can't guard the suit.

You have a legitimate line if the player with 4+ spades has the KQ108 of clubs. You have a reasonable illegitimate line if the player with 8xx(x) of clubs abandons that 'useless' holding early.. or 108x(x) as well.. if that holding is with short spades.

I agree with jdonn that the matrix looks wrong for any form of compound squeeze.

So I think that the best line is to play quickly.. that sounds like a joke but it isn't.... sometimes inexperienced players will allow you to dictate tempo on hands like this, and then, at about trick 7, they realize they have missed a card or two.

[pclayton]

A compound will not work; you need a re-entry back to your hand. I can't see any technical way for something else.

The main hope is either opponent has the KQT8 of clubs along with 4 spades.

At the table, I'd try to maximize the chance of an error. I'd unblock the Club ace and run all the trumps but one. Its possible the opponents will bare down to a stiff heart ans let me ruff out the suit, but this is remote, and impossible against good defenders.

I played around with some guard squeeze variations with LHO holding 4 spades, and RHO holding 2 of the top 4 spade honors and the club guard, but I couldn't get it to operate. I have a hunch I'm on the right track.

[uday]

You could also play for someone to be 1-1 in the minors with the still DA but that seems even less likely than someone holding 4+ spades and KQT8 of clubs (or LHO holding 4+S and KQx.. of clubs).

I'd be surprised to learn that there was a better line than simply driving out the SA and playing for the S/C squeeze.

[Free]

Draw trumps, ruff the 2 of ♥ if they didn't continue them, make sure you only have 1♠ left in your hand, don't forget to play ♣A, and run all your trumps. Opponent's discards will make it pretty clear what you should keep in dummy.