[FrancesHinden]

We just got knocked out of the Gold Cup to Forrester, Robson & co. Slightly frustrating because although they were unsurprisingly seeded above us, we beat them last time we played a KO match. Anyway, we played dreadfully and fully deserved to lose.

This was one of (few!) good boards

Scoring: IMP

1♦ 1♠ P P
x xx 2♥ P
3♥ 3♠ 4♥ x
P P P

---

You get the 5 of spades lead to the ace in dummy, RHO playing the 10.
What's your plan?

[when we get a consensus on this trick, I'll tell you what happens next...]

[Free]

I think I'll start with a small ♣ to my J.

[Codo]

Free, on Sep 4 2007, 12:53 AM, said:

I think I'll start with a small ♣ to my J.

I´ll start with a low club too. Lefty will hold at least 4 Hearts and another trick, so my idea is to play him for x,Qxxx,Axxx,xxxx or something similar. In this case I hope to loose one heart, one club and one diamond.
A club lead ensures an entry to my hand to lead diamonds.

[FrancesHinden]

I played a club to the Jack and LHO's king.
A low diamond comes back.

I'll let you off this decision: you put the Jack in and RHO wins with the ace.

RHO continues with a spade, on which LHO discards a diamond and you ruff in dummy.

Now what?

[Codo]

Okay after the club lost, I had guessed the diamonds too.
Now I try the King of Hearts , a Diamond to the king and a low diamond ruff- even if lho shows the queen on the second round of this suit.

My hand now:
-
AT
6
AQ6

97
J4
-
97

IF I survived so far, LHO has a 1444 which gives RHO a 7132.
Now I play two high clubs and ruff the last club.
LHO must ruff my spade, I overruff and ruff the last D with the jack.
I loose a heart, a diamond and a club and make.

If rho has a 1453, his diamond discard had been senseless but I can read the minor lengths and will ruff the low D instead of the 4. Club.
I see no way to make the contract against 5 hearts or 5 clubs with lho.

[FrancesHinden]

This hand is all a bit strange. At the table I couldn't understand the diamond discard on my left either - why not a club?

Anyway, the play is not going how you expect it to, because RHO is going to discard a club on the third round of diamonds. I'm not going to drag the play out any further, but it's an interesting hand.

When the diamond is discarded it looks as though diamonds must be 5-2, and LHO is either 1453 or 1354. At this point you simply cash the ace and king of hearts.

If everyone follows (LHO is 1354), you ruff a spade in the dummy, and LHO is squeezed - either he has to ruff in, or let go his minor suit menace and you cash the winning minor from dummy.

If RHO discards on the second heart, LHO started with a 1453. He can't stop you continuing King of diamonds, diamond ruff, ace of clubs, Queen of clubs, diamond ruff and spade towards dummy in the 2-card end position to make the H10 en passant. Very cute.

Of course I didn't think of this at athe table. I ruffed the spade return, cashed the DK and ruffed a diamond in hand on which RHO discarded. I decided that LHO was 1453 and continued with a club to dummy's ace, but sadly RHO ruffed this. I now knew that LHO started with a 1354, but couldn't see how to avoid losing another trick, whatever RHO played, unless RHO had Qx of hearts. Amazingly enough, RHO does indeed have Qx of hearts (what on earth was the double?). So we continued spade back ruffed in dummy, ace of hearts, Queen of clubs, cross-ruff for 10 tricks.