[inquiry]

Scoring: Imp

1♦-1♥
3♥-4NT
5♠-5NT
6♦-6♥
Pass

T1. ♠4-9-T-A
T2. ♥7-4-Q-3
T3. ♥J-♣2-♥K-9

Can you maximize your chances and earn credit for a gold star plau?

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This hand is one I kibitzed in a team match made up of essentially all gold stars. The contract was a tame 5♥ at one table, needing one of two finesses. At the other table, the one I kibitzed, NS wre more adventuresome. Can you help South find his way home to 12 tricks?

Take your time... declarer didn't.

Ben

[luis]

Maybe my line is too simple, if so my sincere apologies.
Seems like west lead is a singleton, if so I think the contract is laydown assuming the diamond finesse wins.
Eliminate the diamonds and exit playing cA and a club, if west wins he must give up a ruff and sluff in clubs or diamonds. If east wins he must give up a ruff and sluff or play a spade into KJ.

[uday]

Seems right to take the D-hook first; if it loses, you need 4 spade tricks, and can later run the S7 ( playing LHO for Q8xx or hook the SJ , playing LHO for Qxx or Qxxx).

If the D hook wins, I dont think it is clear to exit with a club. You can always make it now if you guess what to do.

if lho has x or xx in spades, you can run winners, forcing RHO down to 5 cards. You hold xx x x Ax. RHO must hold Qxx - and only 3 minor cards. Dummy comes down to KJx - Ax x . You can now force RHO down to all spades by taking the minor aces and a diamond ruff in the proper order, and duck a spade to endplay him.

If you are willing to play LHO for non-shortness in S you can always make 2 more S tricks in a few ways (have to guess layout)

Are there any restricted choice implications? If LHO has the SK, he is less likely to have the CK, isnt he? Then, is there an implication that he wont have spade quacks bec. he didnt lead from his club quacks ?

Running a couple of trumps seems to keep all your options open until the 6 card ending. Maybe you are supposed to play RHO for the spade length - is the restricted choice argument flawed?

[inquiry]

Scoring: IMP

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Your logic is not flawed at all UDAY. The ♦Hook and ♦ elimination is the right start. Now play on trumps. From this play, you will get all the clues you need to find your (correct) play. Poor EAST has to keep three ♠ as you summize, else you can simply duck a ♠. The key ending is one like this...

Scoring: IMP

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West has discarded well, playing the ♦K when you ruffed one and his partner played the ♦J (play the known card..and it looks like EAST could have ♦T left for his ♦J play). But the fact that no one has pitched a ♠ still looms large. If west had 4♠ originally (leaving him with ♠Q8x) east would have thrown a ♦ in here not all those ♣s perhaps. So if you are on your toes, you cash the last trump, discarding a ♣ from dummy. East has to let go a club, else you duck a ♠ to him to set up the long ♠, but this doesn't help. You cash the ♣A, removing his exit card, and exit with a ♠ ducked safely to EAST. This works whether WEST has a singleton ♣ or a doubleton ♣ - although EAST has to have no more than 3♦ for this play to work. But if EAST had 5♠ instead of 4, surely he has only 3♦.

Very, very well done, UDAY.

Ben

[Trpltrbl]

Not much more to say after Uday and Ben. finesse is key to hand.

Mike