[skjaeran]

Scoring: IMP

I don't remeber the auction. It's a puzzle that I was declarer since we play T-Walsh. Anyway, I ended i 6♥ as south. The only non-pass from opponents was RHO's double of a ♠ cuebid by partner.

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The lead was ♠4 (3rd/5th) to king and ace.
What's the best plan? I had two in mind from the start.

[Fluffy]

I'd avoid any finese

♥A (might switch line if something drops here, also maybe if ♥8 at East)
♣A
♣Ruff
♥K

if everyone follows

♣K
if everything was on its already done, if not there are still some other chances.

[bhall]

I'm with Fluffy. But if the ♥Q drops under the K, just pull the last trump and play ♦AKx, eventually pitching your small ♠ on the ♣K. Then you have successfully executed the Chicken Coup.

And if the ♦Q also falls, that's the Two-Chicken Coup!

[skjaeran]

I went for the club line, without touching trumps.
♣AK pitching a diamond and low ♣ from dummy, east discarding ♠2.
What now?

[Fluffy]

I Am playing a very rare line now

ruff the club, ruff a spade, and play low heart from dummy to the ♥J

[mikeh]

Well, the question seems to be whether to play for trump to behave or diamonds.

I don't like finesses when I have attractive alternatives: I once read that the reason experts win more than 50% of their finesses is that they try to avoid those where the odds are not in their favour, and this seems like such a hand.

If diamonds are 3-2, I think this is cold.

ruff the club, cash the top diamonds. Even if the Q comes down doubleton, I think the play is still as follows (if it comes down singleton, I change tactics, and if the second diamond is ruffed, I'm just plain down).

Cash the top spade, pitching a diamond, ruff the spade, ruff another club.

At this stage we have won 9 tricks and have void Kx J 10 in dummy opposite our void AJx x void.

If LHO has not been able to dump his 5th club, we cross in trump and lead the last club, ensuring that we can score the AJ of hearts. We have 12 tricks: 2 spades and a ruff, 2 diamonds, 2 top clubs and 3 ruffs and the AK of hearts.

We don't care where the red queens are.

If LHO dumps a club on the 3rd spade (RHO holding 7 of them, seems unlikely), then we play the same way except that we exit the last diamond, hoping that LHO has to win and be endplayed... it is a near certainty in this layout that he has 3 or 4 trump.

I am not worrying about the safety play in diamonds: cash one top honour, then go to dummy and lead low towards Kx, in case rho has a stiff: if he had a stiff, he would have pitched it earlier, and I am not at all sure I can afford the entries anyway.

[skjaeran]

mikeh, on Oct 1 2007, 01:54 AM, said:

Well, the question seems to be whether to play for trump to behave or diamonds.

I don't like finesses when I have attractive alternatives: I once read that the reason experts win more than 50% of their finesses is that they try to avoid those where the odds are not in their favour, and this seems like such a hand.

If diamonds are 3-2, I think this is cold.

ruff the club, cash the top diamonds. Even if the Q comes down doubleton, I think the play is still as follows (if it comes down singleton, I change tactics, and if the second diamond is ruffed, I'm just plain down).

Cash the top spade, pitching a diamond, ruff the spade, ruff another club.

At this stage we have won 9 tricks and have void Kx J 10 in dummy opposite our void AJx x void.

If LHO has not been able to dump his 5th club, we cross in trump and lead the last club, ensuring that we can score the AJ of hearts. We have 12 tricks: 2 spades and a ruff, 2 diamonds, 2 top clubs and 3 ruffs and the AK of hearts.

We don't care where the red queens are.

If LHO dumps a club on the 3rd spade (RHO holding 7 of them, seems unlikely), then we play the same way except that we exit the last diamond, hoping that LHO has to win and be endplayed... it is a near certainty in this layout that he has 3 or 4 trump.

I am not worrying about the safety play in diamonds: cash one top honour, then go to dummy and lead low towards Kx, in case rho has a stiff: if he had a stiff, he would have pitched it earlier, and I am not at all sure I can afford the entries anyway.

That's how I played, ♦Q dropped 2nd round from LHO. LHO held ♥QTx too. Those taking both red suit finesses (half the field) went down. Since I wasn't playing against Helgemo or the like I played ♥K, ♥ finesse after the two diamonds. Vs a world star I'd not have taken the trump finesse, since it would be possible for a player of that caliber to drop the ♦Q from ♥Qx ♦Qxx.
RHO was KJxxxx xx xxx xx.