[jdonn]

Scoring: IMP

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The scientific auction at the table was 1♣ by north, 3NT by south, 6NT by north. The spots are from memory but probably pretty accurate. Definitely north had the 10 of spades but no one had the 9, and the club spots are right (no 8).

9 of hearts lead, how do you play? Please include 'if this happens then this' as much as possible to follow the different chains of possibilities.

BTW I don't claim to have any sort of answer or solution to this, I played it a certain way and am looking for other ideas or to see what is really best.

[Halo]

I'd win Ace of hearts (costing the defence a heart honour) and finesse the Jack of clubs. If I lose a club trick I'll play for a spade heart squeeze against East.

[awm]

Win the lead, cash a club.

If club queen falls on right, try double hooking for ♣T8xx onside. If ♣Q does not appear, come to hand with diamond to take club finesse.

It seems like we need four club tricks to have much chance at this contract, so if clubs are QTxx offside I suppose I will go down. If clubs behave for five tricks the contract is cold.

The interesting possibilities are:

(1) Clubs break but finesse is off. So we have four club tricks. I will try for a spade-heart squeeze against RHO by reaching the end position of ♠ATx opposite ♠Kx ♥T needing three more tricks.

(2) Clubs are 4-1 with singleton queen on my left. Once queen appears, we can play on spades via spade king and spade towards ten. The plan is to score three spade tricks if spades break or LHO has QJxx, in the process losing a spade trick to rectify count. We will now reach an end position of ♣KJx opposite ♥T ♣9x and squeeze RHO in the round suits, noting that he is almost marked with the heart guard from the lead and club guard from the play.

[Halo]

awm, on Dec 19 2007, 07:30 PM, said:

Win the lead, cash a club.

I felt somethng bad would happen to our entries after winning King of hearts. Don't see how we untangle to cash the last diamond at the end.

[mikeh]

Okay, I will take a stab at it. I am trying to deal with my plan in about the time I would take at the table... which, as some of my opps have complained, can be quite a long time in a long team match

Firstly, I deduce that the QJ of ♥ are on my right which may afford me some squeeze chances if I only win 4 club tricks: 4 clubs, 3 diamonds, 2 tops in each major and maybe a heart-spade position against RHO.

But the obvious suit to tackle is clubs, since 5 winners there makes the squeeze about overtricks.

I win the ♥ in dummy, just on general principles and to preserve the fluidity (for now, I don't expect it to last) in the suit.

Cash a top club. I have a plan should the Q appear, but that is so unlikely that I won't set it out here (if it happened, you'll post it)

Then I play 2 rounds of diamonds, ending in hand, and play the club 9 (obviously running it if rho had played the 10 the first round, otherwise planning to insert the J unless LHO plays the Q.


I assume that the hook loses, and back comes a red card: it really matters not if it is a heart or a diamond.

Say it is a diamond: I pitch a spade from dummy and run the clubs, assuming that they run. I reduce to A10x x void x opposite Kxx A10 void void. On the last club, I hope east is squeezed in the majors.

I get to the equivalent position if e returns a heart: I win the heart, run the clubs, reducing to A10xx void x opposite Kxx 10 Q void. I pitch a small spade on the last club, cross to the spade K and cash the diamond Queen, again squeezing east if he has 3 spades along with his presumed QJ hearts.

If east holds Q10xx clubs, I think I am flat out down. If he holds Qxxx, and ducks the 9 when I run it, I have more entry problems, but I will drive out his stopper, while pitching a spade. When he returns a heart, I cash the diamond, pitching a spade from dummy, then cross in spades to cash the last club.

With that trick yet to be played, we will have played 1 round of spades, 2 rounds of hearts, 3 rounds of diamonds and 4 rounds of clubs, thus we are in a 3 card end position with me holding Kx 10 in the majors, hoping to find E in the same majour suit squeeze as before.

Edit: I have to speed up my typing/proof-reading: adam already posted my 'stiff Q' plans

[kenrexford]

An interesting line I am considering:

Win the heart on dummy and play the club Ace. I'll assume that I see nothing interesting on the club, as this leads to my next play that is counter-intuitive.

I'll then play the spade Ace. I'm looking for the spade Queen or Jack to the right. If that does not drop, then I'll cross in diamonds (Ace, then King) to resume the club attack. I think this leaves me with the back-up of the spade-heart squeeze in the end.

However, if I see the Queen or Jack, I play another spade. I might actually catch RHO with Q-J tight. If so, I have four spades, three diamonds, two clubs, and two hearts, for 11 tricks. On the run of the spades, RHO will feel pressure if he has the heart Q-J and the club Queen. Even if he does not, the opponents need to save well to leave me an uneducated guess or coordinate well to sell me on a losing option. I may end up deciding to take the club hook, but I want the throw-in somehow. I think that will be the play at the end very often.

The play of the second spade loses nothing when RHO has a stiff spade, as he cannot cash (and as the squeeze was not working anyway). I pay of to a wild falsecard from QJx. There is some risk of a QJ9 combo.

In the end, though, it seems more interesting than good. Not sure...

[Fluffy]

I think adam ssaid it all except that the squeeze works against any opponent, not only RHO.

[whereagles]

yeah, finesse club and later cash them to either make the slam or squeeze someone. If you can't get 4 tricks out of clubs, you're toast anyway.

[kenrexford]

whereagles, on Dec 20 2007, 05:46 AM, said:

yeah, finesse club and later cash them to either make the slam or squeeze someone. If you can't get 4 tricks out of clubs, you're toast anyway.

You might make the slam without four clubs. You might even make the slam with Q10xxx behind dummy in clubs. Read my post.

[Fluffy]

What if you play a club to the Jack and the 10 drops behind?

What if you play the Ace and the Queen drops behind?

You are gonna ruin your comunications to come to hand and repeat the finese, but if it was a fake play from ♣Q10 you are toast