[cphastrup]

Scoring: IMP

---

1♥ - 2♣
3♦ - 3♠*
3NT - 4♣
4NT** - 5♠***
7♣ a.p.

* 4th suit forcing
** RKC 1430
*** 2 KC + ♣Q

Lead:♦x

1) How would you bid?
2) How would you play it?

[gwnn]

♦A, ♣A,K,Q, then see the bad break and concede -1

if the ♣'s split, then just claim, you can discard 2 spades on ♥'s

edit: oops. thoughtless stupid comment

[ArtK78]

The bidding:

I would not bid 3♦ on 5-4 distribution. I don't know whether 2♣ was game forcing, but there is still no need to jump on a flat hand.

Next, 3♠ is not "fourth suit forcing." You are already in a game forcing auction. 3♠ may not be a real suit, but it is a natural call.

In any event, the auction was effective and the final contract sound.

The play:

Win the diamond and ruff a diamond (to prepare for a possible trump coup if needed).

Now, three rounds of trump. If the ♣J falls, you are home. Pull trump and claim.

If clubs are 5-0, you cannot succeed because your spots are not good enough.

If LHO has 4 or 5 clubs to the J, you cannot succeed.

If RHO has 4 clubs to the J, you need a trump coup (hence the diamond ruff - for a trump coup to succeed, you must have the same trump length as your RHO - otherwise, RHO can just refuse to ruff and you will be forced to ruff in one trick too early and lead away from your trump holding). After pulling three rounds of trump, cross to dummy in spades and ruff a second diamond. Now run hearts. Pitch spades if RHO does not ruff in, overruff when he does. You have a spade reentry for the rest of the hearts if needed.

Hopefully, RHO has to follow to your 2 diamond ruffs and the first two rounds of hearts.

If anyone can improve on this line, please do so.

[whereagles]

This seems to be one of those hands where you must ruff a diamond at trick 2 to start a trump reduction, just in case clubs dont break.

[P_Marlowe]

ArtK78, on Jan 23 2008, 10:34 AM, said:

<snip>
Next, 3♠ is not "fourth suit forcing."  You are already in a game forcing auction.  3♠ may not be a real suit, but it is a natural call.
<snip>

Just a comment: Depending on your agreement,
3S is 4th suit forcing.
Just because you are in a game forcing situation
does not mean a certain bid has to be natural.
Depending on agreements, some play, that 3S is
a artificial bid, asking for further description, or
"a time marking bid", you may or you may not call it
4th suit forcing, ... I do.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[kenrexford]

Play first:

The initial diamond ruff looks good for starters. If I next start pulling and find out the bad split, I end up cashing two hearts and then crossing in spades. I will cash three hearts, ditching my second, third, and fourth spade. I will then ruff a diamond with the small club. But, that leaves me one short.

So, it turns out that I will win the second heart on dummy first, to ruff a diamond and then cross in spades before doing this. That carries the slight risk of RHO ditching a stiff spade if he started with 1-6-2-4 pattern. To cater to that risk, I can instead ruff the diamond earlier, after finding out the bad news, by crossing with a spade, and then use the hearts to re-enter dummy to start the heart run.

That line, however, fails if RHO has 5-2-2-4 pattern.

I solve the problem by cashing one heart. If LHO follows, RHO cannot have 1-6-2-4 pattern. Thus, my fear is no longer of a spade ditch. If LHO follows, I win the second heart in dummy and then ruff a diamond, catering to 5-2-2-4 pattern. If LHO does not follow to the first heart, I now cross with the spade and cater to 1-6-2-4 pattern.

I think that covers the contingencies.


My bidding would have started with a 2NT opening and is thus perhaps not helpful to your cause.

[skjaeran]

The play:
♦A, ♦ ruff, ♣K, ♣A.

If all follow, cross to ♥A, draw the last trump and claim.

If RHO holds ♣Jxxx ruff another ♦, ♥A, ♥Q, ♠A, 3 more ♥s from dummy, ditching ♠s. If RHO ruff in I overruff, draw the last trump and claim. If he don't I'll be in dummy with two cards left and capture RHOs trumps.

[kenrexford]

skaeran, on Jan 23 2008, 05:20 PM, said:

The play:
♦A, ♦ ruff, ♣K, ♣A.

If all follow, cross to ♥A, draw the last trump and claim.

If RHO holds ♣Jxxx ruff another ♦, ♥A, ♥Q, ♠A, 3 more ♥s from dummy, ditching ♠s. If RHO ruff in I overruff, draw the last trump and claim. If he don't I'll be in dummy with two cards left and capture RHOs trumps.

That line fails if RHO has 5224 pattern. On the second diamond ruff, he ditches a heart.

[CSGibson]

kenrexford, on Jan 23 2008, 07:37 PM, said:

skaeran, on Jan 23 2008, 05:20 PM, said:

The play:
♦A, ♦ ruff, ♣K, ♣A.

If all follow, cross to ♥A, draw the last trump and claim.

If RHO holds ♣Jxxx ruff another ♦, ♥A, ♥Q, ♠A, 3 more ♥s from dummy, ditching ♠s. If RHO ruff in I overruff, draw the last trump and claim. If he don't I'll be in dummy with two cards left and capture RHOs trumps.

That line fails if RHO has 5224 pattern. On the second diamond ruff, he ditches a heart.

You can discount 5-2-2-4 pattern depending on what is played to the diamond ace and ruff by RHO. If they discard the Q T of diamonds, that is the only case where I'm worried about that pattern type. If LHO had an honor sequence, I'm sure that would have been led, or that he would have picked a safer lead. Otherwise, the normal trump coup play looks sound without worrying about the extingencies of a doubleton diamond with RHO.

[kenrexford]

CSGibson, on Jan 24 2008, 02:16 AM, said:

kenrexford, on Jan 23 2008, 07:37 PM, said:

skaeran, on Jan 23 2008, 05:20 PM, said:

The play:
♦A, ♦ ruff, ♣K, ♣A.

If all follow, cross to ♥A, draw the last trump and claim.

If RHO holds ♣Jxxx ruff another ♦, ♥A, ♥Q, ♠A, 3 more ♥s from dummy, ditching ♠s. If RHO ruff in I overruff, draw the last trump and claim. If he don't I'll be in dummy with two cards left and capture RHOs trumps.

That line fails if RHO has 5224 pattern. On the second diamond ruff, he ditches a heart.

You can discount 5-2-2-4 pattern depending on what is played to the diamond ace and ruff by RHO. If they discard the Q T of diamonds, that is the only case where I'm worried about that pattern type. If LHO had an honor sequence, I'm sure that would have been led, or that he would have picked a safer lead. Otherwise, the normal trump coup play looks sound without worrying about the extingencies of a doubleton diamond with RHO.

True that this can be spotted.

Don't you also have a problem, though, if anyone has six hearts and two clubs?