[pclayton]

So you're yawning your way through this 53% game. So far, you are one up on your pard between the hands she throws and the ones you do well on.

Last round you see this one:

Scoring: MP

---

LHO opens 1♥, passed around to you and you balance with 1N. Pard boosts and you end up in 3N.

LHO leads the ♥4, 9, 10, K

You try a spade to the K and it loses to the Ace (LHO playing the 7). The ♥8 comes back and LHO wins and plays a heartback to your 7, RHO shedding a small club.

You lay down the ♠Q and LHO plays the ♦9 (standard carding).

Now what?

[pclayton]

Maybe I should put these hands in the BI. Then I'd get some responses.

[inquiry]

pclayton, on Sep 18 2008, 10:08 AM, said:

Maybe I should put these hands in the BI. Then I'd get some responses.

Maybe we don't like playing for down one.

Logically, RHO who passed while holding ♠ATxxx can not have either missing king and probably not either jack. West who opened a A6xxx high suit, is likewise marked with both kings to have an opening bid.

IF LHO has both jacks, as he should have, I can't find a play to make. If LHO has one jack (surely the diamond jack for the discard of the ♦9), it is still tough. Perhaps if RHO holds the jack-nine of clubs, along with his long spades, we might be able to squeeze him by cashing the king of hearts and throwing WEST in by leading a low diamond towards the ten. But even that is probably too little too late. Perhaps we should have won the heart, cashed our last heart and THEN lead a low diamond while retaining the Q9 of spades in hand.... throwing all our diamonds and one club from dummy on the various rounds of hearts.

Or perhaps forum members have not found this one interesting yet.

[pclayton]

inquiry, on Sep 18 2008, 09:04 AM, said:

pclayton, on Sep 18 2008, 10:08 AM, said:

Maybe I should put these hands in the BI. Then I'd get some responses.

Maybe we don't like playing for down one.

9 tricks are cold. You just have to find them.

Edited; yeah its cold.

[vuroth]

Foreward: I ran my response through pclayton before posting it to this forum, since I'm neither advanced nor an expert.

After the play of the Q♠:
J♥
Low towards the T♦

If covered, presumably heart cashed. LHO has to exit from one of 3 possible hands:
A)
Kxx
KJ
B )
Kx
KJx
C)
K
KJxx

Win the return and cash the JS. I think all 3 of those hands squeeze, but I'm barely an intermediate, so maybe I'm missing something.

If LHO ducks the diamond and the ten of diamonds wins, exit with a club to the ten (covering on the off chance RHO has the jack). If this is ducked, you have 9. If LHO wins with the jack, I think he cashes the heart. If he exits a low club, you need the spade to get to the ace of clubs. If he exits the king of clubs, you win the ace, and exit a club to whomever, with diamonds and spades still guarded, promoting your 4th club.

V

[pclayton]

Yes, we corresponded on this before Vuroth posted. This is essentially the answer. I think its a fascinating hand because you have to release your heart stopper and set up a winner for LHO, before you endplay LHO for #8. Cashing the spade squeezes LHO for the 9th. LHO held a 1=5=4=3 with both KJ9's in the minors.

I did find this at the table. I will readily admit hands like this are relatively easier when someone gives you the hand, so I felt pretty good about this one.

for fun, I ran this through GIB later. It isn't essential to cash the last heart winner in hand and there's another way. Do you see it?

[hatchett]

Surely this doesn't work.
If LHO is 1543 and he comes down to ♦ Kx and ♣KJ9 then
If dummy keeps 3♣s LHO exits a diamond cutting communication to declarer's hand if he is 2/2 minors. If Dummy is 2/2 in the minors and declarer is 2/2 there is no squeeze obviously. If declarer is 3/1 in the minors, LHO exits ♣K. If declarer is 3/2 in the minors having pitched his spade then LHO can exit the ♣K and score his ♦K in the endgame.

[TimG]

pclayton, on Sep 19 2008, 10:34 AM, said:

for fun, I ran this through GIB later. It isn't essential to cash the last heart winner in hand and there's another way. Do you see it?

Disclaimer: I've used Double Dummy Solver to help me.

We agree with hatchett: LHO can survive by reading the position correctly.

As for the other way to make it: HQ at trick one followed by a spade to the nine.

I played with this problem yesterday, but could not come up with a sure fire solution that took into account both jacks with LHO and the H9 at trick one.

[pclayton]

Hmm. what Hatchett is saying seems right. I ran this through GIB to check it, since it is a very complex hand but didn't see any problems.

Maybe its essential to cash the spade first and then endplay W. I'm in the middle of some stuff, but I will get back to on this.

[pclayton]

I know the problem. LHO had 1=5=3=4, and made the diamond pitch from KJ9, not KJ9x.

RHO's diamond spot was higher than mine.

It still made.

[han]

Maybe you should have been yawning a little less.