[eyhung]

Scoring: IMP

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You are playing in the GNTs with a slim 13 IMP lead going into the final quarter against the favorites, Lew and JoAnna Stansby's team. You reach 6NT from the South and the lead is a low spade. The Stansbies are at the other table and they know the situation. What line would you take?

Some hidden text:

Spoiler

When you do play on clubs, LHO will play 7 then 9 and RHO will play the 4 on the first round, so you'll have to guess.

[Jlall]

Win the spade lead and lead a club to the queen. If that wins, you are in great shape, run the heart ten, if that loses you can hook the diamond or play for a C+D squeeze in the end depending on stuff.

If the heart hook wins, try a club. If they're 3-2 youre cold, if they're 4-1 play for a squeeze or diamond hook.

If a club to the queen loses and they return a spade, test for the club jack dropping. If it does then you have 4S+3C+2H+2D and just have to figure out how to get one more red suit trick (probably cash the AK of hearts and then run black suit winners).

If the CJ does not drop, you need to get 4 heart tricks, and then 3 diamonds. You have entry problems now so you have to hook hearts through west.

Too many permutations etc but basically, lead a club to the queen.

If you think LHO is not capable of ducking Kx of clubs, it's more interesting, but I would expect all good LHOs to duck from Kx.

[Mbodell]

Any word on the outcome of the hand (or match)?

[Jlall]

Mbodell, on Apr 13 2010, 08:20 PM, said:

Any word on the outcome of the hand (or match)?

Eugene lost by 12ish

[eyhung]

Yeah, I played club ace, club to ten, losing to Jx offside. The hearts do run for 4 tricks (RHO has HQ), but when the DQ was offside, I was down 2. I mistakenly thought playing the club ace first would clarify a significant number of positions, but Justin convinced me it's not worth risking KJx offside and instantly going down.

FWIW, Lew Stansby was in 6C at the other table and was pretty much forced into the line CA, C to ten, but playing in clubs allowed him to hold things to down 1 since he had no play for the contract after the misguess. So we lost 2 instead of winning 14. Had I played the hand like Justin, we would have won the match. Oh well.