[edNZ]

---

I didn't beat myself up for not finding a winning line for 6C at the table, but I still can't find it now ! Our auction was an inelegant 3C - 6C and Deep Finesse says 6 is makeable from either side of the table.

I received a KD lead. Seems you eventually need to pitch a D on a S, because it seems tricky even double dummy to shorten your trumps sufficiently in preparation for a possible coup. A C loser is inevitable perforce.

So, can anyone unravel the necessary timing to show me how to make this slam ?

Cheers,
Ed

[gnasher]

No, I can't. For a moment I thought this would work:

Win, top hearts throwing diamonds, heart ruff, club to dummy, heart ruff, spade to the queen, heart ruff, ♠K to the ace, heart ruff, diamond exit.

Finding the flaw in this line is left as an exercise for the reader.

[matmat]

Got one of your diamonds mixed in with the hearts? :-)

[Fluffy]

The key is to use both ♠AQ as entries, and to make a double heart finese to strip east's hearts in time

♥10 covered and ruffed, ♠Q, ♥ covered and ruffed, ♠A, cash ♥A and now, instead of playing top heart that west ruffs, play a top spade with

---

east can pitch a heart or ruff, but whenever he ruffs we overruff, get to dummy and cash last heart before playing the trump coup.

EDIT: sorry I though ♥8 was in dummy for some reason .

[Simplicity]

say ♦ lead tho i think they are all much the same:

win, ♥AK, ruff, ♠AQ, the play the T:

If there is no ruff we can pitch the diamond and use the ♣A to ruff RHO remaining two red cards and exit a trump.

If he ruffs, overruff, ♣A, top spade pitching our diamond

Hope ive not bodged it!

[matmat]

Simplicity, on Jul 21 2010, 05:38 PM, said:

say ♦ lead tho i think they are all much the same:

win, ♥AK, ruff, ♠AQ, the play the T:

If there is no ruff we can pitch the diamond and use the ♣A to ruff RHO remaining two red cards and exit a trump.

If he ruffs, overruff, ♣A, top spade pitching our diamond

Hope ive not bodged it!

rho ruffs in on the fourth spade as well, and you still have a club and diamond loser, i think..

[Simplicity]

matmat, on Jul 21 2010, 05:45 PM, said:

Simplicity, on Jul 21 2010, 05:38 PM, said:

say ♦ lead tho i think they are all much the same:

win, ♥AK, ruff, ♠AQ, the play the T:

If there is no ruff we can pitch the diamond and use the ♣A to ruff RHO remaining two red cards and exit a trump.

If he ruffs, overruff, ♣A, top spade pitching our diamond

Hope ive not bodged it!

rho ruffs in on the fourth spade as well, and you still have a club and diamond loser, i think.

I think he'll be ruffng my diamond loser with his trump trick, the ruff leaving him with only one trump and I holding a bigger one in hand

[matmat]

Nevermind.

[edNZ]

Yes, I think you have the answer..... Firstly, they MUST ruff the 3rd ♠ (else you can just pitch your last ♦ loser and you are home. So, they ruff (I think it irrelevant which trump they use), and you must overruff.

Then, cross to A♣ and play that 4th spade. Again, they must ruff otherwise you are home, but when they do ruff, you pitch your ♦. Now you can trump any continuation, and draw RHO's remaining trump.

Well done, and thanks !

[inquiry]

[shyams]

inquiry, on Jul 22 2010, 12:55 AM, said:

...if he never ruffs, after you ruff a card from dummy at trick 10, you exit a small spade and have KJ over east QT.

Herein lies the problem. You have too many trumps in the South hand to reach this position at trick 10

[twcho]

Fluffy's line is correct but of course this is only a double dummy line. One will never get this right at the table.

[Fluffy]

yeah Ben all you had to do is ruff a heart instead of cashing spades first, I used 2 spade entries, but you used none, and the correct answer is at elast 1.

[barryallen]

I can't see any escape, with the most likely reduction leaving dummy on lead with something like

---

Note the difference when you don't get a diamond lead, letting everything fall into place when dummy comes to lead a spade

---

[Fluffy]

barry the key is to play 2 spades from dummy, not to reduce yourself

[Cyberyeti]

I think fluffy is basically right, but it's slightly more complicated than he indicates.

AD
AH
H ruff
S to Q
H ruff
S to A

---

Now lead 10S.

If E pitches, throw a diamond and lead another top spade. If he leaves himself with 4 clubs and a diamond, throw your diamond, ruff a diamond, cross to the ace of clubs and beat his card next, if he comes down to 4 clubs and a heart, ruff the winning spade, cross to the AC and pitch the last diamond on the heart.

If E ruffs the 10S low, you can simply overruff, cross back to the AC, cash the KH pitching a diamond and the 9S finishes him off, you lose a club or a diamond.

If E ruffs the 10S with the 9, overruff, cross to AC, cash KH and now lead the 10S, and if E ruffs with the 10 or Q, pitch the diamond.

[barryallen]

Fluffy, on Jul 22 2010, 06:31 AM, said:

barry the key is to play 2 spades from dummy, not to reduce yourself

Understood Fluffy, what I could not see is how you cannot avoid having one extra trump than RHO, forcing you to concede either two trump tricks immediately, or one then another when forced to take RHO's ♥ or ♦ return?

The only way of avoiding that is to reduce your trumps to the same number as RHO, but no longer with the communication with dummy. Leaving the opposition to pick up a ♣ trick and a ♦ trick, or two ♣ tricks?

If I understand you correctly, you win the ♦A, ruff a small ♥, ♠ to dummy, cash AK♥, discarding 2♦, then lead winning ♠'s? RHO would ruff the 3rd ♠ with the 10 or 9, forcing you to over ruff with the J? with a losing ♦ and ♣ still to come? Apologies if I have misinterpreted the situation.

[barryallen]

Cyberyeti, on Jul 22 2010, 06:54 AM, said:

I think fluffy is basically right, but it's slightly more complicated than he indicates.

AD
AH
H ruff
S to Q
H ruff
S to A

---

Now lead 10S.

If E pitches, throw a diamond and lead another top spade. If he leaves himself with 4 clubs and a diamond, throw your diamond, ruff a diamond, cross to the ace of clubs and beat his card next, if he comes down to 4 clubs and a heart, ruff the winning spade, cross to the AC and pitch the last diamond on the heart.

If E ruffs the 10S low, you can simply overruff, cross back to the AC, cash the KH pitching a diamond and the 9S finishes him off, you lose a club or a diamond.

If E ruffs the 10S with the 9, overruff, cross to AC, cash KH and now lead the 10S, and if E ruffs with the 10 or Q, pitch the diamond.

excellent timing

[gnasher]

Cyberyeti, on Jul 22 2010, 12:54 PM, said:

I think fluffy is basically right, but it's slightly more complicated than he indicates.

Is it?

Quote

AD
AH
H ruff
S to Q
H ruff
S to A

Now lead 10S.

If E pitches, throw a diamond and lead another top spade.
...
if he comes down to 4 clubs and a heart, ruff the winning spade

There's no need to do anythig so flashy. We can just pitch the last diamond and lead a diamond. If East ruffs, we overuff and just have one trump loser; if he doesn't we ruff, cross to ♣A and lead something from dummy.

In other words, we just do what Fluffy said (disregarding the bit about the heart pips).

[Cyberyeti]

gnasher, on Jul 22 2010, 11:16 AM, said:

Cyberyeti, on Jul 22 2010, 12:54 PM, said:

I think fluffy is basically right, but it's slightly more complicated than he indicates.

Is it?

Quote

AD
AH
H ruff
S to Q
H ruff
S to A

Now lead 10S.

If E pitches, throw a diamond and lead another top spade.
...
if he comes down to 4 clubs and a heart, ruff the winning spade

There's no need to do anythig so flashy. We can just pitch the last diamond and lead a diamond. If East ruffs, we overuff and just have one trump loser; if he doesn't we ruff, cross to ♣A and lead something from dummy.

In other words, we just do what Fluffy said (disregarding the bit about the heart pips).

He didn't cover the wrinkles that come from E ruffing with 9 and then 10.