[Phil]

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The was the last board of the evening at our club and this was the auction at our teammates table. While a few of the calls were rather dubious, the South player who has around 300 MPs navigated her way through 4♠ quite nicely in spite of the 6-1 break by ruffing twice in her hand with a bath coup on the 2nd forced spade lead.

This was the auction at my table:

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My partner Steve Clements, played this rather nicely I thought. The spade lead was won and three diamonds ruffing low. Two high trump followed a spade ruffed and overruffed, however, now the East player now found herself endplayed for #12. Even if East discards on the spade and continues to discard, two more diamonds followed by a trump to dummy, and a heart covering.

[Phil]

I thought about this hand more after I posted:

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Go to T7 please and see the position after East refuses to overruff. If Declarer continues on with diamonds, if East ruffs the first diamond, declarer cannot overruff, since West break up the endplay by inserting the ♥9 on the 1st round. However, the best play for declarer is not to overruff at all if the diamond is ruffed, but simply to pitch a loser. East is endplayed as before.

If East does not ever ruff the diamond, East becomes the victim of a one suit squeeze and establish the ♥8 or get endplayed. While this is pretty, it relies on East holding the ♥JT, which isn't necessary. Declarer needs to discard a heart, ruff a heart, and then ruff a spade which gives East no winning option.

[Fluffy]

Too much beatiful bridge in 1 deal, sadly to be forgotten since nobody is replying

[Mbodell]

I liked the hand but didn't have anything to add or discuss, so silence doesn't mean it is being ignored.

[sathyab]

Phil, on 2011-March-03, 15:33, said:

I thought about this hand more after I posted:

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Go to T7 please and see the position after East refuses to overruff. If Declarer continues on with diamonds, if East ruffs the first diamond, declarer cannot overruff, since West break up the endplay by inserting the ♥9 on the 1st round. However, the best play for declarer is not to overruff at all if the diamond is ruffed, but simply to pitch a loser. East is endplayed as before.

If East does not ever ruff the diamond, East becomes the victim of a one suit squeeze and establish the ♥8 or get endplayed. While this is pretty, it relies on East holding the ♥JT, which isn't necessary. Declarer needs to discard a heart, ruff a heart, and then ruff a spade which gives East no winning option.

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Phil had me play this hand at a Teaching Table on BBO. I reached the above six-card ending when East refuses to over-ruff a ♠. Now I continued with more ♦s, but East refused to ruff any of them. So now I played ♣T to dummy's ♣Q and played a ♥ toward my AQ8, inserting the 8 when West couldn't produce a higher spot and end-played East. But if East has as much as the Ten spot my line fails.

The line that requires East to have no more than the ♥King is what Phil's talking about. When East refuses to ruff the last ♦, pitch a ♥, ruff a ♥ and now ruff a ♠. If East over-ruffs, he's end-played, if he doesn't over-ruff, ♥A is your 12th trick. If East refuses to get end-played, he will enjoy ruffing a heart at T13 ! So he opens a weak 2H bid and scores the only trick for the defense by ruffing a heart... Phenomenal hand !!!