[inquiry]

Without worrying about the bidding you arrive in 7♠ with a diamond opening lead, which you ruff in dummy. . (the opponents never bid).

What is your best chance to make this contract? As usual, you can see trick one by clicking on NEXT. This is easier than play 011 and 012, but harder than 010 imho. Do you see something familiar here?

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[Fluffy]

how can this be easier than 012?

[helene_t]

Ruff in the hand

[gordontd]

inquiry, on 2014-May-20, 23:12, said:

you arrive in 7♠ with a diamond opening lead, which you ruff in dummy. .

If they are going to let me ruff a diamond in dummy, I don't have a problem - I can just discard a club from hand

[manudude03]

Spoiler

Ruff the opening lead (in hand ), cash the ace of spades, spade to the 10, ruff a diamond, heart to the jack, ruff a diamond, club to the ace, pull the last trump and claim. It requires trumps 3-2 and hearts not 4-0 (or the hand with 4 hearts to only have 2 trumps)

[inquiry]

Fluffy, on 2014-May-21, 00:45, said:

how can this be easier than 012?

12 had a imaginary finesse against either opponent in clubs. The students had been shown "discovery" plays by the time they get 12, so they could also try discovery plays to try to get club count before finessing. They had been given this one and some others before 12, so they know about Dummy reversals. On this one, you have six hearts, five spades and a club if you just "cash your winners". That is only 12 tricks. They can't hope for a club trick or to set up a diamond. So the proposed line is the only legit shot at 7♠, unlike on the earlier dummy reversal example. At least that is the way it has worked.

I broke down and decided to show some of the easy-easy ones.

[billw55]

For me this is the kind of problem that was hard to solve for a long time. I learned, as I expect many did, to count losers in a trump contract. Thinking this way makes it hard to see how to avoid a club loser. Some players might try the finesse in desperation, but defending a grand west would surely lead a KQ combination.

Spoiler

These days I often count winners in suit contracts, especially slams. In cashing tricks, there are five trumps, six hearts, and a club. So I need one more trick. Clubs are hopeless per above, so I am going to need six trump tricks; for me this is the key point. Realizing this, it becomes much easier to spot the line of ruffing three times in hand, and drawing three rounds from dummy - six tricks, bingo.

[kenberg]

This lesson hand has some interesting features. Questions to be put to a class:

1. What must I assume to make this hand?
Answer: spades are 3-2 and hearts are not 4-0.
2. How should I play so that I do not need to assume anything (much) more than this?
Answer: Plan the play so that you do not need to get to the board twice in hearts.
So:
Ruff in hand, already done
Spade A
heart to board
ruff diamond
spade to board
ruff diamond (with South's last spade )
club to board (OK, I have to assume clubs are not 8-0)
Cash spade, pitching club
Claim.


Follow-up question. Play the hand on a trump lead.