[inquiry]

This hand Can't be notrump (I guess that is a clue). You can follow the first tricks by clicking the NEXT button (would you play it differently to there?

Plan your play. I moved this out of the Intermediate/advanced forum, although I would expect advanced players to have a reasonable go at this one. It is the hardest of the Play 010 to play 020 problems perhaps.

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[rhm]

Apparently I am not an advanced player, because this one escapes me.

To me this looks very much like a compound squeeze. If it is a guard squeeze I can not get it to work.
For the compound squeeze I need a basic threat, which can only be in a minor.
That East has both club honors or 5 clubs looks remote.
So West must be in sole charge of one of the minors.
If 7NT does not make this seems to indicate that West has 5 diamonds headed by one honor and we need to isolate the basic diamond threat with a ruff.

But if this analysis is correct West discards makes no sense.
If West has 5 diamonds he has come down after 3 rounds of trumps to either a singleton heart or a doubleton club already.
I doubt that even a world class defender would discard that way when holding five diamonds.

Since I have to play for something I will assume West has ♠4 ♥9732 ♦Hxxx4 ♣Jx2
The compound squeeze operates smoothly after a diamond ruff

Rainer Herrmann

[Fluffy]

I think best is not to play diamonds at all, and run all trumps but one, pitching a heart and a club from dummy,p leaving this:

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This position looks very strong to me, being able to ruff a diamond next, the problem is if we should cash ♦K or not, ♥A looks like should be cashed as well, but playing ♣K+♣A is also an option, it will all depend on EW discards.

[rhm]

Fluffy, on 2014-May-22, 05:08, said:

I think best is not to play diamonds at all, and run all trumps but one, pitching a heart and a club from dummy,p leaving this:

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This position looks very strong to me, being able to ruff a diamond next, the problem is if we should cash ♦K or not, ♥A looks like should be cashed as well, but playing ♣K+♣A is also an option, it will all depend on EW discards.

I also found a diamond at trick 5 strange while naturally working on some specific layouts.
If West has at most 4 diamonds, which his discards seem to indicate, with at most one diamonds honor the best hope is West controls clubs, in which case playing a diamond kills the compound squeeze.
Assuming West has 5 clubs:
Run 5 rounds of trumps and discard a diamond instead of a club from dummy

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If West relinquishes hearts, cash clubs followed by hearts and the double squeeze with diamonds as the common threat roles home.
If West relinquishes diamonds cash diamonds return to the club king before playing the final trump.
Then go to the ace of clubs to execute the double squeeze with hearts as the common threat.

If West is 1-4-4-4 without holding both honors in diamonds nor East holding both honors in clubs the situation looks hopeless against competent defense.

Rainer Herrmann

[nige1]

Just a reminder to rhm and fluffy that they can use spoilers to avoid spoiling the problem for other beginners