[Walddk]

Scoring: Rubber

S: 3H
Lead: H7

---

You are in 3♥ (East must be disappointed that he ended up defending with that hand). The lead is ♥7.

Here is your Easter test: Make the hand on any defence! Looks easy, right? Only 3 losers, but how are you going to get to 9 tricks?

Remember that EW will defend the best way possible. Warning: It's very difficult, so you may not be able to make it during your 2½ hour lunch break

Happy Easter to all!

Roland

[jjsb]

there's a lot of different options and hard to give a complete answer ie : giving all options for the defense , i just do believe that :

1)it's better to play an honour on the lead as i will have to do some ruff later in dummy . 2) i also do believe that i want to endplay east and for that play 2 round of H quite fast should be best way (not given a H play escape)
3) last remark the position in C migth be interesting for some kind of ruffing finesse

all that said i admit i'm not sure what will be best . ok so let say i play 2 round of H (Q cover by K) and play a small S from dummy? let see what best defense Roland will give me and tell me if i'm in the good direction then i will try to have some longer look on it if i have courage ...

regards
syl

[Walddk]

jjsb, on Mar 24 2005, 05:27 AM, said:

all that said i admit i'm not sure what will be best . ok so let say i play 2 round of H (Q cover by K) and play a small S from dummy? let see what best defense Roland will give me and tell me if i'm in the good direction then i will try to have some longer look on it if i have courage ...

Let's assume that East doesn't cover ♥Q, and you lead a low spade from dummy. East wins and cashes another top spade. He then exits with ♥K.

Roland

[sceptic]

win 1st trick in hand with either the 10 or the A if they cover, play ace next or 10 if it is not covered

low diamond , ruff and when you see Q go

play a club (I think with this hands long as you keep ur RHO off lead you should be ok)

I think they will lead A S K S and then get a ruff (so far 4 losers)

what ever he leads you can make the rest of the tricks, either a D lead and ruff he has t play the A so your 3 D become good, he leads a club and you can ruff and set up your D;s and you can still get back to your hand for good D

[sceptic]

I mean you have to keep the LHO (the one with the crap hand) off lead, after he has made his spade ruff, which I would have discarded a D as that is why I have 3 D winners left. (I hope that m,akes sense)

[inquiry]

Quote

Dealer: South Vul: E/W Scoring: Rubber

♠ J543 ♥ QJ82 ♦   ♣ QJ852 ♠ 109 ♥ 765 ♦ 109754 ♣ 763 ♠ AK762 ♥ K9 ♦ AQ ♣ AK104 ♠ Q8 ♥ A1043 ♦ KJ8632 ♣ 9

S: 3H Lead: H7

Too difficult for me. The defense seems to always win. Even your red herring of duck the king of hearts is unnecessary. So I await the solution to this one, because I see no way to make it... very difficult is and understatement.. Impossible seems more like it.

Ben

[jjsb]

" Let's assume that East doesn't cover ♥Q, and you lead a low spade from dummy. East wins and cashes another top spade. He then exits with ♥K.

Roland"

so i assume i still have chance starting that way... si i play C to J not sure what is the best defense so i will let roland tell me , am i still in the run?

syl

[Walddk]

jjsb, on Mar 24 2005, 09:20 AM, said:

am i still in the run?

syl

You are indeed! East wins, cashes one more top spade and exits with ♠7.

Roland

[inquiry]

Walddk, on Mar 24 2005, 11:31 AM, said:

jjsb, on Mar 24 2005, 09:20 AM, said:

am i still in the run?

syl

You are indeed! East wins, cashes one more top spade and exits with ♠7.

Roland

I still don't get it....

Ok the line that seems to be advocated here is

Win heart Queen in dummy (east ducks), lead low spade. East wins AK of spades and exits with HEART KING. Win the heart ace and fire back a club to jack which lose king. That is three tricks for the defense, EAST can even exit with the DIAMOND ACE and you still have to lose one more. There seems to be no way you can win 9 tricks here.

Ben

[jjsb]

good point i think ben ... i think i'm dead with my play but i had some little more thougth and im going to change my line a little and maybe this time i should be better what if i ruff a D before play another S ? probably loose something but ...

syl

[jjsb]

if the defense play like Roland suggest , i think i can win by just doing some ruffing finesse assuming west got some problem in discarding i think i'm in. just let's imagine west throw a D so i play Q of C cover ruff a D , 8 of C cover again by obligation ruff and small D ruff . now i play my 5 of C ...
but i think i agree with ben in the As of D play i dont think ican win

regards
syl

[jjsb]

good point i think ben ... i think i'm dead with my play but i had some little more thougth and im going to change my line a little and maybe this time i should be better what if i ruff a D before play another S ? probably loose something but ...

ok i dont think everyone can follow with me saying that so let me try to sum up ...
first trick with the Q of H duck (would be nice to know what to do if covered... )
second trick S taken with the ace
third trick defense exit with K of H
trick 4 small D ruff
trick 5 now S

i really think it's key to ruff that D before play S , thougth i believe i migth miss some defense there's really too much options in this problem ...

regards
syl

[Walddk]

I will give you the solution(s) late tonight my time (after vugraph) unless one or more of you have solved the puzzle before.

No matter how many times Ben says that there is no winning line: It can be made on any defence! Also if East covers ♥Q.

Give it another go boys

Roland

[inquiry]

Walddk, on Mar 24 2005, 12:23 PM, said:

I will give you the solution(s) late tonight my time (after vugraph) unless one or more of you have solved the puzzle before.

No matter how many times Ben says that there is no winning line: It can be made on any defence! Also if East covers ♥Q.

Give it another go boys

Roland

Hehehehe.. ok, I will stop saying it can't be made, and wait for you to say it. But I think the reason replys are so sparce is no one can find a winning a line. I guess there are two reasons for that... one it is very hard, the other? Well I promised not to say anymore.

Ben

[Free]

Well, he said it was VERY difficult And I don't have the time to break my brain on it at the moment

[Winstonm]

Curse you Red Baron for bringing us this hand!!! Grin.

This is the best I can do. Probably wrong again. Millionteen and two, by my latest count.

It seems I have to arrange the play so that at trick 4 I have high honor-small of trump in each hand. This can be accomplished by playing the J at trick one - if uncovered, a small spade is led from dummy at trick 2 - if covered, won by the Ace and 9 of clubs is passed to the 10. The heart return is won wherever RHO forces me to and the above plays are made depending on where I win. Either way, at trick 4 I am left with this:

J54
Q2

QJ85

A743

AQ
AK4

Q
104
KJ8632

At this point I have lost 2 tricks.

A) If RHO tries the Ace of D, I can ruff low and lead a spade. RHO is in and can do no better than the Ace of clubs. I can ruff this, cash the King of diamonds, pitching a spade, and then draw the last trump and concede a club. RHO must put me back in dummy to take the remaining tricks.

A1) If he tries spade and another spade instead of the diamond Ace, I can pitch a diamond while LHO ruffs, leaving two trumps still in each hand, and LHO will have to either lead a club, allowing me to establish clubs, or lead a diamond, giving me the timing to ruff 2 diamonds, pitch 1 of the spade, and be in hand to cash KJ at the end.pitch another diamond on the established J of spades, and still have 2 trumps in dummy to handle the last two diamonds.

A2) If he leads a high club, I can pitch my losing spade and leave him endplayed - whatever he leads at this point I have and answer.

If this isn't right or even close, just shoot me now, O.K.?

WinstonM

[inquiry]

The defense is wrong.. EAST will do as roland suggest and cash both spade before playing heart to trick 3, so you will be on lead at trick four, not your RHO after he ducks the first heart. Even so... in your position with EAST to lead you are hopeless... (diamond at trick 4 instead of club nine you can make however, which is why EAST will have to cash both top spades)

Scoring: Rubber

Winston;s position... having lost two tricks (one each in a black suit) with EAST to lead...

---

Quote

A) If RHO tries the Ace of D, I can ruff low and lead a spade.  RHO is in and can do no better than the Ace of clubs.

Nope. East wins spade and leads diamond QUEEN. You win the king (or ruff) but must lose a diamond in the end to go along with your 1♦. 2♠, and 1♣ you arleady lost. Simply put count your winners. 2D, 2D ruff, and 3 hearts in your hand. You can never enjoy the spade jack because of WEST trump. And if you pull his trump, you are a trick short.

Quote

A1) If he tries spade and another spade instead of the diamond Ace, I can pitch a diamond while LHO ruffs, leaving

Nope, WEST pitches a club here allowing you to win the spade JACK. When you lead the club QUEEN, EAST ducks. This prevents a vital entry to your hand necessary to establish your diamond winners. So it gives up a club trick, but gains two tricks in return.

Quote

A2) If he leads a high club, I can pitch my losing spade and leave him endplayed -

Nope. He can continue any black card which is good enough to beat you (high or low).

But again, this position isn't possible. Best defense on low spade from dummy is two top spades and then heart king. Plan your play along those lines.

[Walddk]

Scoring: Rubber

S: 3H
Lead: H7

---

You are in 3♥ (East must be disappointed that he ended up defending with that hand). The lead is ♥7.

Here is your Easter test: Make the hand on any defence! Looks easy, right? Only 3 losers, but how are you going to get to 9 tricks?

Remember that EW will defend the best way possible. Warning: It's very difficult, so you may not be able to make it during your 2½ hour lunch break

Happy Easter to all!

Roland [/QUOTE]
As I have mentioned a few times, 3♥ is a make on the ♥7 lead against any defence. It also is on a spade lead, but it will go down if West leads a minor suit card. But ♥7 it was, so let's go through the play.

There are several cute endings depending on how the defence cooperates, but let's do it on best defence (as suggested by Ben):

H7 HQ H9 H3
S9 S3 SK S8 ----- 1st trick for the defence
ST S4 SA SQ ----- 2nd trick for the defence
H5 H2 HK HA
C3 CJ CK C9 ----- 3rd trick for the defence

The last defensive trick will be taken by West with ♥6 whenever he likes:

D4 SJ S7 D2 ----- Believe me, it doesn't help West to ruff with ♥6 now.
C6 CQ CA H4
D5 H8 DQ D3
C7 C8 CT HT
D7 HJ DA D6
?? C5 C4 D8

West can win his ♥6 now if he prefers, but then he is a stepping stone to my ♦KJ. He can also wait till trick 12 or 13. Hope you all noticed how HUGE a card ♣5 is!

Now, if East covers ♥Q at trick 1, I win and lead another trump to dummy's jack, and now I start setting up clubs by leading the queen. East wins and cashes ♠AK and exits with ♠7.

I discard, and West can do whatever he wants. He, or they rather, can't defeat the contract no matter how hard they try.

There are several options, depending on what the defence decides, but there is no option that leads to a 5th trick for them. If you don't believe me, I will take you to a teaching table and go through all the possibilities.

You may choose the defence, and I will play the hand.

Roland

[inquiry]

Interesting. Try it with the 4 and 5 of clubs exchanged. I guess this shows the power of a spot card...