[nullve]

From yesterday's Free Just Declare Daylong (MP):

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Opening lead: ♣Q

[shyams]

I would win with the ♣A and lead a diamond immediately. If West ducks (as robots occasionally do), I can hope to drop the ♦A by ruffing twice.

So play will go:
#1 ♣A
#2 ♦ to ♦K (hopefully West ducks)
#3 ♦ ruff
#4 ♣ to ♣K
#5 ♦ ruff

If ♦A does not fall, I guess I will start cashing clubs next hoping West began with something like ♠Axx ♥AQx ♦Axxx ♣Qxx.

[helene_t]

Three rounds of clubs?

[FelicityR]

shyams, on 2020-June-20, 06:25, said:

...If ♦A does not fall, I guess I will start cashing clubs next hoping West began with something like ♠Axx ♥AQx ♦Axxx ♣Qxx.

Only a robot could find the ♣Q with that hand, anyone human would have started with a small ♠

[shyams]

FelicityR, on 2020-June-20, 11:39, said:

Only a robot could find the ♣Q with that hand, anyone human would have started with a small ♠

I agree. However, I could not find any meaningful alternative if the ♦A did not fall in three rounds.

[nige1]

Nullve "From yesterday's Free Just Declare Daylong (MP): Opening lead: ♣Q"
++++++++++++++++++++
Nullve is a Matchpoint Maven. So the solution is probably cunning. Perhaps something like ...
1. Unblock dummy's ♣K and overtake with ♣A (This would ring alarm bells for a human defender but robots don't seem to notice).
2. Lead ♠Q. Hope GIB ducks.
4. Try a diamond to dummy's ♦Q. If you're lucky, GIB will duck.
3. Ruff a ♦.
6. Cash ♣J and advance ♣9. If GIB ruffs low, then over-ruff.
7. Ruff another ♦
8. Advance ♣T ...

---

[nullve]

helene_t, on 2020-June-20, 06:30, said:

Three rounds of clubs?

That can be done in 24 different ways.

[nullve]

nige1, on 2020-June-20, 21:31, said:

Nullve "From yesterday's Free Just Declare Daylong (MP): Opening lead: ♣Q"
++++++++++++++++++++
Nullve is a Matchpoint Maven, so the solution is probably cunning. Perhaps something like ...
1. Unblock dummy's ♣K and overtake with ♣A (This would ring alarm bells for a human defender but robots don't seem to notice).
2. Lead ♠Q. Hope GIB ducks.
4. If you feel greedy, then try a diamond to dummy's ♦Q. If you're lucky, GIB will duck.
3. Ruff a ♦.
6. Cash ♣J and advance ♣9. If GIB ruffs low, then over-ruff.
7. Ruff another ♦
8. Advance ♣T ...

---

A great line containing no less than four plays with a deceptive element to them (at tricks 1,2,3 and 6), the first even being a kind of Turing test! The line would probably not have worked this time, though. (I checked by replaying the hand against "basic" robots. Maybe the Daylong uses "advanced" robots?)

shyams, on 2020-June-20, 06:25, said:

I would win with the ♣A and lead a diamond immediately. If West ducks (as robots occasionally do), I can hope to drop the ♦A by ruffing twice.

So play will go:
#1 ♣A
#2 ♦ to ♦K (hopefully West ducks)
#3 ♦ ruff
#4 ♣ to ♣K
#5 ♦ ruff

If ♦A does not fall, I guess I will start cashing clubs next hoping West began with something like ♠Axx ♥AQx ♦Axxx ♣Qxx.

This line is similar to than mine (but objectively better), and it would have succeeded. (One player chose the same line and would have made the contract if he hadn't ruffed too high in hand at trick 5.)

The full deal:

---

My line --- which is hardly as good as nige1's or shyams', and would actually cost me a trick double dummy because of the 4-0 trump split --- felt so natural at the time that I would have quickly forgotten about the board it if I hadn't got an unshared top on it in a large field (of 147 contestants).

So what did the other players (at least those who were not just less lucky than me) do "wrong"? It seems to me that most of the field did not even try any of the deceptive plays in nige1's line. The most routine ones for a good player are probably

1) (nige1, shyams, me) Lead a diamond towards dummy's ♦KQxx early. It's just not true that LHO will always rise with the ace (on any layout, not just this one) if he is any good. (I might illustrate this by posting a recent hand (if I can find it) where it was critical to play low in a similar situation. Edit: Here it is:

Spoiler

---

.)
2) (nige1, me) Play three rounds of clubs but try too hide the fact that the third club from hand is a winner. Then LHO must figure out whether he can afford to ruff if partner has the missing winner.