[gnasher]

Scoring: IMPs

1♦-1♥
2♣-2♠
3♥-4♣
4♦-4♥
5♣

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3♥ implied 2254 with a heart honour (you'd have bid differently on the previous round with 1354, and you'd raise the fourth suit with 2254 and nothing in the majors). I'm not sure why partner was doing all that cue-bidding. but anyway no harm was done.

They lead ♠3 (fourth best) to the ace, ♠5 (original fourth best) to the king, and ♥J.

This post has been edited by gnasher: 2009-November-02, 04:45

[Fluffy]

I think the simplest like is to ruff 3 diamonds in dummy

♥A, ♦A, ♦ ruff low and if we survive this we are almost cold.

♣J, ♦ruff with ace if 4-3 claim, now have to decide if entering the hand with a heart or a trump I think a heart is more likelly to succeed (in retrospect I don't think we are as cold as I though before). ruff with ♣10, draw trumps and claim.

[dellache]

Trying to set Hearts is both awkward and dangerous (Hearts might well be 5-1 either way after this curious return) and I have a nice and simple reverse dummy line : cash the 2 red aces, ruff a diamond small, trump back to hand, and ruff a diamond high.

After this, if the hand is not over because somebody has ♦Qxxxx(5), I'll try to guess the position in the (edit:rounded) suits :

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I'll probably not play a heart anyway, unless I suspect somebody had 5=3=2=3.

[Phil]

Looks right to win in hand, A♦, ♦ruff low, ♣ to King.

Do both follow?

I suppose our bidding has been very revealing, and West could be playing some head games with us but I wouldn't know how to read this.

[gnasher]

Phil, on Nov 2 2009, 04:52 PM, said:

Looks right to win in hand, A♦, ♦ruff low, ♣ to King.

Do both follow?

Maybe you should tell us what you plan to do if (a) trumps break, and (b) they don't?

[gnasher]

My line was approximately what Fluffy suggested:

(1) Win in dummy, DA, D ruff low, club to hand, ruff a diamond high. If clubs were 4-0, diamonds have to have broken, so draw trumps. If both follow to the first club, but diamonds are 5-2, cross back with a heart for the remaining diamond ruff (losing when hearts are 5-1 and clubs are 2-2).

But there is also this, which was chosen by at least one good declarer:

(2) Win in hand, ♦AK, diamond ruff high, club to hand. If diamonds aren't good and clubs are 4-0, draw trumps, playing for a heart finesse and a red-suit squeeze.

The full hand is here:

http://www.ebu.co.uk...und=11&board=12

A lot of people went minus on this board, though at least one of those was in 4♥.