[jschafer]

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Favourable the auction goes:
1♠-1NT (semi-forcing)
3♣-4♠

At least you're not doubled when you see dummy and a small ♥ is led to the K.

[bucky]

Ruff the opening lead, then play a low diamond from hand?

[Fluffy]

hope for diamonds to be or become blocked as bucky said

[mfa1010]

Ruff, ♣ to T, ruff heart, ♠AK and then clubs. If west has three spades and enough hearts we can make it. He has to discard on the clubs but we will ruff the 5th and ruff a heart back for our 10th trick hopefully. West could be 3523 or 3424 for example.

[dellache]

The genuine line seems to make declarer's small trumps separatly, hoping West has 3♠ and 8+(♥+♣). It implies ♦ shortness by West (usually doubleton, or a stiff Q/K given the lead). [1] Ruff, [2-3]AK♠, [4]10♣, [5]♥ruff, [6789] ruff the last club in dummy, [10] ruff ♥. We plan to score the 10 first tricks. Playing like this, it's unlikely that oppos will make a mistake (they ruff a club at some point when the line wouldn't normally work)).

We can also hope for a mistake (play a Diamond at trick 2, hoping to ruff a Diamond later) or a genuine block but it seems less likely to happen. It probably depends on oppos strength too.

[bucky]

dellache, on 2010-October-27, 01:16, said:

The genuine line seems to make declarer's small trumps separatly, hoping West has 3♠ and 8+(♥+♣).

You also need West to have at least 3 clubs. Also note that East is marked with ♥AKJ(xx) and some diamond honor cards but didn't act over 1NT. I guess it is possible that East started with xx, AKJx, KJxxx, xx, but that is about the only layout that is plausible for the genuine line to work.

[Fluffy]

bucky, on 2010-October-27, 15:21, said:

You also need West to have at least 3 clubs. Also note that East is marked with ♥AKJ(xx) and some diamond honor cards but didn't act over 1NT. I guess it is possible that East started with xx, AKJx, KJxxx, xx, but that is about the only layout that is plausible for the genuine line to work.

I really doubt he has KJxxx in diamonds

[bucky]

Fluffy, on 2010-October-27, 15:47, said:

I really doubt he has KJxxx in diamonds

Right, I should have said one of the x is an honor.
Then even the only plausible hand is gone. Maybe East holds xx, AKJxx, KJ87, xx but doesn't want to make a vulnerable 2♥ call.

[cloa513]

How about cash two top spades, run clubs (assume the hand with 3 spades has at least 3 clubs and discard diamonds, giving you only two diamond losers as one is ruffed.

[bucky]

cloa513, on 2010-October-27, 18:50, said:

How about cash two top spades, run clubs (assume the hand with 3 spades has at least 3 clubs and discard diamonds, giving you only two diamond losers as one is ruffed.

How do you plan to ruff one diamond? Dummy won't have a trump left (since it will be drawn by the opponent who has 3rd spade).

[cloa513]

bucky, on 2010-October-27, 19:03, said:

How do you plan to ruff one diamond? Dummy won't have a trump left (since it will be drawn by the opponent who has 3rd spade).

He can't draw the last trump and ruff with it. One or the other. I didn't play the third round of spades. Defender has to have the lead to draw the last trump. In deed defender can have 2 clubs and 3 spades and the contract is still made.

[cloa513]

If a defender declines to ruff, the declarer can discard all diamonds and ruff a diamond- not likely that opponent will be able rid himself of his diamonds just before that same time. Basic play.

[bucky]

cloa513, on 2010-October-27, 19:55, said:

If a defender declines to ruff, the declarer can discard all diamonds and ruff a diamond- not likely that opponent will be able rid himself of his diamonds just before that same time. Basic play.

I don't know, maybe I am missing the basics then. Dummy has 4 diamonds to begin with. Can pitch 3 diamonds on clubs. How to get rid of the 4th diamond? Whether an opponent can get rid of his diamonds in time, that is not a concern. Even if he can, as long as you can ruff a diamond you are home, even if it gets over-ruffed. The concern is that when dummy inevitably has one diamond left, declarer has to play that diamond in order to prepare for the future ruff, at which time the opponent can get in and draw the last trump in dummy, leaving declarer one trick short.

[bucky]

Would OP care to tell us what happened?

[Free]

It looks like a simple ruff, ♠AK, run ♣s discarding ♦ in dummy. However, if opps refuse to ruff and let you discard 3♦s in dummy, you're still screwed because opps can take the ♦, draw the last trump in dummy, and cash some ♦s. To avoid this, I think you have to play ♦9 at trick 2 hoping they don't continue ♦. When you have the lead again you can go on with ♠AK and running the ♣s.

[jschafer]

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West had underled his ♥Ace.

[bucky]

jschafer, on 2010-November-04, 08:37, said:

West had underled his ♥Ace.

Very interesting lead. Too bad we don't have the not-too-unlikely deserving scenario of South holding singleton ♥K, especially after this bidding.