[twcho]

Team match

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Please do not comment on the bidding part and focus on the play. South leads ♦8. Your plan?

[inquiry]

twcho, on 2011-June-16, 19:25, said:

Team match

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Please do not comment on the bidding part and focus on the play. South leads ♦8. Your plan?

Win diamond King,
play heart K
play heart Q
play spade to ace
pitch spade on diamond Ace
ruff spade low
play heart to ACE
play spade Jack and if opener plays low, pitch a club


The assumption is of course, opener has spade king for his weak two bid in addition to likely QJ of diamonds. Usually it will be only doubleton or tripleton. Play two rounds of trumps first in case opener is 4=3=6=0 (unlikely of course since no lightner double), but these days 4=3=5=1 is not necessarily unheard of (well, of course few preempt with four card major in first seat, much less with only five ratty diamonds).

[jonottawa]

inquiry, on 2011-June-16, 19:51, said:

Win diamond King,
play heart K
play heart Q
play spade to ace
pitch spade on diamond Ace
ruff spade low

Claim?

I like this line (except I'd ruff high if the 9 happens to be high,) not because I'm convinced that N has ♠K (though since this hand showed up on the forum he probably does) but because it seems better than 50% (at least, when the hand can be made at all.) But if S follows to the first ♥ with the T or J I'll just guard against 4-1 ♥ (it sounds to me like he has a stiff somewhere but maybe he's just hyperaggressive) and fall back on the normal ♠ hook.

[nige1]

twcho wrote...
Team match. Please do not comment on the bidding part and focus on the play. South leads ♦8. Your plan?

My guess...
♦K, ♥K, ♠Q to ♠A, ♦A chucking a ♠, ruff a ♠ with ♥9
If both follow or if LHO discards then ♥QA, ruff out ♠, claim.
Otherwise, ♥A, ♣AK, ruff a ♣. If ♣ were 3-3, then ruff a ♠, ♥Q, claim.

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[BunnyGo]

inquiry, on 2011-June-16, 19:51, said:

Win diamond King,
play heart K
play heart Q
play spade to ace
pitch spade on diamond Ace
ruff spade low
play heart to ACE
play spade Jack and if opener plays low, pitch a club

Nice line, but I was wondering about something. When you play the third spade (first to ace, second ruffed) you say to pitch if opener doesn't cover. But at that point, don't you know the whole spade position?

[inquiry]

BunnyGo, on 2011-June-16, 21:24, said:

Nice line, but I was wondering about something. When you play the third spade (first to ace, second ruffed) you say to pitch if opener doesn't cover. But at that point, don't you know the whole spade position?

Poorly worded I guess, what I mean is if West was proven to have four spades and three hearts (the dreaded 4=3=6=0 or 4=3=5=1) I wouldn't ruff unless I had too. Of course, if both followed to the first two rounds of spades no need to discuss letting the jack run. That is why I babbled on about the four spades with opener (which I don't think is really likely, of course).