[ewj]

Scoring: IMP

1♦-(1♥)-X-(4♥)-4♠-(Pass)-Pass-(X)-Passed out

How do you play?

---

[Elianna]

What's the lead?

[ewj]

Sorry King of hearts followed by Ace from West. East had doubled.

[pclayton]

Tricky.

Ruff the heart and lead a spade to the Q. Then:

---> If they lead another heart, ruff in dummy, hook the 10♠ (hopefully)

---> If they lead a diamond, hook.

---> If they lead a club - probably best by the way - win in dummy and hook the diamond.

A hand like this might be best if you ask the best line at trick 3 or 4.

[ewj]

Ok...so the queen is beaten by RHO's king, and a diamond returned...you win this with the queen....now what

[cherdano]

Isn't it quite possible that spades split 4-1? In that case, we desperately need to know the exact spade spots!!

Arend

[pclayton]

ewj, on Apr 23 2005, 12:05 PM, said:

Ok...so the queen is beaten by RHO's king, and a diamond returned...you win this with the queen....now what

Nice that it wins.

5. ♣10 to A
6. ♠ to 10....? Does this win?

[ewj]

the jack of spades with West wins this....East following. I think you have made now since spades 3-2

[Fluffy]

Well done phil

[kenberg]

ewj, on Apr 24 2005, 04:12 AM, said:

the jack of spades with West wins this....East following. I think you have made now since spades 3-2

Perhaps so, perhaps not. I assume the 9 of spades is still out. The story so far, as I understand it, goes:

heart
heart, ruffed in hand
spade to Q, losing
diamond to Q, winning
club to ace
spade to ten, losing

Six tricks have been played, three tricks have been lost and the position is

8x
---
x
xxxx

A
---
Axxx
KQ


I suggest the defender lead a heart.


Since ruffing in hand would promote the spade 9, this must be ruffed on the board tossing a diamond from the hand. Now drawing the last trumpo would lock declarer in hand for down two after he cashes his minor tops. In short, dummy's clubs are dead. Declarer can try diamond to ace, diamond ruff, club to hand, ace of trump, claim. This requires that diamonds be 3-3 and that the club play from the dummy is not ruffed. Thus, RHO needs to have been dealt exactly three diamonds and two or three clubs (or the hand with short clubs needs to have the doubleton spade).


It appears that for the hand to now be making, it requires RHO to have bid 4H and then to have doubled 4S with a holding resembling:

K9x
QJxxx
Kxx
xx

If he did, he did, but 4H doubled would have been set 4 tricks (diamond lead to the Q, Ace of diamonds, suit preference diamond back for the ruff, ace of clubs, small club to the king, third club ruffed on the board, and the 4H declarer will need, eventually, to start spades and will lose 2 tricks in the suit), while four spades will make if declarer plays in the reasonable way suggested and will make 5 if declarer plays the spade ace instead of finessing the ten. Moreover, RHO can see all of this pretty clearly. He has heard the diamond opening on his left and the the 4S bid that is presumably based on some extra stuff. Where does he expect to find 4 tricks? Even if he holds only four hearts the thought of two heart tricks is very optimistic.

Do we know what he did actually hold?


Ken