[mikeh]

Same match as the post a few minutes ago.

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After what looks like a reasonable auction to a reasonable slam, the GOAT (aka Bob Hamman) leads the club 3.

Do you:

(a) win in dummy to take the spade hook?

(b) win in either hand and lay down the spade King?

You decide you’re likely to hook the spade so you rise with the King, on which Weischel plays the Queen.does this affect your decision?

What do you do now?

[LBengtsson]

Good hand to post, mikeh. I considered the slightly better odds over 80% I guess (♣3-3/4-2) - I hope I have this right - of letting the lead come round to ♣A and then playing the ♠10 with the idea of setting up the 5th♣ as the discard for the ♦. (I realise a defender might duck the ♠10 but I think you are still in control.)

But you decided to take the trick in dummy with the ♣K and the ♣Q falls. Now I do not know what is best...

EDIT: Maybe playing the ♠A and then small to the ♠J is better and will fell stiff ♠K (in my line on 2nd trick)

[gszes]

the club lead has convinced me to forget about setting up a long club (for numerous reasons). Rise with the club K and lead a low spade at trick 2 toward the T (I am trying to avoid losing a spade when the K is stiff onside). If the finesse works it is easy to head back to dummy via hearts and repeat the trump finesse, if it succeeds, and back to hand via hearts to pull the last trump if necessary.

If the trump finesse loses (and a dia comes back) I feel compelled to take the finesse to make my contract. At MP it is a consideration to hold our side to down 1 by rising with the dia ace but making 6 looks so much better than down 1 and down 2 doesn't look or feel that much worse than down 1.