How do you play this hand?

[flytoox]

This is a good declaring problem I encountered the other night.

 

S: J

H: KQX

D: KJXXX

C: QT8X

 

 

S:AKXX

H:AJXX

D:A9X

C:AJ

 

Playing 6N by south. West lead S9 and the Jack is covered by East's SQ. make your plan and explain why.

[cherdano]

It seems right to test the club finesse to decide whether we want to play diamonds for four tricks (♦K, ♦ to 9) or five tricks.

 

Arend

[the hog]

Win the S, H to the K and take the C hook. If this wins, safety play the Ds for 4 tricks. If it loses hook D knave.

[inquiry]

When ♠, cross to the ♥K, finesse the ♣King. If the ♣ finessee wins, make "safety play" in diamonds for 4 tricks (4D, 4H, 2S, 2C). If diamonds are worth 5 tricks at trick one, they are still worth 5 tricks after the club finessee loses.

 

After the club finessee wins, then play diamonds starting with the KING, and then low towards the A9. If RHO plays low diamond, insert the nine. If RHO shows out, win the ACE and lead back towards the JACK.

 

Should the club finesse fail, resort to diamond hook through LHO. If that wins and diamonds are good for 5 tricks, gin... if it wins but diamonds are good for only 3 tricks, well, you can;t make them all (LHO stops D, RHO stops Clubs, but no entry in spades for a double squeeze)... only chance one or the other opponent holds six spades originally and you can execute a squeeze, but their return whne the dclub hook loses might break up the squeeze (seems like it will have to be a criss cross squeeze on RHO if he holds the spades and the club king).. if LHO has 6S + 4D, then he will be subjected to a diamond spade squeeze regardless of his return when the club hook loses.