Tricky 3NT

[Echognome]

[hv=d=e&v=b&n=sa4ht4dt8753cak97&s=sk95hkq87dk42cqjt]133|200|Scoring: MP[/hv]

 

You have an unopposed auction to 3NT.

 

West leads the ♠3 (4th best).

 

Plan the play.

[foo]

East,Both,MP,

♠ A4 ♥ T4 ♦ T8753 ♣ AK97

+

♠ K95 ♥ KQ87 ♦ K42 ♣ QJT

 

You have an unopposed auction to 3N.

 

West leads the ♠3 (4th best).

Plan the play.

This is MPs and you are in a nasty 3N that The Field rates to go down in. Try your darndest to take 9 tricks.

 

You have 6 tricks, and H's may provide 1-2. You need at most 2 tricks in D's.

 

Win SA

Duck a D unless 2nd hand plays DQ or DJ (in which case you cover)

The play in D's gets complicated fast since there are so many different plans depending on what happens on 1st D trick.

 

If Dx -> Dx and

a= Q, J, or 9 wins. Next play in D's is Dx-> DK

b= A wins. Next play in D's is DK.

Else

Dx -> (DQ, DJ), DK

c= DK holds

d= Dx, DQ or DJ, DK, DA

 

Either way, in a, b, and d, duck presumed 2nd S, then win 3rd S.

 

a contd= CQ, CJ overtake with CK (still 1 C entry to Dummy left). D7 -> DK.

b contd= DK, Dx -> Dummy.

c, d contd= Dx -> DT-D8 in Dummy.

 

(Looking at all this, I'm beginning to wonder if it might be better to play for -1)

[lowerline]

[hv=d=e&v=b&n=sa4ht4dt8753cak97&s=sk95hkq87dk42cqjt]133|200|Scoring: MP[/hv]

 

You have an unopposed auction to 3NT.

 

West leads the ♠3 (4th best).

 

Plan the play.

♠A, then a ♥. It it looses to your left and a ♠ is returned, take the king, cash the clubs, exit with a ♠. I hope to get away with down 1.

 

Steven

[Fluffy]

We need to score 3 red tricks, before oppoents can score 5, we need the 3 entries to dummy.

 

Win ♠A, then a ♥ to hand, overtake a club and now.... if RHO hops with a red ace and plays a high spade you have to duck it, but then he could stablis 1♠+1Ace+3 in a red suit. You need to find wich red suit is well.

 

 

An improvement line is to win 2 clubs isntead on just 1 wich might force East to discard a red suit, play that suit then.

[Codo]

I need too much to win by playing diamonds, so I try a Diamond to the King, followed by a club and a a Heart to the King, take all clubs and a second Heart up to the queen. I hope that they don´t have too many tricks to cash if West has one of the aces or after the diamonds are open...

[Apollo81]

I don't see anything better than playing for both red aces onside.

 

Specifically, I would win the ♠A and lead the ♥10. It may be covered, which will give me some additional chances. If it's not covered I will play the ♥K. If spades look 4-4 from RHO's card on trick 1 then I may think some more before playing this way.

[Echognome]

Ok. As a hint, we need some additional tricks.

 

Do we have the tempo to set up diamonds?

 

One line is to play for both red aces onside (about 25%).

 

Is there a play if both red aces are offside?

[Impact]

If it was imps and we decide to play to make:-

If S are 4-4, you are basically down unless you can work miracles in H or D.

 

Since establishing D means letting them in twice you will be down if you play to establish D (barring DA onside and QJ tight when RHO flies DA).

 

Even if S are 5-3 you have to duck a S to break communication AND pick (if possible) the red A the long S holder.

 

By contrast the H suit offers a genuine play for the contract: 3 H tricks: HAJ(x), J9(x) onside. My inclination if trying to make the contract is simply to run the HT if it is not covered. There are other positions including dropping the stiff 9 offside that also work for this line.

That is the most straightforward and the way I would have played at the table.

 

At MP (which is not my game!!) I have a more than sneaking suspicion that you should be playing for -1!!

regards

[sceptic]

I would win the K spades then lead the K diamonds hoping that if Q and A are seperate they let the K win, then I would get into hand with A clubs and play for the A hearts on my right, I have two club entries if it holds

 

even if they do not play the A hearts first round, I still think at the table this may be the best way to play it, if the AQ diamonds are on my left, I think it is going to be lucky to make it playing diamonds from dummy and that has to have a better chance than trying to make 3 heart trx

[Echognome]

[hv=n=saxhtxdt8xxxcak9x&w=sqtxxhaxxxdaxxcxx&e=sjxxxhj9xdqjcxxxx&s=skxxhkq87dkxxcqjt]399|300|[/hv]

 

Congratulations to Impact for working out the line. I played a diamond towards hand and that lead to down 2. In hindsight after the hand I realized that playing on diamonds was never going to make the hand, so I had to rely on some layout in hearts.

 

Most of the field were making 3NT, although I suspect they received a softer defense.

[Fluffy]

Apollo might had succeed also, but it required a mistake and a guess.

[cherdano]

My guess is the field received a heart lead, and probably a heart continuation later.

 

I would have played for down one, I had no idea I was behind the field due to the lead after all.

[Apollo81]

Apollo might had succeed also, but it required a mistake and a guess.

 

might had = would have

 

in the real world it will go ♥TJKA

[Apollo81]

The omission of the opps' spade spots on this hand (and RHO's play at trick 1) is very disappointing.

[Echognome]

The omission of the opps' spade spots on this hand (and RHO's play at trick 1) is very disappointing.

West has the 3 spot as his lowest and righty plays the ♠J at trick 1. Our spots are really low. If they were important, I would have said.

 

You probably would have made had you lead the ♥T as long as you hooked the second time around. Well done.

[foo]

very nice :blink:

[nige1]

Dealer: East Vul: Both Scoring: MP

♠ A4 ♥ T4 ♦ T8753 ♣ AK97 ♠ K95 ♥ KQ87 ♦ K42 ♣ QJT

 

You have an unopposed auction to 3NT.

 

West leads the ♠3 (4th best).

 

Plan the play.

If it was imps and we decide to play to make:-

If S are 4-4, you are basically down unless you can work miracles in H or D.

 

Since establishing D means letting them in twice you will be down if you play to establish  D (barring DA onside and QJ tight when RHO flies DA).

 

Even if S are 5-3 you have to duck a S to break communication AND pick (if possible) the red A the long S holder.

 

By contrast the H suit offers a genuine play for the contract: 3 H tricks: HAJ(x),  J9(x) onside. My inclination if trying to make the contract is simply to run the HT if it is not covered. There are other positions including dropping the stiff 9 offside that also work for this line.

That is the most straightforward and the way I would have played at the table.

 

At MP (which is not my game!!) I have a more than sneaking suspicion that  you should be playing for -1!!

regards

 

Thank you for the excellent problem Echognome!

Well done Impact - I reckon I would have missed this at the table :)